Gas seal

Hi tungsten matrix will crush flat easier than lead . Hevi shot is very hard and won’t crush with pliers. Yes express makes hevi shot Gamebore (Kent cartridges) made tungsten matrix . I’ve had no problem with any of the (hard ) type of shot . I have used them in plastic and cardboard wads with no problems . I have used number five hevi shot, in 20 and 28gauge , not used them in 12 gauge,l found them very good. 32grams of five shot should be a good cartridge. The cartridges with 32 grams of one or three shot had to few pellets the pattern failed before the energy of the pellets.

Hi yes farms in the area grow rape and it been grown in the area for many years. I know it’s different in other areas of the country with pigeon numbers. My shooting is very urban and most of the pigeons are urban. It looks to me that on shooting estates when the game season ends the pigeons season starts with roost and rape crop shooting. For years the shooting estates near Liverpool shot roosting pigeons and moved them on to other farms in February. About five years ago no pigeons to be seen in any of the woods. I’m sure there are still no pigeons in the area, some members from St. Helens or Liverpool may know. If pigeons can’t get into roost they will move away to find a roost. I have also heard, and seen, shooters set up with loads of gear at first light fire a few shots and that’s it for the day. I’ve been shooting most mornings for two weeks at first light. Over rape fields. The pigeons always land in small wood or rows of trees in the field. I don’t use decoys I just go were they are coming in. I use a 410 a bit quieter . I get some good shooting. Iv seen it before when the large flocks don’t turn up in the area and when more flocks turn up. This year l have seen more pinks flying than flocks of migrating pigeons. At the moment nothing is where it should be. I hope you find your pigeons.

The BASC or the country didn’t decide to have national pigeon shooting days it was the shooting times . I had no fallout or had to justify my pigeon shooting to anyone .I had nothing to do with the national shooting days. I thought it gave dates in February for shooting pigeons. To me and my friends it looked like an advertisement for pigeon shooting when the game season ended. It was over twenty years ago but I don’t remember BASC being involved with it.

Hi yes your right it’s not new , but I see a lot more pigeons eating ivy berries. when I was a kid I was told ivy is for birds and bad bellies. The question often asked is where have they come from. I was out this morning and I saw pigeons going to ivy again and other pigeons coming in to the rape fields. I saw about sixty drop down together into ivy covered trees and none came over to the rape field. It was a bit foggy this morning maybe that’s why they came together, I couldn’t see if any other pigeons went to the ivy further away. I don’t know why you’re not seeing many pigeons maybe they are spread out over the area or feeding in woods. Pigeons don’t get avian flu but no one is feeding them to birds of prey, they say pigeons can carry the virus. The pigeons are feeding on rape now they should start in other parts of the country. I heard another shooter this morning . They must be on other rape fields.

Hi pigeon controller l also see a lot of pigeons eating ivy berries. . I saw pigeons leaving a local (urban) roost last week some of them flew about five hundred yards to feed on ivy alongside the road. Some sat on the roof of houses and flying across the road to the trees to feed. Ivy berries are the best food for birds in the winter. I have been shooting pigeons over rape for a few weeks, local pigeons, and other pigeons are feeding on ivy berries in the trees along the road next to the field . I see more pigeons feeding on ivy each year and others fly past them and feed on rape . When pigeons feed on the ivy l leave them to get on with it. I think it’s five or more years before the ivy produce berries ,maybe they have all matured at the same time and some of the dumber pigeons have accidentally found the berries. There are more urban pigeons about and for about five years they are flying and feeding in large flocks in the summer time . I’ve only seen two large flocks of (migrating) pigeons landing on the rape fields and they went on the same day. The pigeons l have shot are in very good condition, for the time of the year.

Hi hafod the last time I bought csb0 power was in 2005 from clay and game 28.50 per kg. One kg of hevi shot cost £28.00. Maxam ssb150 is a similar power to csb0

Hi hafod l still use csb0 powder. I enclose photos of the burning rates for you. I have loaded .410 with csb0 with lead and steel pellets . I have loading data for csb0 for lead steel ITM and heavy shot if you need any data. I found it very good with ITM I still load for 28gauge and 20gauge with ITM. I have loaded for 28gauge to 8gauge with ITM and csb0 over the years . I’m down to my last tub now from about 2005 .

Hi Old farrier I was giving a few reasons I thought would affect your cartridges. Yes l know that they are commercial.410 cartridges ,the crimp the wad and strength of the case is what I would look at in any gauge of shotgun cartridges . It looks like the case isn’t strong enough to take the load . Using a rto could be to get the amount of shot in the cartridges. It looks like it’s the three inch cartridges that have the problem with the cases. The cartridges cases in the photo look like Cheddite.

A cartridge loaded with the same components a rto will give the lower pressure eight point crimp more pressure six point crimp higher again. A bulging crimp ie using larger size pellets will be the highest pressure. The cartridges Old farrier fired will be Cheddite cases in 10gauge they are not as strong as the US cases. It could be the rto getting to hot when the cartridges were made, the felt wads could be a bit small, I’ve seen this with 10gauge felt and sp10 wads when opened the power had passed the seal some in the wad (cavity) some had power in the shot. If the empty case is bulging were the wad would have been the gas has passed the seal. I’ve loaded steel pellets in.410 and some cases had melted ends but none split or damaged the cases. I would open one cutting below the crimp and above the wad . Check the crimp, see if the wad is a tight fit look at the condition of the case.

Hi yes it looks like it’s built up with soldier. I had an old hammer gun like that a friend re soldered it for me. It looks scratched compared to the front one.

Rape is a risky crop to grow Fields can be lost to flee beetles in late summer or to pigeons when it starts to grow after the winter and a lot of farmers may stop growing it. I’ve seen pigeons in winter on rape others on ivy berries and on the salt marsh on small brown seeds. The pigeons on rape can be moved on but they don’t follow the pigeons on the ivy or the salt marsh. This time of the year there can be hundreds of pigeons in a small tree line of oaks and not one to be seen. We have lots of pigeons flying from towns and cities in the summer I think these are the ones on the ivy and the salt marsh in winter.I don’t think it’s the cold that attracts pigeon to rape its just food. I’ve seen pigeons sitting in trees for days in freezing weather the other pigeons still feed on ivy and on the salt marsh . I have shot pigeons on rape fields on still winter days with an air rifle the days you wouldn’t go out for them. With pigeons it’s where have they gone or where have all these pigeons come from. It’s the same every year. I wouldn’t want to try and count them all.

The downside of warmer weather is the flee beetle it will be around longer. Yes gas guns on fields will move the pigeons around. The place I put gas guns is where they sit all day . Under the trees or on the growing cereal fields where they sit on wet windy days. This will move them away as a flock. The more they are chased around the field more they want to eat the harder to move on. Some years we have walked them up shooting at them sometimes on the field and they keep in front of us and then flew over us back to the field. When they are that hungry it’s eat or don’t survive the long winter nights. I’ve seen new flocks drop on a field and they are half starved and they have no fear of any thing . I see pigeons each year eating ivy berries and pigeons flying over them to feed on rape I don’t know why rape is the last thing they eat.

Hi flocks of pigeons in woods or sitting in oak trees, as farmers say we’re they belong, in the North west. Pigeons have been in flocks in summer for a few years. No pigeons on rape unless eating acorns. Each year l noticed more pigeons eating ivy berries l think they are local pigeons because there are still flocks of pigeons feeding on rape. More flocks of stock doves and jackdaws about.the shooting now is crows or rabbits on sown fields. The inflatable scary man was a good deterrent there was one keeping pinks off a field on the solway when it lifted the geese we would shoot them as they lifted and flew around or when they returned.

Birds will survive with lead shot in them. I’ve shot birds and rabbits with shotgun and air gun pellets in them. People survive with bullets in them. The question is what happens to birds when they eat lead pellets. I don’t know if Mr Crudginton is a shooter or a journalist but what he said about less humane and possibly cruel non lead ammunition will upset or amuse a lot of wildflowers. He should take a brace of lead shot pheasants to any falconer and offer them for his birds to eat and see what scientific answers he gets. If there is a ban on lead shot the government or anyone else can’t force people to use non lead shot It’s use it or stop shooting. If he thinks it’s cruel he should stop shooting and let the people who know how to use it get on with it. A lot of people in this and other countries have been using steel cartridges for a long time. Thanks for showing the article .

Hi 8shot . There could be more birds of prey killed on roads . If the people mentioned that to the court they may have got away with killing birds of prey. It’s pheasants that die on roads in large numbers.. Maybe the game shoots could take motorists to court for killing pheasants or killing them out of season.

Commercial shooting the bedrock of shooting, sounds like an advertisement. The only people who can stop the shoots that killed birds of prey are the shooters by not shooting over them. How many people were involved in the killing or could have stopped the birds of prey killed. It doesn’t look good when shooters aren’t catching them. Wild Justice don’t have money but if they want to prosecute them they will ask for donations from the public and get it. If we don’t police ourselves it looks like Wild Justice will police us, the way forward could be let them get on with catching these people and when they prosecute them give them a donation and that should include the BASC. It’s no good blaming old timers and it’s not about protecting birds it’s the cost of the birds. There is more against shooting today than there has ever been the BASC and other organisations have a lot to do if there members agree or disagree with anything they should communicate with them.

Hi I fired the bsa non lead and hades pellets in a bsa ultra and they weren’t accurate. The same pellets in a gamo gx40 are very accurate. I am using lead and non lead pellets. I wanted to try the non lead pellets. I haven’t tried them on a windy day maybe because they are a bit faster they could be better in the wind or not.

Shooters judge lead the same as they judge range, different. I learned about lead when ferreting ,shooting bolting rabbits running across newly drilled fields. I soon learned to get in front of them instead of dusting the ground behind them. When shooting low flying teal on high tide I shot the river behind them at first and then the teal. I don’t think we owned a camera then and never heard of a mobile phone. I was taught to keep a rifle still and a shotgun moving. With shooting moving targets it’s knowing when to shoot and reading your target. Firing at a stationary target 40 yards away will tell how long it takes for the pellets to hit the target .

I use.177 12 ft lb with bsa non lead and don’t see any need to change to .22 or.25 air guns. The pellets weigh 6.6 grain they may be to fast in a higher power .177 air gun and not as accurate , I don’t use high power air guns. The distance I shoot is up to 35 yards and the pellets are accurate and powerful enough . I shoot at the same distance with lead pellets. None of my friends have tried non lead in 22 or 25

Hi it was the mk5 I wanted. I have the 20gauge parts for the mk5 I wanted to convert it to 20gauge . Thanks

Hi can I ask if the machine is the mk 5 model thanks

Mythbusters have done a lot of testing with firearms. Firing a bullet into the air, the 90- degree barrel and a very interesting one bullet fired vs bullet dropped. I’ve seen a lot of the programs it was a very good show. A lot of testing they have done with firearms is on u tube .

Different countries have different attitude to shooting/ hunting. Commercial shooting in this country is pay and shoot, you can take anyone with you by law ,they don’t have to have a license for a gun or a license to kill game , just dress up and pay up. We don’t have a fish and game department to police us or license us. When the general licence (law) changed many commented who will police it. When a lead shot ban is mentioned how many said they will stock up with lead. Yes it would be better to have rules and regulations similar to other countries but as said we seem to have a upper class and lower class shooting /hunting country. N Z shooters are licensed we have a general licence and a hunters license . NZ are killing all non native species in the country, could we do that. I’ve no interest in super markets selling or not selling meat containing lead it’s their business and their suppliers. We can still use lead we can also use non lead it’s our choice. Maybe we will be better with a fish and game department all with a license and more say in decision making. The two men shooting crows with steel for the first time who started the topic l think will have a few more shooters giving it a try. The Birmingham proof house is the place to enquire about steel proofing, it is their to protect gun users. How would commercial shoots be licensed, shooters licensed or a commercial licence for the shoot probably both. If we have a fish and game department maybe a gun license will be a right and not a privilege.

Each gauge of shotgun has a different speed and pellet size for steel . Lead and steel cartridges are different the same as heavy metal type of cartridges. I’ve loaded 12 and 10gauge fast steel cartridges and they are a better cartridge. I have loaded steel 6 and 7 in 410 and 28gauge. The USA have commercial steel and tss type cartridges in 410. There are other types of non lead shot, non toxic means lead must be toxic, but more expensive. The USA are going back to the original hevi shot l think they use it for pheasants . A lot of the plastic wads are from Italy, I don’t know of any bio wads being made by them. I have used bio wads for 10 12 and 28 but the 410 is to small a cartridge I didn’t try it. We also have 9mm and 24gauge out there and muzzle loaders and black powder guns. Looks like change for all of us, no more cheep lead cartridges or components to reload . The cartridge manufacturers will need different powders to load steel and a lot of steel pellets.

Maybe a delay with the.410 .suitable cartridges would be expensive or back to shorter range like the old four ten or four long cartridges .We also have a few 9mm guns about. It’s about lead in the environment and food. The government statement I read started ,lead is a non essential toxic element , or show me why your toxic ammunition is essential. Shooting or hunting is different in other countries . The traditional hunting of wildfowl stopped using lead shot and they have always used a lot less cartridges. Game shooting fire the most cartridges.The way l see it is if you collect all of the lead that comes out of your barrel that is ok ,if we give you a license, but don’t eat anything that you shoot with lead.