Everyone loves Shrove Tuesday – a day where it’s imperative to eat as many
pancakes as you possibly can -totally guilt free. While searching online for
tasty pancake fillings we found this interesting video on cooking pancakes with
your dutch oven!
Pancakes in a Dutch oven? Yes, you read that right… almost. You don’t make
them in the Dutch Oven, you make them on the lid. In addition to seasoning your
oven with oil, you should be seasoning the underside of the lid. Flip the lid
over, rest it on a bed of charcoal with some pieces of wood at the side to
stabilize it, and voilà, you have a griddle for making pancakes, French toast,
scrambled eggs, etc.
We’ve been busy over the weekend and created our very own YouTube channel which will now enable us to create some interesting videos on some of our gear & item demonstration on how they work. Please take a moment to visit the channel and let us know your thoughts on what kit you’d like us to review.
These Bergen’s have been designed and tested in conjunction with the British soldiers that use them & are drop tested fully loaded onto concrete from ten meters. One big positive for this Bergen is the comfort factor while carrying heavy 120ltr loads. The shoulder straps are a bit wider and more padded than a number of rucksacks I’ve seen and it’s easily adjustable to get a good fit. Each Bergen comes complete with a separate yoke enabling you to convert the bergan’s side pouches into a 10 or 20 litre daysack, all this for just £69.99!
Anyone needing a warm, comfortable and totally waterproof wellington boot need look no further than these very resonably priced Jack Pyke ones at just £39.99. These Jack Pyke Wellies are neoprene lined, cushioned sole boots are light on the feet, extremely flexible and the adjustable gusset at the top allows even the sturdier-legged amoung us to walk in total comfort without having our boots flapping noisily and disturbing the blessed tranquillity of a morning moochabout.
These Jack Pyke Wellies are available on our web site here for £39.99.
Last night I tuned into the second episode of Jamie’s American Roadtrip, In which Jamie steps into the Wild West states of Wyoming and Montana to find out what life as a cowboy is really like. What thrilled me was that throughout the program he cooked in Dutch Ovens or (Cowboy Ovens) as they’re sometimes referred to. He cooks for proper cowboys, the proper cowboy way, over an open fire using dutch ovens. Jamie said “when they had good ingredients the actual styles of cooking they used – like slow cooking in dutch ovens over open fire or spit roasting – would have given the food they did cook amazing flavours and textures.” Jamie spent his time at a rodeo in Cody, before heading upstate into the mountains to try and cut it on a working cattle ranch. He then rides out into the wilderness and even sleeps rough under the stars!
If you missed the episode you can watch it again online on the CH4 website Here
We take customer service very seriously & try very hard to deliver a great service every time for anyone who visits our shop in Berkhamsted Herts or via our website. On the rare occasion that we get it wrong (hey we’re all human & mistakes happen) we will always try our hardest to put things right & make sure you leave happy. It’s always nice when customers get back in touch with us after a purchase especially when they do so to thank us for a pleasant service. Which is why I thought I’d share our latest email, sent by Keith after he visited our shop & purchased an air rifle.
From: Keith Subject: Credit Where Credits Due
I just wanted to say how pleased I was with the service I have received on my first visit to your Berkhamstead store. I went there to buy a new air rifle, and had in mind the SMK XS19, but the assistant also pointed out the Hatsan S60. I was given plenty of time to try out both rifles, and in the end bought the hatsan. The Hatsan seems to be an excellent full power rifle. The staff there are extremely helpful and don’t try to just sell you stuff. I returned the next day after deciding to buy a better scope. Again great service. I was given plenty of time to look at scopes and make a good decision. You are doing a great job.
Brattonsound are so confident of the quality of these Sentinel gun cabinets that they now offer customers in the UK a three year on-site gun cabinet warranty, which means in the highly unlikely event of a manufacturing fault, a locksmith will be sent out free of charge to fix your gun cabinet. No other gun safe company offers such a warranty. In addition to this gun cabinet warranty, Brattonsound also gives free Napier VP90 Corrosion Inhibitor and shooting magazine with every Gun Safe. Many of us think that we can store our guns in our wardrobe because it works as good as gun cabinets. Not many of us know that the law demands that we store our guns in a safe place. Therefore, storing them in our wardrobes is irresponsible. Whenever you buy a gun, always look for suitable s gun safe or gun cabines so that your guns are not lying around for everyone’s easy access.
Pellet spillages from tins have long been the bane of airgunners lives, particularly for those who use pellets packed in slip-lid tins. These new Snap Close pellet tins have a “claw” design which holds the lid firmly onto the base until released by pressing in the centre of the lid. The base has been cleverly designed so the tins can be stacked without “popping” open. It also does away with the necessity to have a tape seal.
This years CLA Game Fair is being held at Belvoir Castle on July 24th, 25th and 26th, there is something for everyone at the show. As we as top shooting events there will be angling exhibitions, gun dog championships and equestrian displays. One of our favourites that was introduced into the show last year is the Gunmakers Pub, which will be located in the heart of the area and is the perfect meeting point! There will also be many have-a-go events, competions, chances to see the latest gear and the opportunity to catch up with friends and like minded people.
What with the British climate being so changable, it’s sometimes difficult to know what to wear, especially when you are going to be in the field for a whole day. However, help is at hand in the form of the Jack Pyke Armour Top . Made from ’smartweave’ high wicking material, this top keeps you cool when it’s hot and hot when it’s cool, the Armour op can also be worn as an under or over layer. Comes in the Jack Pyke’s very own English Oak Camo.
The Jaguar Crossbow is the newest addition to our crossbow range & we think its excellent value for money. The trigger pull is excellent, the accuracy was so good that as we adjusted the 3 dot sight firing bolt after bolt, we watched the bolt holes march right into the bulls eye. In the kit you also get 4 bolts, a sling & a removable bolt quiver proving this kit really is fantastic value for money. Take a look at the video clip below of it in action.
We had a fantastic time last weekend with a group of 16, at our woodland Bushcraft site at Berkhamsted. From Friday afternoon until Sunday lunchtime we guided the group through all the main subjects of Bushcraft and Survival being Shelter, Fire, Water and Food.
It has to be said that the group built some of the best natural shelters I have seen and made easy work of breasting pigeons, filleting trout and skinning rabbits all of which were cooked in Dutch ovens to make a very nice lunch and dinner. I also did my first Dutch oven apple and rhubarb crumble with custard which I have to say was a triumph.
The wood at this time of year produced some great foraging and was a fantastic place to be for the weekend. We finished the weekend off with a woodland sweat lodge which was a memorable experience and one which we will repeat.
If you fancy joining us on a Bushcraft Course please take a look on my web site for full details.
Some Feedback on the course.
“Hi David and Mambo. Just wanted to say thank you for a great weekend I had a really good time and thank you for all the advice you’ve been giving me.”
“THANK YOU, it was brilliant, can’t believe how much we did”
Here’s a way to get the best from your catch! Get a Fish Smoker – put in some fish, leave it to smoke with the wood kindling for a wee wile and hey presto – dinner! It’s perfect for picnics, at home, riverbank and also for other food like smoked cheese and meats. Light the two meths burners, sprinkle some sawdust on the base of the smoker, add your food and put the lid on. That’s it. There’s room for two 3-lb trout, which would take about 15 minutes to cook through. Steak and other meats taste great cooked this way too. This model is stainless steel, so resists corrosion much better than cheaper imitations. For transport, all the components stow inside the main compartment.
Really simple to use, works great with trout and easy to clean.
Buy your Fish Smoker from our Ronnie Sunshines web site Below: Fish Smoker For £29.99
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Head over to our shop and you’ll see these long-awaited words: BACK IN STOCK next to our complete range of cast iron cookware.
That’s right Dutch Ovens are back in stock. If the last batch is anything to go by then they won’t around for long. So whether you’re after a Dutch Oven, a tripod to hang it from, Griddle,LidLifter, Skillet you find it all in our shop. Oh and we’ve also listed a Cowboy style dinner bell gong so you call everyone in when grubs up!
This is the very latest upgrade for the very much loved and our best selling SMK XS78 Co2 Air Rifle. Its a multi shot adaptor magazine which turns the single shot XS78 into a 6 multi shot, it’s manual index action is really silky smooth and makes a very satisfying metallic ’shnick’ when cycled. Why not visit our site for more info on the XS78 Multi Shot Magazine.
We had everything crossed for good weather & thankfully the rain stayed off for our open day.Thank you to all our customers who took the time to come over on Saturday, I would also like to thank Clare & Louise who helped out at short notice to man the Toy Crossbowstand & giving anyone who hit bullseye a free lolly. We had a fantastic day with over 250 people visiting.
Tim from Ozpig drew a large crowd and Mrs Sunshines rabbit stew got a lot of compliments. Both Fx Airguns & Gerber Knives reported a great day all round. And Lets not forget the great job Eastwoods Butchers did with the free BBQ there shop made Waldoff sausages were fantastic and there own burgers were a favorite in total they served over 300 burgers and sausages.
Customers were spoilt with a total of 12 free demonstrations taken from our Bushcraft Course and demonstrated by Chief Instructor Jason Ingamells & Huw Woodman of The Bushcraft Magazine all of which went down a storm.
Thank you once again to everyone that came & keep an eye on this blog where we will announce any future open days.
Here are just a couple of emails we received from customers from the day.
“Had a brilliant day yesterday! Met some interesting people picked up some new tips, Oh and spent too much. Many thanks for putting it all together, My wife also enjoyed herself” – Paul Lambourn
“Myself and Ron would like to thank you all for a great day out at the “Shop”, the content was just right and very well displayed, the outside events were well organized and well done, we will both be coming down to see you as and when we can. Again thanks for a great day.” - Pete Wilyeo & Ron Mackenzie.
Winners Of The Free Prize Draw Competition
1st- Stuart Moss – Watford Won a One Day Bushcraft Course
2nd – Paul Stainer – Hemel Hempstead Won a fantastic Geber Knife
3rd- Thomas Latcham- Harrow Won a Genuine Military Swiss Watch
4th – Jeremy Cook – Potters Bar Won 2 Limited edition Country Prints
Just a quick update with the time table for the Bushcraft demonstrations we are holding for our open day this Saturday March 7th at our Berkhamsted shop (address below). Doors open at 10am please see earlier blog post for more details.
Bushcraft Demos
• 10.30 – Water purification methods
• 11:00 – How to make a Hobo stove
• 11:30 – Bird preparation
• 12:00 – Spring forage
• 12:30 – Rabbit preparation
• 13:00 – Hide tanning
• 13:30 – Fire Tools use and technique
• 14:00 – Home Food Smoking
• 14:30 – Knife & axe types & usage
• 15:00 – Tree wood types and their qualities
• 15:30 – Rabbit preparation
• 14:00 – How to make home made Jerky
Richard Ambrose, eBay UK’s head of trust and safety, has announced that eBay UK is to ban the sale of knives altogether. The announcement was made on the BBC Watchdog programme.
“we have decided that the best way to protect our members and achieve the safety guarantees they have come to expect from us is to remove and ban all knives, with the exception of cutlery knives, from our UK and Ireland sites”.
Ray Mears has been celebrated in his bringing of awareness about Bushcraft, the great British outdoors and his respect for nature. One of his most important tools, in fact THE most important tool, is a good bushcraft knife. These Bushcraft Knives are of a high standard and are sold to people that are responsible and respectful of the tool they are handling.UK. I simply find it hard to put into words how utterly pathetic I find the team that thought this up and then thought it would be good to action. We have been selling Bushcraft Knives like the Frosts Knife for years on Ebay & it’s a good percentage of our ebay sales. Not included in the ban thankfully are the Bahco Saw, Folding Saw but not axes such as the Gransfors Axe.
Ebay, with this action, are declaring that these responsible and mature individuals (who by the way have a much higher disposable income than the average idiot wanting a switch blade knife) are no better than criminals with their desire to get a blade.
Banning knives is the worst decision I have ever seen on Ebay & thankfully Ronnie Sunshines will not be taking any such knee jerk reactions & we will continue to sell them through our web site.
Posted by ronniesunshines 
Pellet spillages from tins have long been the bane of airgunners lives, particularly for those who use pellets packed in slip-lid tins. These new Snap Close pellet tins have a “claw” design which holds the lid firmly onto the base until released by pressing in the centre of the lid. The base has been cleverly designed so the tins can be stacked without “popping” open. It also does away with the necessity to have a tape seal.
We had a fantastic time last weekend with a group of 16, at our woodland Bushcraft site at Berkhamsted. From Friday afternoon until Sunday lunchtime we guided the group through all the main subjects of Bushcraft and Survival being Shelter, Fire, Water and Food.
I also did my first 
We had everything crossed for good weather & thankfully the rain stayed off for our open day.
Customers were spoilt with a total of 12 free demonstrations taken from our Bushcraft Course and demonstrated by Chief Instructor Jason Ingamells & Huw Woodman of The Bushcraft Magazine all of which went down a storm. 
