Recent content by Irish Neil

I found Zamberlans a slight bit narrow. I have a pair of Meindl Bhutan model leather finish. We have very wet conditions all the time and these have held up well over three years. I brought them to Africa in 2019 and they were quite comfortable with excellent arch support. I have a second...

I have a pair of 8x42 Swarovski RF binoculars and they are excellent BUT I was looking at Meopta last year at a trade show and ,with some conditions, I thought they were excellent for the price. The conditions are ,how do Meopta measure up on service and repair and how do they stand up to rough...

I would expect it is the same for all deer so for fallow that are mismatched or jjuveniles with mismatched spikes are culled on sight. Because of the spatulate nature of fallow deer antlers it is possible to see similar antler patterns in areas due to a dominant stag. Hence the necessity to take...

Buy a second scope

Good quality scopes are relatively heavy due to all the gubbins they put in them to dampen recoil etc. As for the object lens we shoot legally from 1 hour before dawn to 1 hour after sunset so all my scopes , Swarovski, Zeiss and S&B, have a 56 mm object lens. This gives maximum light...

The selling point on a blind magazine is/was that the stock was stronger and stiffer with the blind magazine. I have a Varberger that empties the blind mag by pressing a release beside the feed so no problem unloading.. A friend has a Mauser in 6.5×55, provided to the Greek army in circa 1912...

There are no budget binoculars. You get exactly what you pay for. I had a pair of Vortex ( price was about €500). I was in a position to get a pair of 8x42 Range Finding Swarovski (€2800) . Is there a difference in quality? the Vortex were good the Swarovski are superb. Cheapest bins I would...

The one trophy I would like to bring back from Africa would be a bleached scull of big male baboon. A very interesting talking point on your desk!

Two rifles in timber stocks, the Sako Quad (upper rifle) about 7 years old and below a 40 year old full stock Varberger in 6.5x55. The wood in both rifles is pleasant without being exceptional. All the European manufacturers will offer rifles in every range of timber stock but if you want...

Most of my shooting friends have moved to 8x42 Swarovski. Any good binoculars will have a weight issue if worn long enough so get a full harness . This is one issue I have with Swarovski, you have to get their harness because of the patent harness lugs on the binoculars. I recently got to try a...

Some very good fake Zeiss scopes out there. Have a look on YouTube. First indication is moisture in the tube. Second indication is when you send it back to Zeiss for repair they tell you it's not one of theirs.

Sam, I have a query for you if you could give me an email address? [email protected]

Really enjoyed this post but I would suggest that what we have today from 1918 are refinements in materials and chemistry. The big breakthroughs were rifled barrels from smooth bores, chemical ignition caps, primed shells and breach loading rifles. For the man in the street , mass production...

Use a quad stick. They start at €95 here and double as a walking stick on hills and rough terrain. There is a drawback as they take getting used to and consequently set up can be slow. You can get a fifth leg for very long range which makes them rock steady.

In the days of sail iron cannon balls were stored in a pyramid on a frame fixed to the ships deck. The frame was made of brass and called a "monkey". Sailors described extremely cold weather as " cold enough to freeze the (cannon) balls off a brass monkey"...brass contracts more than iron...