jonnie bravo

Lure fishing or bait? And what type of venue? A cheap carp rod with 15lb line would be a good start for bait, I'd start with a rod between 6'-9' for lure, the longer side would be better for bigger waters.

Hmmm. I've heard a lot of bad things about bloodshot. Particularly about the man behind them. Greyman you seem very pushy about the bloodshot catties. Hazel forks from my experience are weak in the joint, I wouldn't recommend them. Ash is fantastic on the other hand. I've had no problem with birch ply. By nature the laminations are strong.

If you are on facebook, Nick Hegarty is good.

Have you tried Vass. On a side note I was in john Norris of Penrith a few weeks back they wanted 350 for a pair of wellies.

Vass make the most solid wellies I've come accross. I've had mine for 10 years and they get some abuse but they are pretty much as good as new, all you need is a foam insole and a wool insole and you will want to live in them.

15-20m I'd estimate. About the width of the local river ha. Lighter lines, fully loaded spools and softer rods will help but they were never really designed for casting to the horizon. A small spoon might be a better option?

Wet and dry will get the worst off. I like leaving a bit of 'patina' on my carbon steel blades though, so I give em a few swipes with 1000 wet n dry then a sharpen and strop.

3 or 4 small plain mepps is enough. A small scoop net, light rod and reel, license membership book and wellies is all I take.

Big male grayling. Especially when you hook them in fast water. To be fair I've had some great battles with canal carp

Hmmm. Some choices there Rez. I love my 99 to bits. My PS was lovely, but I prefer the 99. I've put about £30 into tuning it. If you would like to borrow it, to give you another angle on the 99 as you have tried an sfs one, let me know. My second choice would be the Walther, but I have a limited experience with the LGV, but it was just insanely smooth and it was an untouched factory job.

Walther... LGV...

Glad to hear it Tom, sometimes it's all they need, I think you would have more problems than less fitting a sleeve- otherwise I'd have thought that SFS would have fitted one. What seal are you going for?

Sounds like you would be best searching for a thin steel sleeve, but they might be expensive. You would probably need to buy one designed for a hw then cut it down. I was lucky, the standard 99 has a lot of room so I've been able to use a relatively thick and cheap ptfe sleeve, which fits perfectly and with a little sanding of the cocking shoe it's been spot on.

I'm not 100% on this, but I'm sure I read that they fit a different spring that fits the piston perfectly, so I reckon there won't be a sleeve. I think a lot of folk think that every sfs gun doesn't need to be touched, but every springer needs a clean and relube once in a while, I bet Tony Wall would tell you that. Get it open lad. Hell, I'll come and give you a hand with it if you need.

Tom. I've had this from a new standard 99. What happened was the spring was loose in the piston plus the shoe was a little big. So I fitted a piston sleeve to stop the spring contorting and used fine grade (1200) wet and dry to gently remove just enough from the shoe to stop it rubbing on the sleeve. I had the same issue with an older .177 99 too. Same fix. I'd have a go yourself your clearly capable.