Martin

Yup - Simon Bailey had one. IIRC, it involved a certain amount of swearing from Robert at the time...

That's a shame - which club is it, and is there anything that can be done to help?

I will qualify this by saying that I have never used a Duguid. However, it is worth checking that sight adjustments are backlash-free and independent. More "traditional" sights have more room within the design to ensure that a click up means that the sights only go up, and not to either side; and that a click down straight afterwards returns the sight to exactly the same position. As with any sight, try and give it a check once in a while.

Well, someone (Britarms?) built a five-shot muzzle-loading black powder pistol that was intended for ISSF centrefire. Mind you, it was a bit boring, it used percussion caps rather than being a flintlock (in other words, it was closer to a Colt six-shooter than a Brown Bess). I'm with you in imagining trying to make a "no more than 5.6mm" muzzle-loading rifle that was ISSF compliant. Now that we're going all vintage firearm, does anyone know the last time a GB team member took a Martini-Henry action to an ISSF World Cup?

I'd check whether they're ISSF-legal; that may not matter if you're shooting full-bore or black powder, but it's certainly important if you're shooting smallbore. The zip fastening also isn't as adjustable as a button fastening - important if you're considering gaining or losing weight (or if your jacket seems to shrink in the wash ). There are similarly priced jackets on the market, which are ISSF-legal, and have all of the features identified by Tucker. Personally, I'd go for something with a rubberised shoulder pad rather than the Tucker's suede, but that's a personal preference.

That sounds suspiciously like you've never tried a properly fitting jacket. If it fits, it's comfortable; I can spend all day in mine (and frequently have). If it's uncomfortable, it doesn't fit. A bespoke jacket can be had for quite reasonable prices these days; and will be of far higher quality (grip/padding on elbows, ability to adjust the shoulder fit, ability to adjust button placement, thin material on the inside of joints) than the old Buttstop or Tucker jackets - material design has come a long way. You might shoot just as well in a tailored Buttstop, but the additional support from a "modern" jacket means that it takes a lot less effort to stay in position; it "decays" far slower. Important for those times when you're waiting on the wind, and want to be able to put a shot downrange every twelve to fifteen seconds, and still be hitting the bull.

<Deep Thought> Bother me not with such pocket calculator stuff </Deep Thought> Five years ago a team of four of us were putting together the software for a 40G optical networking chip; right now I've got a 10G system sitting next to my desk in the same FPGA fabric as a pair of 250MHz PowerPCs. :) Granted, it's in loopback and not actually connected to the web, but then who said the world was fair? :) PS Bill can probably fix you up with a decent bandwidth Alcatel system, cheap as chips...

It's.... somewhat naive IMHO (understatement). OK, downright wrong. Oil prices aren't going to come down because we all boycott ESSO. The big oil companies don't set international oil prices, or production limits. It's supply vs. demand, and the amount of oil wanted around the world is getting pretty close to the amount capable of being supplied. This was being pointed out a few months ago, as the OPEC ministers were agreeing to boost world production, and the Economist was warning that until the increased production came on-stream, that prices would be high. Now, you might argue that fuel duty could be reduced, but that has absolutely zero, nada, zilch to do with OPEC or BP or ESSO. Personally? I think the author either hasn't got a clue, or it's a deliberate attempt at propaganda from someone with an axe to grind. If the latter (my bet), you can take your pick as to their motives (blame the cartels / oil companies / globalisation / lizards dressed in people suits / UN / secret world governments / how big a chain letter can I create, and will it make the national news and boost my ego).

I had a chat with some mechanical engineer types at my former employer (we made pieces of kit that got flung around the sky at 8G in fighter aircraft) on the subject of torque wrenches, just before I bought one; I was worried about their accuracy and calibration needs. They pointed out that the single biggest factor in torque setting is whether the bolt being tightened is oiled or not. As Robert Nibbs has pointed out, 70% of the torque is spent overcoming the friction between the back of the bolt head and the surface it rests on - not the thread. It's worth pointing out that if you take your sights off when packing the rifle, it's well worth keeping the fixing bolts oiled; if you don't you'll eventually find that the sight bolts are terribly stiff, while the sights aren't tightly fixed. If those fixing bolts are bone dry (a slight screech as you tighten them), you're quite likely to break them before you get your sights well mounted.

Neil; the count of the number of messages on the home page appears to increment by three for every new message.... ....e.g. it was 351, then 354, then 357 when only two messages were added in between. (probably 360 after this one gets in) Have fun - how long are you going to be in Japan?

Lynda says she'll have a dig around in the garage for some bits when we get back from Bisley; we can any bring stuff to Aberdeen for the Grand Prix....