As I understand it, you need to be a member of a cacadores association to be able to buy a shotgun but does anyone know if you can by cartridges without producing a licence ?

I think technically, no, but, in reality, if you have a chat with  the nice tall guy with the short beard in the Gunshop beside the old bridge, you can get what you need.

Not sure you need to be a member of a cazadores group, but you do need a mental/medical certificate before you can apply. A lot of the land is under the control of cazadores associations,  but plenty is not, it is coto de caza, [ish] protected hunting lands you [anybody, not a club] pay to shoot, lots of the Parc de Ports foothills seem to be like this.

wrote on Oct 3^rd, 2012 at 9:25am:

I think technically, no, but, in reality, if you have a chat with  the nice tall guy with the short beard in the Gunshop beside the old bridge, you can get what you need. Not sure you need to be a member of a cazadores group, but you do need a mental/medical certificate before you can apply. A lot of the land is under the control of cazadores associations,  but plenty is not, it is coto de caza, [ish] protected hunting lands you [anybody, not a club] pay to shoot, lots of the Parc de Ports foothills seem to be like this.

Do you have to be certified as Mental or not to shoot here? From the stories i have heard about our local shooters,i would say the former is applied.   :(

wrote on Oct 3^rd, 2012 at 10:16am:

wrote on Oct 3rd, 2012 at 9:25am: I think technically, no, but, in reality, if you have a chat with  the nice tall guy with the short beard in the Gunshop beside the old bridge, you can get what you need. Not sure you need to be a member of a cazadores group, but you do need a mental/medical certificate before you can apply. A lot of the land is under the control of cazadores associations,  but plenty is not, it is coto de caza, [ish] protected hunting lands you [anybody, not a club] pay to shoot, lots of the Parc de Ports foothills seem to be like this. Do you have to be certified as Mental or not to shoot here? From the stories i have heard about our local shooters,i would say the former is applied.   :(

Exactly, I believe that if you are actually found to be reasonably sane, they refer you to some higher authority for further assessments.

Oh, and you also need to own rural land, the exam is only available in Castillano, or Catalan, and an English licence is not transferable...

Thanks for the feedback all.  I haven't visited the Tortosa shop, only the Amposta one and the proprietor in there was a little strange (IMHO).  I've gleaned a little info from the web and was surprised to read that legally, you're not even permitted to shoot vermin with an airgun and yet after a cursory once over and a bit of typical paper form filling, you can wander around your own or anybody else's land with one of the most lethal hand weapons available and also get away with hanging up your dogs from a tree with wire when they are no longer useful.
Funny old world 'innit.
By the way, don't ask me if I've stopped beating my wife 'cos it's a loaded question.
I don't actually want a shotgun.  I just want some cartridges or black powder to help me dismantle a pile of very big and very hard olive tree roots.
Do any of you (or anyone you know) own a legal shotgun ?
Cheers again.

Wasn't the theme of Catch 22 that you must not be mad to join the Army but you had to be mad to want to?  I see a similarity but I'm not sure where.  Err, ummm.

Blowing up tree stumps?   Sugar and weedkiller but be very careful.  Causing an explosion is I'd think a crime across the EU.

I did 16 years in the army so draw your own conclusions !!  If I could find another way I wouldn't be considering it.  Any suggestions ?

No. Catch 22 was you could only get out of your tour of duty if you were insane but going insane under those conditions was normal therefore you weren't insane and didn't qualify to get out of your tour of duty. Literary quotations are best if you have read the book. I can lend it you if you want. : )

I've found an excavator is the best way to remove any tree stump and I've pulled a few. I'm  sure there are forum members that can put you in touch with someone. I know someone that found a guy with a full size jcb at a very reasonable price for a job and can put you in touch if you wish. Alternatively I have one if you can figure out transport for a 3 ton machine.
Bruixot

I haven't explained the challenge properly.  I'll send you an email as it's easier to embed pics and stuff.

Wait until November 5th and then should there be any repercussions you can claim that it is an English (ethnic minority) festival.   ;)

Hi BY

     I have just spoken to Les the man with a van. He is also a man with a digger who has removed this sort of thing before He said he will bring his digger over to you remove the said stump and cut it into reasonable pieces etc and will charge £100 Euro all in..... or all out in this case. There you have it and this way there is no bad back on your part or visits from plod.  :D :D

Hi Av,
I've pm'd Bruixot telling him that I haven't explained the challenge properly.
The stumps are out and lying in a big pile.  I'm looking for a way to break them into stove size pieces.
I've just been out logging and am hot and cream crackered.  I'll post some pics later.

This is how the stumps were lifted.

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This is the resulting pile.

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I've worked my way through about half the pile over the last five years or so but it's hard going.  Because there's a lot of stones trapped among the roots, there's a lot of chainsaw sharpening goes on.
They're now like iron and need some serious energy to break down.

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Nice Stumps!   ;)

I think at the end of the day you are going to have to place more combustible material around the mass and burn it its going to cost you a fortune in blood,Sweat and chain saw blades otherwise. :-?

You're not the first person to suggest that but I'm loathe to do it.  It'd probably burn for about a year  :o

Well before you start on reducing the log pile on Sunday may I suggest a little ENGLISH TAPAS  :D

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Hydraulic log splitter on a tractor is probably the best way then.
Bruixot

Bigyin,
You have probably been asked this question once or twice before,but why did you cut down mature olive trees in the first place ?
If the answer is, they were in the wrong place,you could have simply had the loading shovel pick them up and move them to my land !
This would have solved two problems at once,you would have no tree roots to dispose of and I would have nice old mature olive tree's to replace the hundreds of tree's that the local farmers have grubbed out of my land, over the last thirty years.

May I suggest the easiest solution, man with digger,  big hole, bury them and anything else you dont want. Cost probably very comparable to the danger and hard work you are contemplating. [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

wrote on Oct 7^th, 2012 at 9:56am:

Hydraulic log splitter on a tractor is probably the best way then. Bruixot

This sounds like the most appropriate answer to me. A log splitter should make short work of them and you shouldn't have the danger of embedded stones fracturing and causing you an injury.

They would probably still need cutting into smaller lengths for  your fire though. Maybe a saw mill could cut them for you?

wrote on Oct 6^th, 2012 at 9:16pm:

Nice Stumps!   ;)

Flatterer !!

wrote on Oct 7^th, 2012 at 2:35am:

Well before you start on reducing the log pile on Sunday may I suggest a little ENGLISH TAPAS  :D

Do we know if he made it ?  Wonder what he had for lunch.  A ton of chips and a battered whale or maybe a scabby horse between two mattresses.

wrote on Oct 7^th, 2012 at 9:56am:

Hydraulic log splitter on a tractor is probably the best way then. Bruixot

"Splitting" is fine whether using a big hydraulic rig (and it would have to be big as some of these beasts are about 1.5m across) or wedges and a sledge hammer (I've already done a bit of this) if the timber has a grain, which these roots don't.
I've been looking at screw cones.  See here:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-96llukCoH8
This guy's cone is too small (shut up Av) and he's spinning it too fast.  The right size and speed and he wouldn't have to reverse the tractor.  The cone would pull the lumps onto itself and they wouldn't be smoking.  However, I'd settle for that if a) there was someone available locally and b) they weren't gonna charge me more than the end product is worth.  I could buy a cone and try to turn it by hand (with a very long lever) but it would still be hard work and time consuming/

"You have probably been asked this question once or twice before,"
No, I haven't as it happens.
"but why did you cut down mature olive trees in the first place ?
If the answer is, they were in the wrong place,you could have simply had the loading shovel pick them up and move them to my land !"

I presume you're joking but just in case you're not, here are some answers.
There were over twenty of them in three rows adjacent to the house.  If they'd been productive I'd have been delighted to leave them where they were but they weren't.  Some time before I moved in, this place had been a commercial nursery and the trees were planted about a metre apart and were effectively stock.  I tried to sell them but when the potential buyers realised they weren't in pots, they lost interest.
I didn't join the forum until 2008 and these were grubbed up in 2007 so I didn't know of your existence or requirement.
The thought of making about twenty round trips from my place to yours up the A340 with a huge Caterpiller with about a ton of olive in the bucket (of God knows what variety) sounds a bit far fetched.  And would you have been prepared to pay for that ?

Why did you buy the land if you were so unhappy about it's history ?

jollyolive wrote on Oct 7^th, 2012 at 12:17pm:

May I suggest the easiest solution, man with digger,  big hole, bury them and anything else you dont want. Cost probably very comparable to the danger and hard work you are contemplating. [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

I don't want to get rid of them.  They're not in the way and they're probably worth in the region of 700 - 800 euros converted to firewood but obviously the conversion process has to be cost effective.

Problem solved...A bethlehem honey/teething spoon

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Actually, when you can get to it, some of the heart wood is very attractive.

.

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I can make you a stamp like this.
www.y-ryte.co.uk

Can you make me a couple of tea trays and 2 sets of coasters,just like the ones in Bauhaus.I'll pay you.

I'm serious.

No, 'fraid not.  Only stamps.  :-[

Bigyin,
I can only thank you for the explanation and history of your land !
Allthough if I come up with a magic method of stump disposal I will of course inform you.
With regard to my land,we did not know it used to be covered with olive trees,until we recently noticed the massive pile of roots behind our neighbours barn !

My uncle is a farmer back in the UK. A few months ago whilst harvesting his crops he was driving his combine harvester through his fields when he accidentally ran over a drunken scouser asleep on the floor. There was blood, sovereign rings, Bits of tracksuit and Burberry all over the place. It took him ages to sort the wheat from the chav.  ;)

wrote on Oct 8^th, 2012 at 4:20pm:

Bigyin, I can only thank you for the explanation and history of your land ! Allthough if I come up with a magic method of stump disposal I will of course inform you. With regard to my land,we did not know it used to be covered with olive trees,until we recently noticed the massive pile of roots behind our neighbours barn !

I was going to add Phil that in case you thought I was an eco terrorist, I planted 92 new olive trees the following year.  Have you thought of doing that ?  Very satisfying and I can give you some pointers if you want.

My new eco friendly fridge freezer was delivered this morning.

It's the first step I am making towards reducing my carbon footprint.

I'll get it plugged in and running as soon as I've fly-tipped my old one.  8-)

Bigyin,
I would like to re plant olive trees and vines,but cannot see how I would get them to grow with the locals continually grazing flocks of goats across my land.  ?

wrote on Oct 7^th, 2012 at 10:54am:

Bigyin, You have probably been asked this question once or twice before,but why did you cut down mature olive trees in the first place ? If the answer is, they were in the wrong place,you could have simply had the loading shovel pick them up and move them to my land ! This would have solved two problems at once,you would have no tree roots to dispose of and I would have nice old mature olive tree's to replace the hundreds of tree's that the local farmers have grubbed out of my land, over the last thirty years.

IN the next few weeks we're having a JCB take out two mature trees although one has been cloud pruned.  If we offered them to you what is your plan?  We're on Reguers side of Jesus.  PM if you prefer.

Hi Colin,
It's good of you to offer but I don't need more.  I'd just like to break up the ones I have.  If I were you I would chainsaw them up into manageable chunks while they're still green.  The roots are good for burning but will doubtless have a lot of stone trapped in the roots so be very careful with the chainsaw.

Bigyin,
New programme starting tonight on channel 4,at 8'oclock,with Kevin Mc'cloud showing how they used to split logs the wild west way, with gunpowder.

Thanks Phil.  Think that was in episode 1 which is repeated on Tuesday.  I know it can be done.  There's loads of examples on Youtube.  It's just a question of getting hold of the powder or shells.

Little clip of the deed being done.

http://splodetv.com/video/black-powder-log-splitting


Here is another "Long" thread on the same subject  :)

Also lots of hints and tips on all aspects of working with wood. See drop down menus.  8-)




http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Splitting_big_logs.html

I'd seen the first video clip but the second link was interesting.  Looks like I'm not the only "mad" person in the world.  Now there's a surprise.   :o  I think that Pyrodex would be a better bet than black powder but I still haven't found a source.