Fiat Panda 4x4 test drive

As CPTV subscribers will know I am currently looking for a 4x4 vehicle. I have looked at the Dacia Duster and will be looking at the Suzuki Jimny and some other budget and compact 4x4's. Next on the list and a welcome return is the Fiat Panda 4x4. I was quite surprised just how good this little car really is. Comfortable and fun to drive the Panda could well be the car I was looking for. I am not going to make up my mind until I have seen all the possibles. But for now the Panda is firmly through to the next round.

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Hot to fit a scope cam to your airgun

This video shows the slickest way I have ever seen to connect a camera to a scope.

I have been using scope cams for a good few years now and I have tried just about every way there is to attach them to my airguns. However when shooting recently with my friend Paul I came across a new method of mounting that I had not seen before.

You will need to order the adapter rings from Ebay

1 x 52 - 52 Male to Male
1 x 52 - 38 Male to Female
and 1 x 52 - your camera's filter size Male to Female

Simples =)

I have not been able to afford a 4x4 vehicle for sometime now but always owned one in the past. With current fuel prices and the cost of a well known all singing and dancing 4x4 being out of my reach I went on the look for something that would not break the bank.
The Dacia Duster is the UK's cheapest 4x4 with prices starting around £9k for the 2x4 petrol and £12k for the 4X4 it really does seem like a bargain. Recently awarded the Top Gear Bargain Car of the year award I thought it had to be worth a look. Looking at the spec sheet seems just too god to be true for the money they are asking but after driving it I am definitely interested in seeing a little more of what they car can do. It is the 2nd fastest selling car in Europe and with it being designed to cope with the less than perfect roads over there the ride excellent. Fuel consumption figures are my main worry when looking at this kind of vehicle. Gone are the days when I can afford to run two cars so this will be my shooting vehicle and the one I used daily for everything else. If I was running pretty much any of the vehicles out there in it's class I would be getting a fair bit less in terms of economy. I would love a Land Rover Defender or a Mitsubishi Shogun but to be honest I do not think I could afford to run one. This on the other hand will be more like running a well set up road car. I am not jumping in to buying anything yet but the Duster is definitely on my radar.

Lisa's first HFT (Hunter Field Target)

Country Pursuits TV has a young member that has been around for quite some time now. In fact Lisa has been around since well before the beginning of the CPTV channel. The daughter of my best friend showed an interest in shooting right from the word go. She has been the driver in many an episode of CPTV's hunting videos like Hunting with the Hammerli AR20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EUo-T1bGMA & Air Gun Rabbit Hunting with H&N Hunter Extreme pellets http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fizrK1TgbdU and she is usually somewhere behind the camera being helpful in some way or another.

I have recently commissioned a custom rifle for her. The rifle will be something really special with a fully custom stock by my friend Toby Lee, and action and parts supplied by John Bowkett, a Tench regulator and built and tuned by Phil Crampton of The Rat Works http://www.facebook.com/TheRATWorks?fref=ts and fully wrapped in Wild Trees camo by CAMO-IT http://www.camoit.co.uk/

However the rifle has taken a while to be finished (Phil is a perfectionist). So this weekend was to be Lisa's first time shooting a HFT style course at The Shooting Grounds in Hertfordshire. As her rifle was not finished I decided to let her use my new hunting rifle the Daystate MK4is. After a little tweak to the eye relief and a quick re-zero Lisa was (unbelievably) hitting the standing 30 & 40mm spinners at 40 yards. She soon got the hang of the holdover required from 8-16 yards and from 30-45 but had a little of a hard time understanding the hold under required to hit the small reducers in between these distances.

That said I was confident she would do well at this friendly event. I have been shooting the MK4is for a while now and after trying a huge selection of pellets I have found the H&N Field Target Trophy 4.51 head size to be the best in this rifle. They seem to take a little less wind than other brands and group better than anything else I have tried.

Lisa was real nervous at the start of the shoot but soon settled down once the targets started falling over. She was doing really well with the Daystate MK4is although it really is to big for her. My confidence in the gun was huge and I knew she could win the junior section if she kept her head together. Lisa is a natural shooter and her standing form's brilliant, I think once she has the custom rifle she could be a formidable opponent.

She does have a lot to learn but I am more than happy for her to join me at HFT events whenever I attend (unless she starts beating me) I know there are some other great Junior shots out there like Becky Rawlings and Alex Honeywell but I think with some time and effort Lisa could be up there nipping at their heals.

Alex Honeywell was in attendance today with his Dave Welham regulated Air Arms EV2 MK4
He has been a regular performer at this years HFT national series putting in some excellent scores including an overall win at this years RSN10 Memorial Cup. Alex finished 2nd place in the 2012 Junior section of the UKAHFT championships and could well be a contender for the Junior World Hunter Field Target championships next year.

So how did Lisa get on?

Well Lisa finished first in the junior section and would have taken the ladies trophy too if she had not been shooting as a junior. I am very proud of her and I have just got of the phone with her father and he is just so pleased that he could not really find the words to express it.

I think we will be seeing a lot more of these two in the future. They both pop up on Country Pursuits TV from time to time so if you would like to follow their progress please subscribe to the channel.

Lisa with the Daystate MK4is looking very happy with her result

Ronnie Sunshines = http://www.ronniesunshines.com/ Deben & Hawke Optics = http://www.deben.com/ Armex & Umarex UK = http://www.armexltd.co.uk/ BSA Guns UK = http://www.bsaguns.co.uk/ BRC Program = http://www.hawkeoptics.com/apps/brc.html Country Pursuits TV was invited to the grand opening of the new Ronnie Sunshines shop. The place has undergone a huge transformation since I first used the shop in 2009. Dave (the owner) has spent tens of thousands of pounds to make sure that his shop is the best in the business and do you know what? I think he has done it!

The Tackle & Gun Trade show is one of the Industries leading events for the trade to come and show their new products. I was invited down this year to talk to a few of the exhibitors about their new products. I talked to Phil and Dave from NiteSite about the brilliant new Nite Spotter, Nigel Silcock about the New Brocock's in the range and Ashley from Thomas Jack's about the new Pulsar N750 digisight and more.....