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Ian, How are you getting on with those electric winches? You still like them? I was at the Deerfair last weekend and noticed David Stretton had something very similar if not the same model fitted to one of his demo vechicles. Both that and the FC guys Ford Ranger had electric winches coupled with a very basic "crane" arrangement for lifting/loading the carcasses into the back. Regards, Pete | ||
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Just fitting a front towbar to the Discovery to allow fuller usage of the winch. Also a point on the rear of the roofrack to allow carcasses to be lifted clear of ground so they can be swung into the load area. This will be more user friendly than the ramps I currently carry that allow beasts to be pulled into the load area. V basic as you say - but cheap and powerful. I have been disappointed by the spooling speed of the winch - but overall rate it as value for money. Its worth having, simply for the variety of jobs it can handle. From field to larder work - then lifting a 65kilo rooftent up into the rafters in my garage! Versatile! :0) Ian ![[Wink]](images/icons/wink.gif){kind=icon} | |||
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Ian, I am glad your happy with the winch. I would be interested to hear what stalking kit you carry in your vehicle or any mods you have made to the vehicle for dealing with carcasses... I am getting rid of my old SWB Isuzu Trooper but can't decide what to get next. How do you find the Disco? Whats the fuel consumption like? I like the looks of them and their off road ability, but I am put off the "questionable reliablity" you here about in the motoring press... Regards, Pete | |||
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Pete. Sold on the Disco - its the one vehicle I've found that gives adequate off road performance whilst still being 'civilized' enough that my wife is happy to use it for a daily run to work. As regards reliability, its been learning curve! ![[Smile]](images/icons/smile.gif){kind=icon} I bought secondhand as the prices are now realistic for me to afford one as a second car - net result - there were things that needed replacement. Once those outstanding niggles were sorted - I ended up with a car that starts,stops and in between, goes.......anywhere!I'm in the process of changing the setup as mentioned in my previous post. Will be off to Norway in a few weeks for some bashing around the Fjords. Red, Roe and walked up grouse on the menu. Accordingly, I'll post some pics over once the vehicle is completed. The basic version is fine for 99% of usage. Get decent tyres on (I run BFG All Terrain) and then you can see the real capabilities of the waggon. Upgrades are only limited by your imagination! Ive got a Safari Snorkel and extended the various breather tubes to allow wading - got flooded once - that was enough! Under body protection if you're likely to use in rocky terrain. Rear AND Front tow hitches - allow for the winch to be deployed when and how required. Roof Rack allows high seat transport etc without a trailer - as well as giving additional lighting points well away from mud and damage. I also mentioned that I'm having a winch mount fabricated for the rear of the roof rack. This will allow carcasses to be lifted clear of the ground then swung into the load area. Not yet finalised the design - but it will be cheap and low profile - that much is certain! ![[Big Grin]](images/icons/grin.gif){kind=icon} All of this is just playing however! The basic model with a flexible liner for the boot area will suffice for almost anything you require. I suggest a flexible liner as it allows the seats to be dropped and the back converted into a huge load area if required. Compared to a Isuzu etc - it offers privacy and security for the load area - thats come in useful once or twice! ...........And its a Land Rover! Will get back to you later - Rgds Ian [ 08-29-2003, 22:06: Message edited by: IanF ] | |||
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Ian, If my stalking was fairly local, I would probably keep the old Trooper as it has been a good tub. But its got about 145 000 miles on the clock and sooner or later its bound to let us down on a trip up to Aberdeen.. Still, I will be sorry to see her go. She is decent off road, very reliable and not bad on juice either. I just wish I had bought the 5 door! i have looked at the later models (the 3.1 and 3.0) and they are a bit heavy on the juice... I look forward to seeing that wich mount on the roof. I am guessing you will still have problems get abig carcass into the back of the vehicle though...you could almost do with a pully hanging from the roof between the two front seats to get the lift and pull effect, although realise that is not practical for a number of reasons... I know one guy who has got a small trailer which he uses as a game carrier. The tail gate acts as a ramp and he has a hand winch about chest hight on the tow bar end...It works well as his stalking is all local and no real serious off road stuff just FC tracks in Thetford... Due to the lack of load space in my Trooper, my mate and I built a "hitch hauler"...This is the Mk1 and on reflection is a little small. Once i get another vehicle, I will probably build a slightly bigger one with a platform around 2' x 5'. This one uses a single 30mm box section member as a support that goes into a "reciever" we welded under the tow hitch... The Mk2 however will probably have two supports going into twin recivers somewhere near the hangers for the rear wheel springs... Both of these obviously compromise off road ability, but are fine for hauling gear and or carcasses on the motorway ect...  [ 09-01-2003, 00:05: Message edited by: Pete E ] | |||
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quote:Ian, All I can say is you must have a much more understanding wife than I have if she's happy to drive that to the shops. Mine get's aggravated with off road tyres![ 09-01-2003, 17:01: Message edited by: 1894 ] | |||
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Pete, I have a forester which is great for some serious green laning and field work but doesn't have the ground clearance for ruts. A LWB N reg diesel shogun is her car which I use for the serious stuff. It is a lot tighter than my friends Discos of similar vintage (it's an N with 110k on the clock) Driven gently it'll do 30mpg, but it'll do 90 on the Mway all day for 25. I reckon mine is now worth �4.5k max but should last a long time (and reliably so)It is much better than my friends discos on road. The only mods I have are gun cabinets in each as I can just about lift the biggest deer I can shoot into both of them. | |||
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1894, Thanks for that, I quite like the Shoguns but was worried about the MPH figures but it would seem they are no worse than my Trooper..If I can, I want to get something with around 50K on the clock as I am doing 20K a year although most of that is commuting to work each day...maybe its time to get a little runabout for those journeys??? I have not got a rifle safe but do use a very serious security cable and padlock although I try not to leave the vehicle un attended if the rifle is in it... Regards, Pete | |||
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All UK hunters, what is the off-roading or green-laning like at your whereabouts ? Does hunting in the UK require off-road capabilities ? Just being curious. I flew over The UK from Northern Scotland south to London the other day and what a brilliant grouse and ptarmigan country Scotland must be with all her steep hills and highlands Regards | |||
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Georg, There is a fair bit of green lane in the UK and it seeming to be getting more popular. It is under attack my the Greens/anti who think all unpaved tracks ect should be reserved just for walkers ect. Many of the greenlane are old "drovers roads" ie tracks which the drovers used to move cattle and other stock to market before the railways and road transport took over. Is a 4X4 needed for hunting? Well that depends. There are lots of folks who hunt and shoot who do so with nothing more than an estate car. This is especially true in the Midlands and Southern UK where the terrain is gentler and the weather is a bit warmer (ie very little snow!) However once you get to places like certain parts of Wales, Northern England and large parts of Scotland, a 4X4 is more of a "nessesity" than a "want"... These are not hard and fast rules, just generalisations as I am sure in certain parts of the South a 4X4 is more than just a "want" but you get the idea. On the lease we have the hill top road washed out in a couple of places and after heavy rain actually turned into a stream! That was only passible with my stock SWB Trooper with care if damage or time waisted getting stuck was to be avoided. When the forestry company eventually regraded it, they managed to tip a JCB onto its side and get it stuck in one of the bad sections, so that gives you some idea! Regards, Pete | |||
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I live in the SE and only started using 4WD 3years ago. Up till then I used an estate and a roe sac. The issue for me is fallow and to a lesser extent high seats. As I get older I am less inclined to drag a 130lb fallow buck 600m and I don't like holding off a herd of does because I can't collect them. | |||
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1894, Reference dragging those Fallow out, I know exactly why you are trying to avoid that! We had similar problems getting red carcasses back down to the forestry roads on our ground. So, it was a case of much head scratching and out with the hacksaw and welder! Below is the MK1 version... a simple "D" shackle tow hook has since been added that will couple it to a standard tow ball....this is for moving the empty cart around the tracks to a convienent point...It does not fold (we wanted the extra strength) and will be simply hidden in the trees and covered with a tarp when not needed. At some stage the standard wheels will be replaced with some off a mountain bike...Regards, Pete  [ 09-03-2003, 01:29: Message edited by: Pete E ] | |||
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L200 pickup for 4 months of year; If the months got an R in it the L200's got a quad in it! Devon/Somerset best terrain for high pheasants but challenging for carcass recovery. Pete, I see you got a reflector; still working on the bell and brakes? | |||
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Transpond, Look closer...it aready has brakes fitted! One on each wheel in fact! ![[Razz]](images/icons/tongue.gif){kind=icon} We thought about a bell but figured the driving lights were going o be more important! Devon/Somerset challenging for carcass recovery? Come up to Scotland and we will show you "challenging"! Are you happy with the L200? They seem to have a pretty good reputaion for reliability and being an all round work horse...whats the MPG like on it? Regards, Pete [ 09-03-2003, 01:28: Message edited by: Pete E ] | |||
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quote:Trans.... I couldn't agree more. We got one this year, an in actuall fact drive it to the shoot in a Transit, to avoid all the low lifes clocking it ![[Mad]](images/icons/mad.gif){kind=icon} You can drop a deer anywhere and pull it/them out. we drive the Quad loaded up into the back of the van then back it upto the chiller... JOB DONE!!! Like 1894 says, those bucks do weigh some, and you can double that in muddy ground... I shot a cull buck last year that took me and two mates over 2 hrs to get out... not anymore!! And on top of all that you can go out lamping with a great rest, and cover the ground quickly. 10/10 FB | |||
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Pete, has this bicycle barrow been field tested yet? I hope you carry a puncture repair kit or don't they have bramble in Scotland? I could not justify quad and l200 for deer/shoot work; however they work on a farm 90% of their time. The mpg is probably 25-30 probably similar gvw and engine as shogun or trooper.( 2.5 td )Reliable ,rugged and swift... Top choice for work for keepers and farmers hereabouts. Just got to fit new water pump on mine tomorrow and she'll be good for another 12 months..I hope! | |||
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Trans-pond, Were not lucky enough to need the barrow this weekend, but we do have the repair kit on stand-by. Luckily bramble does not seem to be common on the hills (actually I can't ever recall seeing any?) but I will feel better if we can get some heavier duty mountain bike wheels...we are also considering some of that tyre sealer foam spray you can get, but not sure if its suitable for bike wheels... As things turn out the argo is back on the ground, but for how long is anybodies guess... The guy I stalk with has a quad, but on a 400 odd mile trip, we don't want to take a trailer or we would be forever getting there! I must admit I can not keen on the styling of the latest crew cabs in the UK...too many seem decked out in chrome this and that...they look like pick-ups for pimps! Mind you, that seems to go for most 4x4's on the market today...I really wish they would make 4x4's that looked like working 4x4's! heaven knows how many I have looked at that come with carpet in the boot space; what a total waste of time! Regards, Pete | |||
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Pete, How is your friend getting on with the 25-06? Does he find much difference on deer twixt that and his old 6.5x55? | |||
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1894, I suspect its still early days yet. He has noticed the extra kick and it seems much louder than his old 6.5x55. He is still trying various bullets, but he has some 117grn which don't seem to knock the Roe about too much but has far as I know, he has not connected to anything larger. We are gearing up for the Red rut and if he is lucky, that will be a test for it... In truth, I think you will have to go along way to beat the old 6.5x55 for stalking in the UK.I think he would have stuck to that round if he could have got one in a left handed action fairly quickly. Certainly if I were starting again, that is what I would get rather than my .308... Couple the 6.5x55mm with a 9.3x62 and I think that would be me sorted for most circumstances... Regards Pete [ 09-12-2003, 17:04: Message edited by: Pete E ] | |||
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HI Pete, I've just bought a 308win for my stalking. I've shot a friends on the range and really liked it, and needed a bigger caliber for the hinds this winter. Is it a particularly flat shooting round? Given that I currently shoot 90gr 243 which is pretty flat to 250yds. FB | |||
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FB, I am sure that I'll catch the wroth of all the experts out there, but in the "real world", on hinds out to 250m, I don't think you will notice much difference. If you use 150grn or 165grn bullets and zero so you're say 1 3/4" high at 100 meters, I would say you could hold pretty much dead on out to 250m for heart/lung shots. On something like Charlie, I guess the difference would be important, but not on Red hinds... Why are you stalking those, if i may ask? Regards, Pete | |||
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quote:You've hit the nail on the head. My 7x57 with 139gr is zeroed half inch higher than my super quick 6mm rem and has well nigh identical trajectory. I'm presuming you mean where not why | |||
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1894, Why are you stalking those, if i may ask? I deed I did! A slip like that could earn a fellow a reputation as an anti! Regards, Pete | |||
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I suppose my main reason for wanting to step up the caliber was to get a heavier bullet. My best option in .243 win (by my limited rekoning) was the 100gr Sako Twinhead. I'm not really a big fan of long shots prefering to creep up on them but having not stalked reds before I don't know what to expect. As a wise man once said, "you can't kill them too much" so the .308 was my choice for increased stopping power while remaining sporting, (not to mention the chance of an new toy!!) For charlie I either use my 90gr game heads that I use on the fallow, of the 58gr Hornaday which is a stunningly flat round to 300yds, even if it does make a mess. I'm stalking in Strathey on the north coast. It is a Woodcock/Snipe trip which the keeper has said I can do free hinds, an offer too good to pass up so the rifle has been added to the other 4 guns going up there!!! I hope the airline is understanding FB | |||
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