Night vision

So here we are in the last days of October early November the evenings are getting darker earlier and the temperature is dropping rapidly as the sun goes down.

Monday on the range was a quiet day, a blessing in some ways as it allows us to catch up with cleaning duties, repair work and other such tasks that get put on hold when its busy.
As the day drew to a close the boss decided to close shop early and head off home, following a quick call to my better half I was given the all clear to stay out and play, another text to Bryan to see if he was free was sent and his reply was a yes but he had to wait for his wife to come home from work before he could leave as he was looking after the kids, he should be with me around 9pm.
Once the shutters were down and the alarms set it was still only about 7:15pm, with that in mind I took a slow drive, stopping off for fuel,supplies and a quick bite to eat I rocked up to the permission about 8pm.
Tonight would be a chance to try out the Photon night vision scope that had come in to the shop to be sold, I had already mounted it to my FX Wildcat and had a play zeroing it in while at the range (remember it had been quiet)

Time to get my kit on wrap up warm as tonight was gonna be a cold one, I just hope the bunnies will come out to play. A bit of pre-planning meant that I had thought to take a marker stick with me, pacing out 30yards I planted the stick in the ground, returning to my start position I spent the next few minutes making sure the scope was zeroed to my liking, If you haven't shot with a night sight before either a Photon type or a Screen type it can be difficult to judge distances through a screen.
Happy that the gun and scope are on point i make my way back to the car where I wait for Bryan to arrive, I don't have to wait to long before he turns up. The usual greetings are exchanged, Bryan sets his gun up (BSA R10se with Photon night sight) and with a light step we head out into the fields.
Now as you may have read in my last blog last week I had already reconnoitred the new field, so with that in mind I pointed out the best places for Bryan to settle in and a divide and conquer approach was applied. Leaving Bryan to it I took a wander up the far side of the field away from him with the intention that once I got to the top of the fields I would then herd the rabbits towards Bryan.
Once at the top of the field a quick scan of the fields reveals some eye shines here and there a quick count up totals about twenty rabbits, some are in the next field (I don't have permission for that field) so they get to see another day but it does remind me that i need to drop by the owners house and see if I can get his field on my permission list too.
Back to work though, so with a couple of long shots I try to herd the rabbits towards Bryan, yes well it kind of worked but I have to say its like trying to juggle a handful of frogs. Walking back down the field still juggling, I arrive at my appointed place to settle down and wait. While I was herding, Bryan had moved into position and set himself up ready for the bunnies. Bryan in the shadow of a barn on one side of the field and myself on the other under a small copse of trees. Soon enough with a brief scan with the night vision eye shine was detected three to four of them but as yet all still hiding in the bushes, now with the photon you can use it without the IR torch however these rabbits wouldn't have been seen as the IR is the magic that makes the eyes shine, effectively the rabbit is hidden by the bushes but the IR beam reflects off the eyes giving them away. Patience is a virtue and it pays off when you apply it, a few minutes later two rabbits come to the hedge line and in full view, now again patience will pay off as given time the rabbits feel safer and will eventually venture further out thus bringing them closer to you making the shot a lot easier. Lining up my shot i wait for the rabbit to turn its head side-on, as it does i breath out and squeeze the trigger. I hear the pellet hit home but the rabbit shoots back into the hedgerow the other one darts off across the field but towards Bryan. After a brief search with the night sight I cant see the one in the hedge so I pan across to find the other one, there it was sitting on the hedge line another ten foot further away from me but closer to Bryan. The one thing about shooting with an IR torch is if the other person is also using an IR torch you can see their IR beam, this was the case with this rabbit, I can see Bryan's torch beam on the rabbit and I presume he can see mine. I wait for Bryan to take his shot ............ nothing yet so I wait a little longer. Although Bryan is a little closer its still a good 60yard shot for him and as I said in my last blog Brayn is still quite fresh to the shooting scene, I need to get the rabbit closer for him, the rabbit has settled and is eating the grass again, okay time for action ill take a shot knowing I'm not going to hit it but hopefully scare it closer to Bryan, I let off a shot and sure enough the rabbit flees and it flees toward Bryan, a couple of seconds pass and I can see Bryan's torch beam pointing at the rabbit. He takes his shot but falls short, its obviously further than he thought. The rabbit runs for the hedge but sits just on the edge, another shot and this one hits home but once more the rabbit jumps deeper into the hedge where we cant retrieve it, oh well Mr Fox will eat well tonight. A few more hours pass with little or no sign of further rabbits.

All in all I was happy with the Photon night sight it performed well and gave a clear picture, you can change the reticule design and swap between red,green or white illumination, the vertical and windage adjustment is straight forward to do and adjusting the brightness is just the turn of a button, my one criticism of the scope if I was being very fussy is that the field of view is narrow compared to the Nite Site that I normally use, having said that you get used to it fairly quickly, the advantage over the Nite Site that I use is that you don't get flare back from the screen lighting your face up as you do with the Nite Site. It does eat batteries if you use the IR torch built in so take plenty with you, you get about two to three hours out of two good quality batteries. I'm told that a good rechargeable battery lasts a little longer. My score would be 9 out of 10 only dropping one for the narrow field of view and battery consumption. A good scope and worth spending out on for ease of use and compactness.
Bryan has work the next day so we decide to call I a night as its now about 11o'clock.
All done for another night, time to head home. Hope this blog has kept you entertained and I hope to wright another soon.
Rev.

New Grounds

New Grounds

The other evening while watching television I get a phone call from one of the owners of a permission I shoot on, I try to visit once every couple of weeks and when I do drop by I send him a text just to let him know I am there should he get a phone call from a concerned friend or neighbour, I let him know the next day how I get on just to keep him in the picture. That generally is the extent of the contact I have with him unless I bump into him or his wife when I turn up to the permission, I should explain at this point that the permission is 4acres of horse paddock and I try to keep the bunny numbers down to a minimum, so to get a phone call from the owner is not unheard of but is a rarity.
Fearing the worst (losing the permission) I answered the phone, a cheery voice answers "Hi Rev." Just a quick call to see how your getting on, oh! and to let you know that you can now shoot on the neighbouring 4acres. That's fantastic John, I look forward to a good nights shoot.
John went on to explain to me that his brother-in-law had brought the land next his and as he had rabbit proofed his paddock most of the bunnies were hiding out in his brother-in-law's field. The phone call was to let me know I could now shoot that field as well but also to ask if I could drop by after work to introduce myself to his brother-in-law. Not a problem after all its the least I could do now I have 8acres to shoot on.
The following evening after work and on the way home I dropped by to see John and his brother-in-law, both of them are very easy to talk to and eager for me to shoot those 'pesky wabbits'. After a short chat and a walk of the new grounds I said my farewells and carried on home.
Felling very chuffed with myself and looking forward to the prospect of fulfilling shoot I contacted my only friend and shooting buddy (Bryan) to see if he would like to come out the following evening for a hunt, and yes if you are wondering I did clear it with the owners first. A few moments later my phone pings and there is a message from Bryan. I can almost sense the excitement in his reply (he still fairly new to shooting) Yes he said, he looks forward to it. So we set a time when we will meet up.
The following evening arrives and just before I leave work I make sure my PCP is full on the air gauge, that the zero is still holding on my scope and that I have a tin of pellets the the shoot. Just before I set off a drop Bryan a text to say I'm leaving work and ill see him at the fields when he can get there. While on route to the fields again my phone pings, of course I cant answer it as I'm driving but I guess its an acknowledgement from Bryan.
As I pull up to the fields the sun has long since set and the horses have been put out, its quite dark already so I park up a get myself sorted and ready for the evening. All set and ready to shoot I remember that I had received that message better check that before I set into the field, as I thought it was from Bryan, but not the news I was hoping for, Bryan's daughter had come down with tonsillitis and he was unable to come out to play tonight. Oh well I would just have to shoot by myself tonight, a quick scan of both fields with the night vision told me that most of the activity was up the top end of the fields (as per normal). Off I set slowly staying to the shadows, half way up the field I stop to say hi to the horses so they don't get spooked by me moving around, onwards to the top end of the field ......... while petting the horse I notice some movement further up on a fence post, on closer inspection it turns out to be a barn owl looking for some dinner. I grab my mobile and turn on the nitesite, I managed to get a couple of pictures (not the best quality) before he flew off.

As I arrive a few of the closer ones dart back underground and wait safely out of sight, now as I said previously the first field is rabbit proofed all the way round but we all know what those sneaky rabbits are like and they find their way back in one way or another. A sweep with the night vision and I soon pick up the eye shine of a couple sitting right on the edge of the field, one shot later and one is laying peacefully in the long grass the other is running for his life.
Time to move over to the new ground, I climb over the three bar fence give it a few minutes and then start to make my way back down the field to where they are all sitting eating the grass.
There isn't a lot of cover in this field so I have to stick to the edge as I work my way down the field, once in place and settled I switch the nitesite back on, after a sweep of the lower end I count fifteen rabbits spread out across the field, time to work.
Of course after a couple of shots they wise up and scurry back to the burrows, fifteen minutes later some are brave enough to pop back out, now at this point it pays to be patient if you shoot too soon the rest will run straight back down the burrows, the trick is to wait till they come out just far enough that after a shot the others run but not all go back underground at that's the next one to pick off.
So my evening carries on like this to the point where I get a little board with nobody to chat to, so I decide to call it a night after three hours pack my gear up and head on home.
Total for a short night was four bunnies, two I was unable to retrieve from the hedgerow due to thick brambles the other two I left for the resident fox as he helps me with the job of keeping the rabbit population down.

Halloween shoot

All welcome to attend. Best to book in advance on 01462 674861

Coffee morning shoot at the range

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Our Wednesday coffee morning shoots are really becoming popular now. All ages are welcome, but if you are over 55 there is a reduced lane price of £8 including free tea and coffee.

Gun hire is £9 for an air rifle with 100 pellets or £6 for a pistol. You are welcome to swap your gun during your session and try out lots of different types.

 

We have finally finished putting in the new target holders. They are much tidier than the funnel traps we were using (not to mention durable).

Air rifle ballistic clay testing

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We are getting a bit better with our videos now, the staff still don't really like talking on camera so we put this one together instead (More to come.... slowly slowly!)

These tests were done at our shooting range in Letchworth.

Popular budget airguns.

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At this time of year loads of people want a cheap airgun for the backgarden, whether it be for basic pest control or for hitting some targets.

Way back in 2015 we reviewed the Hatsan Breaker 900x. It has been going strong ever since with both the wooden and synthetic versions being our most sold air rifle at this price point.

So which one to go for?... Missy has a quick look at both in the quick video below.

Summer in the shop and range

Summer is here!

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With the good weather finally upon us, many of our customers are upgrading their air rifles to get out shooting.
As ever, our selection of air rifles can all be tested on the shooting range.
Missy has been re-zeroing the hire guns, including the Daysate Griffin, FX Impact and BSA Ultra XL

 Although most of the time she spends adjusting her (now very blue) hair!

As ever, our coffee morning Wednesdays are popular.

The range is undergoing a bit of a sort out at the moment as well, we are currently making new target holders and phasing out the 'catchers'. The plinking targets will remain.

The picture above shows our prototype target catcher amongst the others. Once complete the back of the range should look a lot tidier, making shooting easier.

Our shop has been restocked for the summer, with more targets, bags and guns than ever before!

We have also noticed more of a demand for pistols, with that in mind we have significantly increased the selection in the cabinet.

Our new website will also soon be up and running. Stay tuned. But in the meantime all of our information is at www.diffcal.co.uk