Does it REALLY matter?

In the last 12 months I have managed 20 days at our local straw baler, slightly different targets sometimes, obviously different weather, degrees of tiredness (wow that changes eye dominance) but same fit to me gun, same clothing (washed in between), same glasses, hat ear defenders, same ¼ and ¾ chokes but different cartridges..

The rule is max 28 g and max no6 in 

So.. having geek like recorded scores, I have averaged 84 worth a low of 79 and a high of 87 ex 100 (not great I know but consistent)

ive used...

cheap clay shells, expensive clay shells, game shells (complying with rule), random mix of above to the point where today I just took what was left and shot 86..

Do cartridges really matter? Unless you are off to the olympics it seems maybe not ..

Cartridges are about 1% of what matters.  A huge part of ESP proficiency is learning how to evaluate a new pair of targets. Going to the same straw baler 20 times is tantamount to banging your head on a wall. I appreciate that clay shooting represents different things to different people but I really think you could experiment with some diversity.

You're either on target or not, the best cartridge in the world can't break a clay if you don't hit it.

My daughter shoots for fun (like me she's non competitive) a .410 single barrel and uses 9gram, breaks clays and has fun.

It's all about what you enjoy and suits you. She fired a 12g SxS from age 14 to mid 30s, now she likes lighter. Just popped that in so you'd know it's not lack of experience.

I use almost exclusively 21gram and just enjoy myself.  SxS or O/U.

Got to agree with Will though, same venue, same traps, you become blaise. You need to vary your shooting.

Said it for years, find a cartridge that suits you and your gun. Ideally easily available, then stick with it. Personally I've not seen any great difference between £180 per thousand and £240 per thousand, other than the £60 of course. Better to spend the £60 on more practice and/or a lesson. 

In my OT days we occasionally chronod batches of different cartridges and what we found was the difference between cheap and not cheap was consistency of muzzle velocity or rather observed velocity

When totally on form i can tell exactly why ive missed something and 99% of those misses are down to whats going on between my ears,yes there will be a odd chipped or knocked target where you think maybe choke/shell difference could of made a different outcome but then those thoughts will result in more misses.Get a combination you know that works for you and stick with it to reduce the problems related to the most inconsistent part of the kit! The human brain

I agree certainly at my level of esp shooting  shells aint the problem  its my limited skillset ,  however  yesterday sunday at grimsthorpe  my mate gave me 100  fiocchi  official sporting  28g 8.5    to try    I shot the 13 stands with 1/4 1/2    and put a 90/100   one of my better scores  ,  yes it was a reasonable round  nothing out of range  , but still a good score for me !    don't forget anything moving is miss able  !!   so was it luck , ?  or did the quality shells make a difference ?  or a bit of both ?    fiocchi official sporting , other brands are available !  

In the most difficult shooting sports and events in the world there is no consensus among the competitors as to the brand/model cart that is the necessary one to win.  I find that I rather prefer green carts tho occasionally red ones are more suitable.  Never a clear choice and there seems to be some overlap. 

Doctor Lecter said:

I agree certainly at my level of esp shooting  shells aint the problem  its my limited skillset ,  however  yesterday sunday at grimsthorpe  my mate gave me 100  fiocchi  official sporting  28g 8.5    to try    I shot the 13 stands with 1/4 1/2    and put a 90/100   one of my better scores  ,  yes it was a reasonable round  nothing out of range  , but still a good score for me !    don't forget anything moving is miss able  !!   so was it luck , ?  or did the quality shells make a difference ?  or a bit of both ?    fiocchi official sporting , other brands are available !  

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Wide open here for being trashed but.... sometimes imo its the speed of the cartridge that suits your technique or rather timing so in your case you were possibly using a faster brand than your used to ...i will get me coat

EDIT

Based on experience of trap were targets are more repetitive and generally longer distance. Probably not as noticeable on sporting were presentation is more random

IMO cart speed isn't different enough for me to make any adjustment at all.  I can kinda tell the diff in time for the target break but I just shoot like I always do.  Shot are an aerodynamic disaster and the speed diff boils off way fast anyway.

all JMO of course

Will Hewland said:

Cartridges are about 1% of what matters.  A huge part of ESP proficiency is learning how to evaluate a new pair of targets. Going to the same straw baler 20 times is tantamount to banging your head on a wall. I appreciate that clay shooting represents different things to different people but I really think you could experiment with some diversity.

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Thanks Will, I’ll be travelling to shoot moire this year, but it’s a 10 min walk from my house  to this club versus 30 minute drive to the next closest so far too convent.. My point was that I don’t think cartridges matter for most people so I’ll be sticking with the 24g Evo as they are always in stock and less expensive than ‘better’ cartridges..

PP said:

Thanks Will, I’ll be travelling to shoot moire this year, but it’s a 10 min walk from my house  to this club versus 30 minute drive to the next closest so far too convent.. My point was that I don’t think cartridges matter for most people so I’ll be sticking with the 24g Evo as they are always in stock and less expensive than ‘better’ cartridges..

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EVO 24g are lovely. I have a clay shoot 500 yards from my house. I very happily drive a three hour round trip to avoid shooting there.

Will Hewland said:

EVO 24g are lovely. I have a clay shoot 500 yards from my house. I very happily drive a three hour round trip to avoid shooting there.

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I’ve seen you drive Will. That three hours probably means Coniston and back for you