kev1986 Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 just trying to find out what carts people are using as going through a bad patch and am not hitting as many so am now looking to change carts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 just trying to find out what carts people are using as going through a bad patch and am not hitting as many so am now looking to change carts As I no longer shoot so much I can afford Lyalvale Express Supreme Game 28grs of No. 6.5 as I just happen to think the pigeon is worthy of the best you can afford. For decoying, I think that load takes some beating no matter which brand so they may be worth a punt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev1986 Posted March 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 i bought a case of 28g 6.5 last year and found to be shooting really well but did get the odd one i looked as if i had clipped so stepped up to 30g no5 and cant hit a barn door all i can think of is they are a lot slower so lead time etc is all wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 i bought a case of 28g 6.5 last year and found to be shooting really well but did get the odd one i looked as if i had clipped so stepped up to 30g no5 and cant hit a barn door all i can think of is they are a lot slower so lead time etc is all wrong You thought you might have clipped the odd one! Oh, how I wish I could say that after 50+ years! If 2 for 3 end up in the bag on average, that's shooting by anybody's standard. Remember, if you're shooting beyond 35/40 yards, 45 max., you're not decoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev1986 Posted March 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 that was my thinking so i went for a bigger load but it seem sto be slower so i am thinking of maybe 30g no 6 but somethign about 1450fps were as the 30g no5 are only 1035fps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueflame Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Guess we all go through spells when our shooting is off or we knock out a few feathers and the pigeons carry on jinking like crazy! Confidence in your gun/choke/cartidge is a great asset. It is worth taking the trouble to pattern your gun at 30/40yds and see the spread width/pattern density. There is a lot of information & data available on pattern% and shot sizes for game/pigeon shooting. In a nutshell, the pigeon is a small bird but looks a lot bigger with his fesathers on if that makes sense! You need a good quality pattern to consistently hit a vital organ/smash wing bones & kill cleanly. The late Archie Coates, the most famous of all pigeon shooters used standard Ely Grand Prix no 7 shot cartidges.Will Garfit a noted pigeon expert uses Gamebore Clear pigeon 30gram no 6 shot. A good cartidge with 7, 6.5 or no6 shot will give you very good penetration and pattern density out to 40 yards with modest choke (say quarter & half) Pigeon decoying is a game of averages, 80% birds will be shot at 20-35 yds. If you use an open bored gun & cartidges as above you will have the best compromise.If you use no 5 shot the pattern will fail and get to open. Hope that helps. Good Luck & Straight Powder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 i bought a case of 28g 6.5 last year and found to be shooting really well but did get the odd one i looked as if i had clipped so stepped up to 30g no5 and cant hit a barn door all i can think of is they are a lot slower so lead time etc is all wrong You might find that you have more holes in your pattern with 5s unless you use a tighter choke to compensate. Heavier shot in larger loads might start off slower but will maintain its momentum far better than smaller stuff that starts off fast and you'd have to be better than we are to notice the difference anyway. You just need to have a go at a pattern plate to confirm that you are getting reasonably tight patterns then maybe a round or two at clays to get your confidence back. We all have bad days where we can't hit a barn door and that's what makes the good ones special. I am currently using homeloads of 32grams of 6 or 7 @ 1200fps for general pigeon shooting with a quarter choke and if I do my bit I am getting cracking kills out to forty yards. I don't shoot any further I have a case of Winchester Western 32g/5s which is English size 4 but I will have to put a tighter choke in to make best use of them I reckon. Think the smaller shot sizes are better for pigeon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highseas Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 i mostly use starlight 32g 5s or hull ulramax 42g 4s i dont seem to have many clipped birds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker3 Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 i use eley realtree 32gm 6.5 and rate them very highly as do a lot of my friends now i shoot every thing with them and never had any complaints £36.for200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 (edited) its a never ending thread this keeps popping up in one form or another.. mostly use 30g 6 RIO 30g 6 clear pigeon express pigeon specials 30g 6 Edited March 7, 2011 by yickdaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 I always use no6 shot and prefer 32g but will get 30g if I am desperate and no other choice. Rio's are reasonably priced and one I try to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utectok Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Interesting every one talks about shot speed personally I tend to go with what digweed says "he can't notice the diffrence between a cart that goes at 1200fps and one that does 1500fps" good enough for me. If I start missing I know it's me not the carts 99% of the time.I worked it out a cart travelling 1200fps (if it didn't slow down ) would take 0.1 secs to reach a 40yrd target and a 1500fps load (if it didn't slow down) would take 0.8 sec. You'd had to be a better shot than me to notice that! Plus the faster cart slows quicker once out of the barrel so the actual diffrence is probably less!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtelfo Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Express supreme game 30g 6s use them for everything partridge high phesants in Devon decoying roosting! All sorts! I was shooting 50-60 yard phesants with them on the last day of the season! Only down side I have found is out of one box of 25 I had 13 missfires! But obviously express said that was my gun not their carts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 dont shoot pigeons now, but used rio 30-32 #6 but i prefer the #5. dont forget, these cartridges are only designed to shoot 30yards and get good patterns, any further then bigger shotsize and bigger payload. shotguns do have limitations. variations of speed, will change pattern and cartridge usage. i wouldnt expect anyone to use gamebore blackgold 34g#4 for their decoyed work. i wouldnt expect anyone to use 24g #7 for pass shooting pigeons on flightline. pigeon cartridges are made to be cheap and effective at 30-35yards, any more performance just costs more money. ps, the #6 is good, but it isnt the be ultimate bird pellet, its good a decoyed birds. pushing it further than that is a mistake imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtelfo Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Well I know people that use 28g 6s through a 20 bore and nock 50-60 yard phessies and pigeons down! If you have the confidence and know your desired setup well then you can push way past 30-35 yards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MK38 Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 just trying to find out what carts people are using as going through a bad patch and am not hitting as many so am now looking to change carts If your going through a bad patch, you'd be better off going to a clay ground and getting a few lessons. I would doubt very much that your cartridge is at fault.... forget about 50yd + birds, just get them in the right range and any 5/6/7 # 28-32 g cartridge will kill them if you put the shot in the right place. If that isn't what you want to hear... then fine, go get the biggest load and the biggest shot you can... pay a fortune for it... get a sore shoulder and then come back and say how you can now shoot pigeons out to 8oyds..... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtelfo Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Completly agree dave! I do hope who ever it was that said 42g 5s was joking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev1986 Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 cheers for info lads i am going down on sat to have a good luck through waht is on offer i think i am going to be looking for something about 28-30g no 6 or 6.5 most of my pigeon shooting decoying and like to get them into about 20-35yards so should have no prob cheers kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeH Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 anything cheap with fibre wads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 (edited) In 12 bore all the "pigeon" branded loads from e.g. Gamebore, Hull, Express, Fiocchi work well I suppose these firms invest in R&D and want their loads to do the job. For my money the best of them is the 32g Eley HB Pigeon. Recently i've been using 6.5 shot Hull Sovereign FITASC 28g. They throw very good patterns in my gun and do the job on those tricky swiftly departing jinking birds. Not a cheap cart but excellent on pigeon IMHO. I wish one of the leading manufacturers would do a 28g pigeon shell in say a No 6 in 20 bore. Edited March 10, 2011 by Whitebridges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 I'm going to try out a 20g O/U at the weekend with 21gram and 24gram carts'(don't know the shot size) At a local clay ground. It's a s/h gun I'm looking to buy for my wife and son to use(when Im not using it that is) So for clays, would I be wasting my time? What would I use in a 20G for clays and pidgeons/rabbits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 use 7 1/2s for clays and 6s for game simples Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpowder Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Been happy over the past few years to use 12 bore 30 gram felt wad clear pigeon for all my shooting, game and pigeon. It is easy to become paranoid about guns and cartridges, mostly nothing is wrong with them the former needs simply to be pointed in the right direction to allow the latter to do the business. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 I'm going to try out a 20g O/U at the weekend with 21gram and 24gram carts'(don't know the shot size) At a local clay ground. It's a s/h gun I'm looking to buy for my wife and son to use(when Im not using it that is) So for clays, would I be wasting my time? What would I use in a 20G for clays and pidgeons/rabbits. A 20g for clays is a bit pointless unless you can't handle the weight of a 12g, you'll just be paying top price for cartridges. I use 24gram 7 1/2s for clays and 28gram 6s for pigeons etc with my 20g Teknys, but the main reason for owning it is its light weight for carrying around the fields. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 A 20g for clays is a bit pointless unless you can't handle the weight of a 12g, you'll just be paying top price for cartridges. I use 24gram 7 1/2s for clays and 28gram 6s for pigeons etc with my 20g Teknys, but the main reason for owning it is its light weight for carrying around the fields. The idea behind the 20g IS the lighter weight to carry and swing as I have a bit of a bad back/hip, secondly Im hoping to include both my 10yr old son and/or wife in my new found hobby, so a lighter gun and cartridge might be the order of the day. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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