Shooting Gazette

How clean was my shotgun

I have always been a hands-on sort of chap. I like to tinker and fine tune, build and maintain things I enjoy using and cherish. In fishing I assemble rods, make floats, tie flies. With guitars I can adjust truss rods, level frets and change pick-ups; I like to get stuck in.

Occasionally this saves me money, more often it simply gives me satisfaction and, usually, provides me with a tool that is better and certainly more personal than anything bought off the peg. I enjoy being immersed in what I do.

My one regret with regard to shooting is that it doesn’t provide me with an outlet for this need to fettle. There are those out there who can make a gun from the raw materials but that elite group certainly doesn’t include me and, sadly, I have neither the time

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