Mason4796 Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 Hi all, So I am positive this topic will have been done to death on here and every shooting website available but I am interested to hear your thoughts... What would be your recommended load for pigeon shooting? from what i can see, the general consensus is between 30-32g 6's? I have also seen a page on Sporting Shooter saying 27g 7.5s are suitable? If so it would be great to transfer cartridges from the clay ground to the field without having to buy different cartridges. Any recommendations or advice on the best all round cartridge for pigeon shooting would be great... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomaddy525 Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 The best load is any cartridge capable of humanely killing them at the range you are shooting at. For most decoying situations 28g 7.5s will be perfectly adequate. If you want to stretch the barrels then 32g 6s will do fine Having said that I now shoot all of my pigeons with steel so I can sell them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 You are right its been done to death and back again, and recently, have a search on here you will get pages and pages of info to read on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokersmith Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 Yep ... shot 30g 6's and 28g 7.5's on Sunday morning ... the only difference was a bit less recoil in the clay loads. Lots of very dead woodies (was using a bit of choke though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redial Posted February 3, 2018 Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 Express World Cup fibre 28g 6.5. Using them for just about everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man Posted February 3, 2018 Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 (edited) Maybe a thought about the wads too? Plastic may be ok on the clays but not acceptable around livestock. 32gm in number 6 for me. Edited February 3, 2018 by old man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisPCarter Posted February 3, 2018 Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 I used to always use 32g 5 or 6’s for my pigeon shooting but after a few years of shooting the small bores in 410, 28 and 20 regularly, it’s given me a different view on it. I can happily shoot pigeons over decoys with 21g 6 or 7’s and sometimes less. So why did I need to throw all that lead about through a 12 gauge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted February 3, 2018 Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 Use whatever gives you confidence. If you want to use a pseudo trap/ pigeon load try Hull Sovereign 28g 7's Best all rounder in my book Express Pigeon Power: https://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/363252-lyalvale-express-pigeon-power/ High end cartridge with a bit of reach Gamebore Pigeon Extreme: http://www.sportingshooter.co.uk/polopoly_fs/1.4890665!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_630/image.jpg I've just ordered a few slabs of the NSI 32g 6's (UK 5.5) available here: http://www.justcartridges.com/bin-ends Price is right and they are perfect out of an auto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonepark Posted February 3, 2018 Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 On 1/29/2018 at 12:09, Mason4796 said: Hi all, So I am positive this topic will have been done to death on here and every shooting website available but I am interested to hear your thoughts... What would be your recommended load for pigeon shooting? from what i can see, the general consensus is between 30-32g 6's? I have also seen a page on Sporting Shooter saying 27g 7.5s are suitable? If so it would be great to transfer cartridges from the clay ground to the field without having to buy different cartridges. Any recommendations or advice on the best all round cartridge for pigeon shooting would be great... Pigeon aren't that big of a bird, and pattern matters. One of the euro 7.5 (uk no7) 1oz clay loads, is more than capable to 40-45 yards on pigeon. A proper english 7.5 is slightly less rangy at 35-40 yards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted February 3, 2018 Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 2 hours ago, old man said: Maybe a thought about the wads too? Plastic may be ok on the clays but not acceptable around livestock. 32gm in number 6 for me. I shoot plastic wads around livestock. The farmers aren't bothered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 On 29/01/2018 at 12:09, Mason4796 said: Hi all, So I am positive this topic will have been done to death on here and every shooting website available but I am interested to hear your thoughts... What would be your recommended load for pigeon shooting? from what i can see, the general consensus is between 30-32g 6's? I have also seen a page on Sporting Shooter saying 27g 7.5s are suitable? If so it would be great to transfer cartridges from the clay ground to the field without having to buy different cartridges. Any recommendations or advice on the best all round cartridge for pigeon shooting would be great... Do some research, as said above it has been discussed a great deal on here and other Forums. Do some reading. In order to select the correct load for you and your gun, several factors come in to the mix; 1. Are you a good shot? 2. Do you understand choking and pattern? 3. Can you reliably estimate range? 4. What does you local gunshop hold? I always factor in the cost of collecting or having shells delivered. 5. Any cheap 28gramme load of 6 will be more than adequate for shooting decoyed woodpigeons. 6. Are you able to decoy the birds within the range of your capabilities? Once you have considered all 6 points above, then you can choose a cheap cartridge and get out and shoot some woodpigeons. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 (edited) I regularly use 18.5 grms of 6s or 7s and they still seem to fall out of the sky. The important bit is putting them in the pattern Shot 15 days driven ph/part., this season at an average of 2.9 to 1 with the same cartridge. 100% with tightchoke above. Spot on. Edited February 4, 2018 by Walker570 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robertt Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 Went out with a bag of oddments yesterday left over some testing i carried out. 28g and 30g 6', 32g 5 and 6's and 36g 5's. Stuffed them randomly in my pockets and I had no idea what was in the magazine. The pigeons were 35 - 45 ish yards using half choke. The cartridges that did the job where the one's on target and I have no idea which ones they were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stevo Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Robertt said: Went out with a bag of oddments yesterday left over some testing i carried out. 28g and 30g 6', 32g 5 and 6's and 36g 5's. Stuffed them randomly in my pockets and I had no idea what was in the magazine. The pigeons were 35 - 45 ish yards using half choke. The cartridges that did the job where the one's on target and I have no idea which ones they were. You should have put some 28gram 7s in your pocket , you would have noticed an extra £15 in your pocket though ? Edited February 4, 2018 by stevo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robertt Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 15 minutes ago, stevo said: You should have put some 28gram 7s in your pocket , you would have noticed an extra £15 in your pocket though ? As I said,these oddments were bought for a test and it's just a case of getting shut. When they've gone I'll be buying whats on offer at a decent price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttfjlc Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 I used to chop and change cartridges as a teenager, then I just learned to shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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