Super fast pigeon game cartridges

[Gus123]

Hello everyone, 

I will be doing my first even game season this year and I wanted some advice. I have been researching game cartridges for a while but wanted to ask you guys what you think. I came across Superfast pigeon and was wondering whether they will do the job on pheasants? They seem really good price for a game cartridges when you compare it to high pheasant ones which are almost double. I normally shoot super fasts as my clay load so I thought I’d keep it similar and go for them? What do you guys think and are there alternatives I should consider?

If anyone is selling the super fast pigeons let me know, my local gun shop doesn’t seem to do them . 

[Poor Shot]

Yes. Any pigeon cartridge will do the job. What I would consider my best ever shot on a pheasant was carried out using Eley Pigeon Selects.

30g of 6 shot is roughly the same no matter what bird the box has printed on the front.

[Gus123]

17 minutes ago, Poor Shot said:

Yes. Any pigeon cartridge will do the job. What I would consider my best ever shot on a pheasant was carried out using Eley Pigeon Selects.

30g of 6 shot is roughly the same no matter what bird the box has printed on the front.

That’s what I thought, surely a pheasant and a pigeon aren’t that much different so why are they charging double for ‘pheasant’ cartridges? Eley pigeon selects I have heard about and they’ve seem to be to go to for a lot of the boys I shoot with. However, just because I don’t mind the kick I like super fast shells and that’s why I’m toying with using the pigeon version. 

[London Best]

Basically, whatever cartridge you choose, within reason, won’t make one bit of difference.

[ditchman]

28gm #7.........period.........thats what william evans designed there guns around...........speed of the cartridge matters not..its the ability of putting the shot where the bird is going to be......and the cartridge holding its pattern

dont becomea cartridge tart....find a normal decent cartridge and stick with it

 

[Scrimshanker]

I used them last season on pigeon and on pheasants and they are great cartridges. 

[enfieldspares]

I write here of lead shot only.

To my mind there's three loads to consider. 1 ounce #7, 1 1/16 ounce #6 or 1 1/8 ounce #5. Which is right depends on your quarry and the choke in your gun. Without doubt on normal range pheasant at twenty-five to thirty yards in a quarter or half choke 1 1/8 ounce #5 produces spectacular kills effectively "folding" the birds dead in the air. It'll also consistently bring down...even if it not always consistently kills dead in the air...partridge.

If OTOH a true mixed bag of vermin such as squirrels and magpies and also woodcock might be anticipated such as a walking gun in woodland and your gun is open choked at true or improved cylinder then maybe 1 ounce of #7 is best. It's also a good partridge load.

But the classic "all around" load that is good in any gun with any choke on any quarry is probably 1 1/16 ounce #6. And I think with today's good quality graded shot of consistent roundness and size it takes a lot of beating. Will kill at range yet still has sufficient pattern density in open choked guns for squirrel, magpies, woodcock...and partridge.

What can stay on the shelf in the gunshop is anything in size #4. Best left there IMHO.

What do I use?

In a gun choked 1/4 and 1/2 or tighter 1 1/8 ounce #5. It is my "go to" in my AYA No4. But in anything choked open such as TRUE or IMPROVED (or as Americans might call it SKEET or some "Brits" 1/8 choke) I use 1 ounce of RC Professional Game labelled as "7" but really as it is Italian "7" it is #6 1/2.

But although not my "cup of tea" 1 1/16 #6 would serve just as well I'd suppose.

The RC load I mention of 1 ounce #6 1/2 has the advantage I can also use it on clay grounds in my guns where there is a CPSA 28 gram #6 payload and shot size limit. It is a good fast loading and suitable for 2  1/2" chambers. The nearest to the old efficient Winchester GB load I liked in the 1990s.

 

Edited May 26 by enfieldspares

[enfieldspares]

3 hours ago, London Best said:

Basically, whatever cartridge you choose, within reason, won’t make one bit of difference.

Good sound advice. Choose what's the best cartridge in terms of shot quality (roundness, consistency of size grading and hardness) from the shop's selection and use it...remembering my advice to leave anything in #4 on the gunshop shelf. Same goes for "plated" shot be it nickel or copper. For game shooting it isn't a "magic bullet" but a mere sales pitch not worth any great premium price it commands.

Edited May 26 by enfieldspares

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Cartridge manufacturers are not silly, unlike many of their customers.

A name is used to suggest it is the best cartridge available for a type of quarry.

Clay shells then become pigeon shells, they move up to pheasant shells and the most expensive usually partridge shells.

Then there are shells for Extreme pheasants and every step up raises the price per shot.

 

Buy a good 28 or 30 gramme 6 and use it for all live quarry shooting.

Buy from what is available at your local gun-shop and will be available when you need more.

If you get on well with Hull Superfast clay shells ask your gunshop to get you the pigeon version. 

Choke the gun with 1/4 and 1/2 and enjoy your shooting.

[wymberley]

Countless volumes have been written on just this one topic.

The adverse effects of excessive repeated recoil and  especially so when neither necessary nor advantageous can be accumulative.

The vulnerable area of a cock pheasant is some 2&1/2 times that of a pigeon.

Assuming the choice of a conventional shot size in terms of energy and as this generally means that shot pattern will fail before pellet energy, an average pellet strike is not the same as that required to achieve our objective which is, as far as is reasonable, a clean kill.

[Gus123]

Thank you everyone for the replies, I think I will give my shop a call and ask whether they can do them or will do them in the future. I think I will try the super fast pigeon ones and I will (if I remember) update whether they shot alright in the season coming. 

[Gerry78]

Any descent cartridge will suffice shot placement more important 

[rbrowning2]

3 hours ago, Gus123 said:

Thank you everyone for the replies, I think I will give my shop a call and ask whether they can do them or will do them in the future. I think I will try the super fast pigeon ones and I will (if I remember) update whether they shot alright in the season coming. 

Your request was regarding suitable game cartridges so I would check with the shoot as they may require non toxic shot.

 

[Wilts#Dave]

Used thousands of the 29g Superfast pigeon, on pigeon and they’re a terrific shell…..hit really hard and smooth shooting too, shoot some mega birds with them! 
They also do a 32g 5.5 shot I’d be tempted to try on driven pheasants, it does depend on what sort of pheasants you’re under though……farm shoots for example driving out of cover strips etc won’t require the same sort of stopping as 50 yard plus driven off the top of hills etc on the high bird shoots. 
 

[marsh man]

I often wonder if some of the game shooters do any other type of shooting doing the close season ? , if they do a bit of Pigeon shooting then if they are happy with whatever cartridge they use then why not carry on using it when you are standing on a peg ,  If it was me I would also use the gun I do most shooting with rather than take my best gun out for the one day  .

I well remember when the non toxic shot first came out for wildfowl shooting , a good mate of mine bought a load of steel shot cartridges and used them throughout the close months on Pigeons , when the season started he could knock duck down with ease and on the driven duck drives he could drop most of went over him while others were moaning they were rubbish and just wouldn't kill , rather than leave the choice till the big day then why not get use to a cartridge well before the big day come around , by the way , this chap I was talking also use Clear Pigeon for all his Pigeon and game shooting and on his day he is one of the best shots I have seen and I have seen a lot of decent / good shots  MM 

[old'un]

9 hours ago, marsh man said:

I often wonder if some of the game shooters do any other type of shooting doing the close season ? , if they do a bit of Pigeon shooting then if they are happy with whatever cartridge they use then why not carry on using it when you are standing on a peg ,  If it was me I would also use the gun I do most shooting with rather than take my best gun out for the one day  .

I well remember when the non toxic shot first came out for wildfowl shooting , a good mate of mine bought a load of steel shot cartridges and used them throughout the close months on Pigeons , when the season started he could knock duck down with ease and on the driven duck drives he could drop most of went over him while others were moaning they were rubbish and just wouldn't kill , rather than leave the choice till the big day then why not get use to a cartridge well before the big day come around , by the way , this chap I was talking also use Clear Pigeon for all his Pigeon and game shooting and on his day he is one of the best shots I have seen and I have seen a lot of decent / good shots  MM 

Perhaps it was a case of the shooters moaning about steel shot were just as bad when using lead.

[marsh man]

30 minutes ago, old'un said:

Perhaps it was a case of the shooters moaning about steel shot were just as bad when using lead.

A poor tradesmen quote spring to mind , nowadays you not only only have a vast array of choice for cartridges you have also got to decide what choke you might have to use on the day, this game shooting lark is not only getting to much price wise for my short pockets ,it is also getting far to technical ( just had to look that word up )  

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, Going back many years we did not have such a selection of cartridges like there is today yet myself and most people i knew who did pigeon and pheasant shooting made do with Eley Grand Prix for both, most of us had side by sides and it was common to get the barrels bored out as a lot of guns were half/full, improved and half were the norm and with 6 shot out to 40 yards proved the best, i rarely shoot pheasant these days but for pigeon or blackies 7.5 28g does me, 

Edited May 31 by oldypigeonpopper

[superfastpigeon]

On 26/05/2024 at 20:44, Gus123 said:

Hello everyone, 

I will be doing my first even game season this year and I wanted some advice. I have been researching game cartridges for a while but wanted to ask you guys what you think. I came across Superfast pigeon and was wondering whether they will do the job on pheasants? They seem really good price for a game cartridges when you compare it to high pheasant ones which are almost double. I normally shoot super fasts as my clay load so I thought I’d keep it similar and go for them? What do you guys think and are there alternatives I should consider?

If anyone is selling the super fast pigeons let me know, my local gun shop doesn’t seem to do them . 

I think you can guess my opinion on this 😂

[old'un]

1 hour ago, marsh man said:

A poor tradesmen quote spring to mind , nowadays you not only only have a vast array of choice for cartridges you have also got to decide what choke you might have to use on the day, this game shooting lark is not only getting to much price wise for my short pockets ,it is also getting far to technical ( just had to look that word up )  

Funny, when I was a lot, lot younger I used nothing else but 11/8^th 5s 6s, as I got older I was starting to feel the effects of a good day on the pigeons (100+) so I dropped down to 1oz 6s and to my surprise did not notice much difference in kill to cartridge ratio, but this last 15 years or so I use mainly 28g 7.5 and find they kill just as well as my 11/8^th 5s did.

[superfastpigeon]

11 hours ago, marsh man said:

 If it was me I would also use the gun I do most shooting with rather than take my best gun out for the one day  .

Yep, great advice. started doing this a couple of years ago and does make a big difference on peg 

[oldypigeonpopper]

10 minutes ago, old'un said:

Funny, when I was a lot, lot younger I used nothing else but 11/8^th 5s 6s, as I got older I was starting to feel the effects of a good day on the pigeons (100+) so I dropped down to 1oz 6s and to my surprise did not notice much difference in kill to cartridge ratio, but this last 15 years or so I use mainly 28g 7.5 and find they kill just as well as my 11/8^th 5s did.

Hello, am i right in thinking the Eley Impax ?? ,  

[old'un]

9 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, am i right in thinking the Eley Impax ?? ,  

I have used Eley Impax but as with most of us, I looked for the cheapest available at the time, still do.

Edited May 31 by old'un

[Gus123]

I think that shooting is slowly becoming too expensive to shoot specifically the cartridges. Talking to some of the old boys they can’t believe the rise in prices since they started shooting. Game cartridges especially but getting all your feedback, I think I’m going to go with the super fast pigeon ones and see how they do. 

[oldypigeonpopper]

21 minutes ago, Gus123 said:

I think that shooting is slowly becoming too expensive to shoot specifically the cartridges. Talking to some of the old boys they can’t believe the rise in prices since they started shooting. Game cartridges especially but getting all your feedback, I think I’m going to go with the super fast pigeon ones and see how they do. 

Just Carts have some in Bin Ends at £329 ?? might be worth contacting as they are PW members

Edited May 31 by oldypigeonpopper