Some thoughts on 12 bore cartridges

[RossEM]

Last year I got a really good deal on a 12 bore ( http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/266863-new-gun/ ) so unfortunately my trusty old 20 had to go. Now, with the 20 bore I had very few issues with cartridges - I seemed to shoot pretty consistently with anything (except for some duff old 26g 7's I was given.) I used to buy Gamebore Pure Gold, Eley CT and used a lot of Express Super Steel through the 20.

 

 

So when I got the 12 bore, I decided to try a few different brands to see what the new gun preferred. I bought Eley Grand Prix, Express Special Pigeon, Hull Imperial Game, all 1oz 6's, and Gamebore Super Steel (4s) for ducks. This wasn't exactly a scientific experiment - I didn't pattern the gun, the chokes are pretty open (Improved over and Modified under.) I first tried the Gamebore Super Steel - no problems there at all, I was killing mallard, wigeon & teal out to 40 yards. The boss invited me on one of his driven days, so I broke out the Imperial Game - these were absolutely brilliant cartridges - really quick and hard hitting. I can't remember ever buying Hull cartridges in the past, so that was a punt I was happy with. The rest of the season was spent roughshooting, for which I was using the Express pigeon cartridges. They were exactly what I'd expected, not bad, but left a hell of a lot of muck down the barrels! So I was left with a mixture of the Express shells and the Eley Grand Prix for the last day of the season and up until last weekend.

 

Now, by reputation, Eley are supposed to be the best British manufacturer. All I'll say is that I won't be buying their cartridges again! Last weekend I went out after crows, and the Express cartridges outperformed the Eleys every time.

 

Some of the cases were deformed, 'overloaded' with lead, making the hulls bulge slightly (I'm sure that doesn't make them dangerous, but it doesn't look good.) The cartridges were heavy on recoil, leaving loads of muck in the barrels, and seemed to be sluggish as they couldn't seem to kill cleanly at any range, and some of the most straightforward shots were clean misses - to the point where I stood an old plastic lemonade bottle on a fence and shot it just to make sure the cartridges did have some lead in them. Even the printing on the cases wasn't applied properly - of course that won't affect performance, but for a cartridge that costs upwards of £8 for 25, they should get it right. The Eleys were the most expensive of all the ones I bought, but the Hull Imperial was by far the best. I don't buy a lot of cartridges, perhaps 250-300 a year, but I've never had such bad results before. As I said, I used to get Eley CT for my 20 bore, which I had no issues with. I've talked to a few friends who agreed that Eley loads aren't what they used to be - I was wondering if I got a bad batch, or has anyone else had similar experience?

 

Like I said, this is just my experience, not a scientific experiment!

 

Thanks, Ross

 

 

 

 

[Guest cookoff013]

Reload.

Last year I got a really good deal on a 12 bore ( http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/266863-new-gun/ ) so unfortunately my trusty old 20 had to go. Now, with the 20 bore I had very few issues with cartridges - I seemed to shoot pretty consistently with anything (except for some duff old 26g 7's I was given.) I used to buy Gamebore Pure Gold, Eley CT and used a lot of Express Super Steel through the 20.

 

 

So when I got the 12 bore, I decided to try a few different brands to see what the new gun preferred. I bought Eley Grand Prix, Express Special Pigeon, Hull Imperial Game, all 1oz 6's, and Gamebore Super Steel (4s) for ducks. This wasn't exactly a scientific experiment - I didn't pattern the gun, the chokes are pretty open (Improved over and Modified under.) I first tried the Gamebore Super Steel - no problems there at all, I was killing mallard, wigeon & teal out to 40 yards. The boss invited me on one of his driven days, so I broke out the Imperial Game - these were absolutely brilliant cartridges - really quick and hard hitting. I can't remember ever buying Hull cartridges in the past, so that was a punt I was happy with. The rest of the season was spent roughshooting, for which I was using the Express pigeon cartridges. They were exactly what I'd expected, not bad, but left a hell of a lot of muck down the barrels! So I was left with a mixture of the Express shells and the Eley Grand Prix for the last day of the season and up until last weekend.

 

Now, by reputation, Eley are supposed to be the best British manufacturer. All I'll say is that I won't be buying their cartridges again! Last weekend I went out after crows, and the Express cartridges outperformed the Eleys every time.

 

Some of the cases were deformed, 'overloaded' with lead, making the hulls bulge slightly (I'm sure that doesn't make them dangerous, but it doesn't look good.) The cartridges were heavy on recoil, leaving loads of muck in the barrels, and seemed to be sluggish as they couldn't seem to kill cleanly at any range, and some of the most straightforward shots were clean misses - to the point where I stood an old plastic lemonade bottle on a fence and shot it just to make sure the cartridges did have some lead in them. Even the printing on the cases wasn't applied properly - of course that won't affect performance, but for a cartridge that costs upwards of £8 for 25, they should get it right. The Eleys were the most expensive of all the ones I bought, but the Hull Imperial was by far the best. I don't buy a lot of cartridges, perhaps 250-300 a year, but I've never had such bad results before. As I said, I used to get Eley CT for my 20 bore, which I had no issues with. I've talked to a few friends who agreed that Eley loads aren't what they used to be - I was wondering if I got a bad batch, or has anyone else had similar experience?

 

Like I said, this is just my experience, not a scientific experiment!

 

Thanks, Ross