Fibre Wad or Choke change?

Hi everyone.

Its been a little while since I last posted here as I have found a cartridge I like and shoot nothing else.  I shoot only Fiocchi Golden Trap 28grms (Uk 7's).  Smooth, Low Recoil, and pattern well enough through my half chokes it makes me feel great when I dust the clays.  So that is that then.

I shoot only Sporting Clays and am still learning my 'trade' so to speak.  My gun is an Mk38 Grade 5 Trap with Teagues, but I only shoot 2x Half Chokes.  I don't change them because they break everything I have seen so far on a Sporting layout.  However........I do miss some close in dinner plates at times, and whilst I know this is still down to poor technique, would there be any advantage in having a more open shell like a Fibre Wad cartridge in 8's to open my pattern a little on closer targets?  Or should I just keep practising my technique?  

I am trying to remove as many variables as possible as my current gun/cartridge combination works well for me and changing chokes seems like too much hassle to be honest.

Your thoughts are always appreciated!

Noooooooooo, you are doing just fine. Great cartridge.....just perfect the technique to be perfect. :wink:

Keep at it and perfect it, there is nothing wrong with two half chokes or the shells.Technique is key....possibly see a coach for a session. Will save you practice money in the long run and you'll be sure you're on the right track.

Fibre cartridges have no plastic wad to force through the chokes, so consequently have a wider pattern for a given choke, it could help on close or incoming birds. Plus you could shoot fibre only shoots.

I am a big fan of doing what you are doing; one shell one choke and just fully concentrate on the clay/ your technique. Having said that, if you are using an expensive (well made) plastic wad shell with no.7 shot, you probably have a shockingly tight pattern, making very close stuff an uneccessary challenge (although it will make you find them)! I used to use Clever T3 in UK 7 shot and close stuff was like threading a needle.. At 10 yards the pattern was about 7" diameter.

Try the same cartridge in 8 shot?

Thanks for your honest opinions.  All the bits I own Gun/Cartridge/glasses are the very best......I reckon its the bit behind it all thats doing the missing thing.  More practice methinks then!

Sometimes "the best" cartridges don't help in sporting clays. I started expensive and have gone downmarket ever since.

The reason I settled on Golden Traps was because they shoot smoothly, have limited recoil, and I see more dust on my clays than with any other cartridge I have tried.  That is probably more down to the fact that they pattern tight........possibly.......I haven't checked.  I used to use Velocities and they are a great shell too.  I don't get any more with Golden Traps, but I do have confidence before I go into the cage with them.

Will Hewland said:

Try the same cartridge in 8 shot?

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I agree, unless you're in the top 100 in the world there is nothing you could connect with in the first place that an 8 won't break, essentially there is no advantage for using 7's throughout a round, a good argument could be made for 7.5's maybe.

There is no guarantee that a given fibre/felt load will open up your patterns to a useful degree in any case, I'm sure there are plenty of fibre loads that pattern perfectly tight. I would go as far as to say that you'll even notice more smokes using 7.5 or 8 shot   .

Keep going as you are, no cartridge is going to double your pattern size, 7.5's are a good choice for all round shooting.  I usually miss close dinner plates in front, shoot the front edge off them and turn them to dust!

Johnny English said:

Keep going as you are, no cartridge is going to double your pattern size, 7.5's are a good choice for all round shooting. I usually miss close dinner plates in front, shoot the front edge off them and turn them to dust!

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I can show you two cartridges, one with over double the outer pattern size of the other. However, when I used the wide spreading one for close stuff, I used to miss often because I stopped trying!

Will Hewland said:

I can show you two cartridges, one with over double the outer pattern size of the other. However, when I used the wide spreading one for close stuff, I used to miss often because I stopped trying!

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yup done that, too relaxed on skeet stand 1, H1, single, give myself a good kicking, and get on the ball. Seems to be only on one particular ground though.

Can anyone confirm if fibre does actually give the effect of 1/4 less choke?

Bryn12 said:

Can anyone confirm if fibre does actually give the effect of 1/4 less choke?

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That's just too broad a statement, it's a fairly well accepted phenomenon that fibre loads don't as a rule pattern as tightly as plastic but without actually patterning a given shell through your gun side by side with your favourite plastic load you won't ever know for sure.

Hamster said:

That's just too broad a statement, it's a fairly well accepted phenomenon that fibre loads don't as a rule pattern as tightly as plastic but without actually patterning a given shell through your gun side by side with your favourite plastic load you won't ever know for sure.

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thanks it was the general principle I was thinking about.

So, if fibre wads give a more open pattern, and I do not doubt that they do, why do skeet cartridges have a plastic wad ?

westley said:

So, if fibre wads give a more open pattern, and I do not doubt that they do, why do skeet cartridges have a plastic wad ?

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Fibre patterns are more open, but in a less uniform way. Plas wads tend to give a rounder pattern and leave pellets in better shape so they fly true for longer. To get a given "diameter" of pattern, a plas wad with a more open choke will give a better (more even) result than a fibre with tighter choke.
Also, plas wad is always less recoil, cheaper and leaves a cleaner gun.

I think that I shall take a skeet choke with me then for some of the closer stuff.  I have complete faith in the shells I use.  My technique is still developing and although my scores have gone up, I still revert back to my old habits periodically!  Anyway, as John Wells keeps telling me....."Theres no substitute for being on target"!!

A comparison test of plastic verses fibre wad http://www.shotgun-insight.com/fibreVsPlasticSporterShells.html

Geordieboy said:

I think that I shall take a skeet choke with me then for some of the closer stuff.  I have complete faith in the shells I use.  My technique is still developing and although my scores have gone up, I still revert back to my old habits periodically!  Anyway, as John Wells keeps telling me....."Theres no substitute for being on target"!!

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Cylinder choke if you have it; for those shells.