doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Massive numbers of UK SxS's being scrapped

Damascus:

IS not one of the issues is that hunting is expensive in England? Do you have much open land if any to hunt on?
I came from Pennsylvania to Texas many years ago. When I told my friends in Pennsylvania that you had to pay to hunt they could not believe it, neither could i!. In Pennsylvania we just went on land and hunted. Lots of land where your could hunt, no charge. Sometimes you might see a sign that said no hunting but that was rare. Or maybe you had to ask the farmer is there was one around and I never got turned down.

Here is Texas you have a few options.Own the land, be invited, or pay to hunt. There is some open land in parts but for the most part you have to pay to hunt. Depending on what you want to hunt the costs vary.

I am thinking hunting is costly in England, am I correct.


John
Arrieta

There’s no public land in Texas?

There ain’t much…

Best,
Ted

There is no public hunting land in the UK, apart from some area's of coastal water where seasonal wildfowling is permitted, though it is mostly in the control of wildfowling clubs. Organised shooting, driven pheasant and partridge can be eye wateringly expensive. However, there is plenty of shooting to be had for the asking from farmers wanting pest control of pigeons and crows damaging crops. It has to be phrased that way to fulfil the stupid licensing requirement but to you and I its free sporting shooting. This last few weeks has been the time for shooting wood pigeons on the stubble fields and I've managed bags of 50 to 70 on the last four visits, all shot with 28g No.6 or No.7.5 out of my 1905 Enos James BLNE bought from Holts last year for £20.00. Cartridges are getting dearer now, about £80.00 for 250 but that's enough for several outings. So the upshot is that while its getting dearer, everyday rough shooting is still possible and won't break the bank.

The US won a total of 5 Olympic medals in shooting in 2024, not 5 gold medals. The US team won one gold, three silver, and one bronze medal. The gold was in the men's skeet event.

It is a shame that a statistically significant sample of deactivated barrels could not be used for composition analysis; which now costs about $100 per test at METL here in Phoenix
One would need to know the maker and rough DOM. It would be nice to know what Whitworth and other English steels that were part of the 1891 Proof House Trial were
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cvqRzkg0wEjhAAcFWr8gFi7aPFRsSIJ_hahfDxmrNAU/edit
Nice for those interested in new-fangled fluid steel...but probably not worth the expense.

Worth reminding everyone that the pseudonymous Zircon, posted “Contribute Junk To Advance Barrel Strength Knowledge” here in 2005 requesting vintage barrels for composition and strength testing. By 2006 he had accumulated almost 40 samples, both Fluid Steel and Pattern Welded. My last communication with him was in 2015 and he stated that he intended to publish an article in DGJ with his metallurgical study of the Sherman Bell Parker GH & VH barrels that were subjected to destructive testing.

Thruxton is absolutely right in all he says about England. There is no such thing as public land to shoot over.

Driven Pheasant shooting this season is likely to cost about £50 or $80 PER BIRD and a normal bag size would be 200 birds, divided between eight Guns. Many game shooters like for shooting to remain expensive and therefore exclusive. A certain amount is funded by companies with deep pockets as corporate entertainment.

In France the laws are different and most villages have a shooting association run as a cooperative. There are some private fenced estates as well especially in the Sologne south of Paris. Germany is different again; others will know more about that than I.

HB

This information is correct. The information I got from the quick Google search I did was wrong, and it said Team USA Shooting had won 5 gold medals in the Paris 2024 Olympics. The medal totals provided by Ken are right.

I apologize for any confusion, and still stand by my observation that televised Network coverage of the Shooting Sports is almost non-existent. I also agree with what Damascus said about the effects of incremental and costly laws and regulations on gun ownership, storage, possession, and ammunition availability, and the negative effect that has had on reducing shooter interest, affordability, and participation. The subsequent reduction in gun values reduces demand and makes it inevitable that guns will become useless scrap, when they might have been well worth repairing and saving as Damascus did with his lovely Purdey Hammergun.

We aren't likely to see guns and ammunition banned in the U.S. overnight. Anti-gun Democrats will continue to use the same slow and steady attrition that anti-gunners have used successfully here and in many other countries. We can be foolish, and allow it to happen here, and then complain when guns become worth less and ammo becomes more unaffordable. Or we can be smart, and get registered to vote, and then get out and vote for candidates who will respect our Rights and Freedoms. We need to urge other gun owners to do the same, because historically, a high percentage of shooters and hunters don't bother voting, although they have the numbers to make a huge impact if they stick together. Unfortunately, too many gun owners are quick to complain about gun values, and ammo prices, and availability, but don't make the small and zero cost effort to vote to protect their interests. We must never listen to the minority of gun owners who say it can't happen here, especially when the politicians they support come right out and show us their intentions to undermine the 2nd Amendment. Gun owners who support anti-gunners are not on our side. They are wolves in sheep's clothing, and will say or do anything to hide that fact.

Dr. Drew...see the other line. I asked Diggory about obtaining samples. Time to make another effort if this one failed.

I am fortunate to live where I live where there are hundreds of thousand acres of public land. Over the decades I have adjusted my needs and wants to home woods and home waters. Something special about finding that blend near home. Gil