Milo

That's a corker. Something about buying side by sides is addictive once you start. Not dissimilar to pigeon shooting.

Sport of the Gods. Looking forward to a few afternoons over Christmas.

Good to see plenty of members using side by sides.

Experimentation, discussion and a bit of kit banter are part of the fun for many of us. If I was a professional pigeon shooter I would probably use an auto and something like 32 grams of 6 shot. But I'm not, so I prefer using side by sides and light loads. In the past 40 years I've tried plenty of options from trap guns with 36 gram loads to 21 grams in 28 bores and missed plenty of birds with all of them! Looking back over days in the hide or flighting, ballistics have not been particularly significant to numbers in the bag and had no bearing at all on the memorability.

28gm Comp X kill pigeons perfectly well out to about as far as I can hit them. And I can shoot them all day long through my side by sides.

These videos are very bad for the shooting fraternity. Pattern 40gm 3s (or any load the posers use) at 80 yards and then tell me you'd be confident of hitting a pheasant's vitals even if you could put the centre of the pattern on the bird every time. And this doesn't even allow for a 3 dimensional shot string.

Just for the other side of the coin, I'll give a shout out for JC. Yes, not the cheapest but a better range than any gun shop, five minutes to order and one day delivery work for me. I don't buy anywhere else and they have never let me down.

I bought a few thousand Express 29 grm 6.5 Supreme Grouse for pigeons (red cartridges easier to find than black) and they were fine. Can't say I noticed a difference to any other mild recoil game cartridge.

Anyone who falls for the fantasy marketing is rip off fodder. New types coming into shooting without a support network of fathers, grandfathers, uncles and older brothers to provide points of reference are easy to con.

Bought a slab of 12 bore Express 30g 6 paper and they were fine. Have had a few left overs kicking about for a couple of years with no swelling.

Pill of choice for the side by sides is still RC Professional Game 30g 6shot for pigeons and everything else. No scientific justification; they just seem to work.

Anyone compared these to Chris Green's "Traitor" version of the same theme?

I use various patterns depending on the situation but often deploy 48 Silos at a time. Easy to transport and provide good movement even in a very slight breeze. No hesitation to recommend them.

Depending on the extent of cracking you may be able to have it pinned and glued.

Explains why I can't shoot straight.

OK. Thanks.

This may be a silly question, but I wonder if you have to re-varnish the crimped area after reloading?

Certainly with you on that point. After 40 years of shooting I enjoy a day on the pigeons more than anything else. A major influence on clean "dead in the air" kills seems to be a dense pattern delivering multiple hits. I only use fibre, so for pure decoying Just Cartridges CSP Comp clay load of 6.5 28gr works very well out to around 40 yards. For general stuff I use RC SIPE or NSI SIPE 32gr 6 shot. For my favourite activity of flighting a few over the deep North Yorkshire valleys I use 35gr or 36gr English 5 shot by Gamebore or Express, both of which throw great patterns out of my tight choke Miroku guns. Cartridge cost is not a consideration.

Thanks, Wymberley, I'll report back.

Thanks, Dodeer. In case members might find it useful, I will try to get a delivery of 32g GreenShoots and report back on a comparison with RC SIPE fibre 32g which, for me, are the cartridge to beat. I prefer the shooting characteristics of normal plastic wads but won't use them. If George from Proper is reading I would very much like his opinion on these wads. As previous members have said, it would seem like the way to go. Thanks, Milo.

Thanks, Fronty. Very helpful. Couple of questions - I also use a 28 bore from time to time. I can't see any reference on their website to a degradable wad version in 28 bore. Can you tell me what load you are using? Do you have an email or phone number for Purbeck as I would like to put in an order. Thanks, Milo.

The third-party test that I found online was positive.

Thanks, guys. My understanding is that these water soluble versions do degrade properly and quickly, unlike the photo-degradable wads. would like to test them as it seems the sensible way ahead.

Hi All, I would be grateful for the experiences of any members who have used cartridges from Purbeck Shooting Supplies, or elsewhere, loaded with the water soluble Green Shoot "plastic" wads. Have done a search on this topic and found nothing. Thanks, Milo.

Negligent discharge. Never amusing at the time. One of my Lance-Sergeants shot himself in the foot at Lydd and Hythe in 1986 about 30 minutes before Maradona did his hand of God trick. I was waiting for the ambulance in the control room when the goal went in! Ah, the good old days.