Hull special pigeon 12b

[Ultrastu]

Just bought  a slab of these to try in my sa.

I'm hoping they will be good for high crows too with a bit of choke. Any body got any experience  with them ?  

[mgsontour]

Pls let us know how you get on, for crows I find the RC sipe 32gs 5's are pretty decent as I swear by Eley pigeon HV's 32/6 for flighting pigeon but don't seem to cut it for crows for whatever reason

Edited September 7, 2021 by mgsontour

[wymberley]

58 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

Just bought  a slab of these to try in my sa.

I'm hoping they will be good for high crows too with a bit lot of choke. Any body got any experience  with them ?  

Truly, a remarkable cartridge. I would image that having picked a bit of a brute you are going to stretch them and hence my amendment. Talking pigeon, your limitation - as ever - will be pattern so I'd have gone for 1oz of 7s or, if I could have found any, 6&1/2s. Nigh on 1 ftlb at 65 yards is good if you can get the pattern to go with it.

[Ultrastu]

This was what I was thinking .

I've just got my first 12b 

And since my 20 b does pretty much as every thing a 12b ou  does I wanted my 12b sa. To have more punch and range for those high flying crows that 28 grm of no 6 or 7.5  doesn't quite reach .

Ideally I'd want 34 - 36 grm of no 6 but those cartridges  are silly prices .

32 grm seams the max while remaining reasonable .

Thinking its going to need 3/4 or full choke to bring down the 40 plus birds reliably  ?? 

 

Edited September 7, 2021 by Ultrastu

[London Best]

A shotgun is a short range gun. Just accept that as a fact. Do not imagine that an extra 4 grams of shot is going to make a big difference to effective range, because it’s not. Maybe another three yards perhaps?

[Ultrastu]

Sweet an extra 3 yards 

Excellent  news cheers 

[London Best]

The bad news is that, in the air, nobody can tell 40 yds from 43, or 37!

[Smokersmith]

Pattern your gun also …

Sometimes a full choke can blow the pattern, and although you can have a very dense core, you may get a more even and pellet rich pattern by easing back a touch. 

[wymberley]

13 hours ago, Ultrastu said:

This was what I was thinking .

I've just got my first 12b 

And since my 20 b does pretty much as every thing a 12b ou  does I wanted my 12b sa. To have more punch and range for those high flying crows that 28 grm of no 6 or 7.5  doesn't quite reach .

Ideally I'd want 34 - 36 grm of no 6 but those cartridges  are silly prices .

32 grm seams the max while remaining reasonable .

Thinking its going to need 3/4 or full choke to bring down the 40 plus birds reliably  ?? 

 

Yep, Full will do it at some 45 yards after which things cease to be reliable. Just as well they're going in a self loader with that MV.

If we knew what we were doing, we'd stop buying these canon shells thus forcing the producers to make what we really need - there's a lot to be said for 1&1/16oz of 6&1/2s at a moderate speed - just check out the MV of this lot.

 

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by wymberley

[London Best]

2 minutes ago, wymberley said:

 

If we knew what we were doing, we'd stop buying these canon shells thus forcing the producers to make what we really need - there's a lot to be said for 1&1/16oz of 6&1/2s at a moderate speed 

 

 

Well said, sir!

Why folk think they need what have always been thought of as wildfowling loads to shoot crows is a mystery.

[Scully]

I mostly use 30grm 6’s for crows and pigeons, sometimes 32’s. If you do your bit they will do theirs; furthest crow I have killed with Eley Pigeon Select through half choke is 54 paces. 

[kamyonsofor]

On 07/09/2021 at 20:37, Ultrastu said:

This was what I was thinking .

I've just got my first 12b 

And since my 20 b does pretty much as every thing a 12b ou  does I wanted my 12b sa. To have more punch and range for those high flying crows that 28 grm of no 6 or 7.5  doesn't quite reach .

Ideally I'd want 34 - 36 grm of no 6 but those cartridges  are silly prices .

32 grm seams the max while remaining reasonable .

Thinking its going to need 3/4 or full choke to bring down the 40 plus birds reliably  ?? 

 

I am going out in the morning with my Hatsan semi and just trying a 3/4 choke in it up from 1/2 also my Mossberg 500 pump wound the c-lect down to try that taking various cartridges from 32 5 32 6 30 5 29 6 lots of 28 6's  some Gamebore  Rio Gameload  trying Jocker said to have more bang than buck ,gone to 3/4 as where I go 99% high birds got one Friday out from a hedge stayed low then lifted  using 32 5  paced it out at 43 yards  using 1/2 choke.  

[Ultrastu]

I needed to adjust the stock on my sa. So went down the farm .First shot at a big card and the mark I'd made was centre pattern .lovely. then a couple of crows fly over head high .probably 40  plus up .I gve it a bit of lead and he crumpled in the air and dropped down onto a shed roof (range finder out he was 38 yds away  level from my location )so he was easily 50 yds away when hit .

I thought wow guns shooting where I want it and the 32 grm no6 drops crows at 50 yds sweet .I took one more shot on the card and poi was perfect  so I went hunting .this was 1/2 choke  

Happy bunny .

[wymberley]

34 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

I needed to adjust the stock on my sa. So went down the farm .First shot at a big card and the mark I'd made was centre pattern .lovely. then a couple of crows fly over head high .probably 40  plus up .I gve it a bit of lead and he crumpled in the air and dropped down onto a shed roof (range finder out he was 38 yds away  level from my location )so he was easily 50 yds away when hit .

I thought wow guns shooting where I want it and the 32 grm no6 drops crows at 50 yds sweet .I took one more shot on the card and poi was perfect  so I went hunting .this was 1/2 choke  

Happy bunny .

Might be worth doing a pattern test at a measured 50 yards and counting the pellets in the central 20" for future reference.

[Ultrastu]

Maybe  but to be fair we all get a feel for our guns effective range with  cart/ choke /quarry .

I know my 20b is around 40  ,  45 tops .

This 12 is so far showing potential  at 50 plus 

My .410  is 30 yds 

The kills give a better picture than the pattern plate  

 

[kamyonsofor]

I was going to see the pattern on my sa with a full choke I have a large plastic water butt which I leave in a hedge and tape sheets of wallpaper on it but today , it was per per persistently heavy rain  even under the tree canopy was just as bad as standing out  , 2 birds came out down the hedgerow had 2 shots32 5 no good, my hat was soaked ,water dripping off the gun so called it a day, got into a farm barn and cleaned the gun down and oiled ,when home stood it in a warm lockable cupboard and just now cleaned and wiped over with a oily rag, going out again Friday.

[Stonepark]

There is a 2 part Youtube video with Shoot Straight looking at Pigeon cartridges including the Hull Special Pigeon, I don't agree with his conclusions (he focuses on power and pattern retention, ignoring load and pellet numbers which form the pattern) but neverless interesting to watch.

 

[Whitebridges]

Joint first place goes to Eley Pigeon HV and Hull Superfast Pigeon two very popular pigeon shells.

My own personal favourite Express Pigeon power came fourth.

I can't help but think the testing is rather flawed, some of the loads are 29g 30g 32g  and the Gamebore Pigeon Extreme is a 34g no5. Interestingly The Gamebore Pigeon Extreme finished last. I've used this shell extensively over the years and would say it's one of the best cartridges out there. The only downside to using it is it's hideously expensive (£413 a 1000).    

[Scully]

I have used Gamebores Clear Pigeon a lot over the years, for not just pigeons but corvids rabbits and even game, and found them to be an excellent all rounder, but they’re not handy to get around here.

Watching Geoff Garrod singing the praises of Eley Pigeon Select I was pleased to see my local agricultural merchant stocks them. They are a fabulous cartridge through my 3/8ths and 1/2 chokes,  killing well, way out there. 
 

[udderlyoffroad]

14 minutes ago, Scully said:

I have used Gamebores Clear Pigeon a lot over the years, for not just pigeons but corvids rabbits and even game, and found them to be an excellent all rounder, but they’re not handy to get around here.

Ditto - and, seemingly less noisy too.  I know a shotgun isn't a quiet tool, but they seem to make less of a 'report' to me than other brands, even quieter than my preferred clay cart.*  Also cycle well in my gas-operated semi (Hatsan)

But I've moved and the local ag merchant stocks Lyevale Express 'Pigeon Power' in 29g of 6 flavour at ~£66 a slab.  Does the trick if I point the barrel in the right place.

 

*Using my lab-calibrated lug'oles, obviously, and in my position as shooter, not where it counts, say 200m away.

[Scully]

5 minutes ago, udderlyoffroad said:

 

But I've moved and the local ag merchant stocks Lyevale Express 'Pigeon Power' in 29g of 6 flavour at ~£66 a slab.  Does the trick if I point the barrel in the right place.

 

 

Another excellent cartridge in my opinion. Our syndicate bought 1000’s as they were on offer a few seasons ago, and I used my share for pheasants and pigeons/corvids throughout several seasons. 
I’m not too sure there’s a bad cartridge out there really; shooters are all too quick to blame the cartridge if they’re not having a good day. 🙂
 

[wymberley]

30 minutes ago, Scully said:

I have used Gamebores Clear Pigeon a lot over the years, for not just pigeons but corvids rabbits and even game, and found them to be an excellent all rounder, but they’re not handy to get around here.

Watching Geoff Garrod singing the praises of Eley Pigeon Select I was pleased to see my local agricultural merchant stocks them. They are a fabulous cartridge through my 3/8ths and 1/2 chokes,  killing well, way out there. 
 

If they HAD to scrub around the HBs, they could have had the decency to do these in 6&1/2 shot. Sufficient energy and well filled patterns, what's not to like?

[Scully]

27 minutes ago, wymberley said:

If they HAD to scrub around the HBs, they could have had the decency to do these in 6&1/2 shot. Sufficient energy and well filled patterns, what's not to like?

I’ve only once bought ( only time I’ve seen them! ) 6.5’s, and from my local agri’ merchant, many moons ago, as that was all they had in ‘pigeon’ flavour, and I can’t recall what make they were. 
I do recall however, being very impressed with them through a fixed 3/4 choked old Browning 2000 I had at the time. 

[udderlyoffroad]

28 minutes ago, Scully said:

I’ve only once bought ( only time I’ve seen them! ) 6.5’s

Meh, one manufacturer's 6.5 could be another's 6.

Once again, shot dia in mm on all packaging please, toot sweet.

[Scully]

8 minutes ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Meh, one manufacturer's 6.5 could be another's 6.

Once again, shot dia in mm on all packaging please, toot sweet.

Quite. Makes no difference to me, just like the shot diameter on all packaging. It’s not like it’s going to make the difference between a hit or a miss is it! 🙂