Vic looks at some budget-priced target loads that really perform
There are many people who restrict their clay target shooting to club level and yet are very good shots. Hunt supporter shoots, popular down our way in the summer, can also attract some accomplished performers.
I’ve commented before on the high standard of shooting still to be seen at straw bale shoots and so I recommend the following for those shooters who, on warm summer evenings, are aiming to win some beer money for the obligatory trip to the pub afterwards.
Hull Superfast
A 28g load with fibre or plastic wad, it represents terrific value for money as well as quality and performance. The fast, clean burning powder produced excellent patterns through a Miroku Sporter I was testing recently, as well as my old Watson boxlock, a favourite for more relaxed forms of clay target shooting.
Eley Firsts
A well-established cartridge in this price bracket and one that really delivers performance-wise. A friend and I recently used this load to shoot some Olympic Trap, a game that demands high quality cartridges which usually equates with high prices. With tight choked Trap guns and both plastic and fibre versions we broke fast-flying edge-on targets out to 40 yards very convincingly. We were not testing these cartridges, just using some less expensive loads for practice, but it left both of us with something to think about.
Gamebore Velocity
A cartridge which has what it says on the box. Both fast and smooth I am impressed with this budget-priced cartridge from the manufacturers of Black Gold. I shot some at targets off a high tower with my Winchester Model 12. It was super fun with a great cartridge which cycled through the old corn shucker without a glitch. It also kicked some life into an old Remington which seemed fussy about shells it was being fed with. Another reason for auto users to try this well-priced cartridge.