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tonky70

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2011
Messages
447
Location
Bath,Avon
Ok my question is.I know a lot of you always have your favourite cartridge but does it matter what you buy and use as long as it does the job right and your happy with it some people like gamebore some like hull etc etc 

 
to be fair, if im just breaking clays for the fun of it, then I will use anything.

if I'm shooting a comp or registered (yet to do the last one) I will use hull. purely based on the fact that I'm familiar with they way the react and im confident with them.

the reality is, probably any cartridge would do but im a firm believer that a lot of shooting is as much a mental game as a physical one. sticking to one cart im happy with just removes another variable from my mind.

 
In this game to reach Nirvana would be to absolutely not take any notice of cartridges and just shoot whatever you have.  Lots haven't reach Nirvana yet - including myself.  You will find on the forum lots of discussions about this.  For me its about comfort and I have found one that I like, for the husband its about cost and he couldn't give a damn what cartridge he uses as long as its cheap enough.

 
My recommendation (for what it is worth) is to find something that is available locally, at a price that you like... and then stick to it, and try and forget about it. 

ALL the cartridges out there are better than all of us - so the less time we spend analysing shell choice, the better. 

 
The cartridge will always be quicker than the clay is what I was told whether it be a top of the range cartridge or a cheap one, although the cartridges I've been using lately have been empty I'm sure

 
Ok my question is.I know a lot of you always have your favourite cartridge but does it matter what you buy and use as long as it does the job right and your happy with it some people like gamebore some like hull etc etc 
You have answered your own question.  :wink:

"If it does the job right and you are happy with it" Then stick with it.

If, however, you believe there is a better cartridge to be found, and the one you are using is lacking somehow, then change it until you find one that "Does the job right and you are happy with it" It doesn't matter what name is on it. Some are good, some are bad, but you have to find your own conclusion.

If it 'ain't broke, don't fix it, comes to mind. Plenty of choice out there and the choice is yours.

(I like Black ones though!!)  :smile:

 
It is a voyage or better said - an escape from a fetish - powers are diminishing with shooting milage down the road - ending in a dead end Nirvana State that Sian's husband reached already.

 
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I think you have to be very, very careful about your approach to cartridge choice! I have not been shooting clay targets a long time in real terms, about three years. I started out using  a very standard cartridge from Decathlon. I knew absolutely squat about the game and my scores were crap... but I enjoyed it great fun. I came on here and gleaned a lot of really good tips and my scores increased dramatically. I then changed my cartridges to a better, in my opinion, make and my scores we good and consistent but more importantly I believed they shot better and to be fair they are a very comfortable cartridge to use. I started to shoot in comps and one month thought to buy a really quite expensive cartridge to shoot my comps. The results were not dramatically better but they were and they are a fantastic cartridge to shoot they give you a great feeling of confidence. Now I don't shoot these cartridges for practice they are just too expensive but I like them for comps. Now for practice I have been talking with someone who shoots a much cheaper cartridge than me but he scores great with them . I wanted to try them out so swapped some of mine for his... I shot absolutely crap with them!  Now there is absolutely nothing at all wrong with these cartridges and I know that I could shoot well with them if I did not know what was in the chamber before shooting but I just do not have the confidence to shoot them. Although the are €50 per thousand cheaper than the ones I currently use I cannot bring myself to buy them... now that is weird. I think what I am going to try is buying a couple of thousand and just getting on with it RIO target load are very good cartridges.

My warning to anybody about buying cartridges is to beware the placebo effect because the truth of the matter is more than 99% of the difference is in the head. If you shoot at the right bit of the sky with even the cheapest cartridges you will score great and be better off financially.

 
I think you have to be very, very careful about your approach to cartridge choice! I have not been shooting clay targets a long time in real terms, about three years. I started out using  a very standard cartridge from Decathlon. I knew absolutely squat about the game and my scores were crap... but I enjoyed it great fun. I came on here and gleaned a lot of really good tips and my scores increased dramatically. I then changed my cartridges to a better, in my opinion, make and my scores we good and consistent but more importantly I believed they shot better and to be fair they are a very comfortable cartridge to use. I started to shoot in comps and one month thought to buy a really quite expensive cartridge to shoot my comps. The results were not dramatically better but they were and they are a fantastic cartridge to shoot they give you a great feeling of confidence. Now I don't shoot these cartridges for practice they are just too expensive but I like them for comps. Now for practice I have been talking with someone who shoots a much cheaper cartridge than me but he scores great with them . I wanted to try them out so swapped some of mine for his... I shot absolutely crap with them!  Now there is absolutely nothing at all wrong with these cartridges and I know that I could shoot well with them if I did not know what was in the chamber before shooting but I just do not have the confidence to shoot them. Although the are €50 per thousand cheaper than the ones I currently use I cannot bring myself to buy them... now that is weird. I think what I am going to try is buying a couple of thousand and just getting on with it RIO target load are very good cartridges.

My warning to anybody about buying cartridges is to beware the placebo effect because the truth of the matter is more than 99% of the difference is in the head. If you shoot at the right bit of the sky with even the cheapest cartridges you will score great and be better off financially.
so what are you using for practise comps and what's your friend using 

 
I did have a rule of only using blue ones.and while they were the cheapest I had no problems, but now white ones are cheaper, so I load them in the gun without looking at them and imagine they are blue.  If I ever progress and need a expensive shell I will do the same but imagine they are black gold.

 
I did have a rule of only using blue ones.and while they were the cheapest I had no problems, but now white ones are cheaper, so I load them in the gun without looking at them and imagine they are blue.  If I ever progress and need a expensive shell I will do the same but imagine they are black gold.
are they eley your using 

 
I like my blue ones, but won't use Eley as they filth up the barrels. Rios really do produce a great pattern and I tell myself that they are expensive. All the cost saving is on the packaging which is Lidl standard. I'm sure Hull boxes cost £2 each. 

 
I like my blue ones, but won't use Eley as they filth up the barrels. Rios really do produce a great pattern and I tell myself that they are expensive. All the cost saving is on the packaging which is Lidl standard. I'm sure Hull boxes cost £2 each. 
I used eley Olympics and found them clean and now might use them again or white gold 

 
I like my blue ones, but won't use Eley as they filth up the barrels. Rios really do produce a great pattern and I tell myself that they are expensive. All the cost saving is on the packaging which is Lidl standard. I'm sure Hull boxes cost £2 each. 
its not the eleys its the rough old perazzi barrels. i know they are hand finished but its about time they took away the bastard cut rats tail file and gave the barrel man a 2nd cut at least.

 
so what are you using for practise comps and what's your friend using 
Hi

For practice I use Clever Mirage T2 €204/thou and for comps I use Clever Mirage PRO EXTRA T4 €280/thou my friend uses RIO target load for all shooting cost €160/thousand.

 
All very sensible advice, the ONLY time I have found it necessary to change is either due to availability or in some cases where the manufacturer made a change to the cartridge - usually they change the powder and this can sometimes affect the felt recoil. Express did with the Supers, Eley did it with the Superbs. I am currently using Hull DTL 300's purely for the lack of felt recoil this shell provides, they will hit and break any clay.

 
I like my blue ones, but won't use Eley as they filth up the barrels. Rios really do produce a great pattern and I tell myself that they are expensive. All the cost saving is on the packaging which is Lidl standard. I'm sure Hull boxes cost £2 each. 
I'm yet to pattern them but I'm very impressed by the first 250 of these I've shot. Much smoother than a Superfast and similar speeds if JustCartridges price lists are to be believed.

 
Consistency is key.  Stick with one cartridge which ticks all the boxes for you.  For me it is Gamebore Velocity.  Popular cartridge so widely available, reasonably priced, manageable smooth recoil.  I'm used to them and know exactly what to expect after each trigger pull.

Saying that, I'm tempted to try some of these new lower cost alternatives recently on the market.  

 
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