Serious question what actually constitutes a cartridge being classed as a budget cartridge? Does it depend solely on its price or is budget defined by what a shooter can afford ? Or is it based simply on the scale of cartridge prices available to the shooter . An example for me would be RIO target load and Star Team EVO for me these are available at €45 and €53 per 250 carton that sort of puts them both in the very affordable/ budget category... I would not however based on performance of the cartridges consider them anything other than really good cartridges. On the other hand I can buy Clever T2 and T3 at €53 and €64 per 250 carton these are both really good cartridges but I would not put then in the category of being a budget cartridge based on price and performance. Off out to shoot a 100 FU comp now so hopefully I will have some views on the subject when I return.
Budget cartridges what are they ?
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By and large it's a label based on price, if we take current so called top shells at around the £250-£260 level (more expensive ones are available but not widely used) the difference in price down to the cheapest available such as Jockers or Velocity+ can be up to around £100 depending on where you buy them.
Performance is always a difficult thing to quantify without extensive side by side comparisons done preferably by qualified people but cheaper shells often have slightly more recoil, lower antimony shot with limited shot size selections. There is also no denying that the expensive brands are better finished and packaged and offer greater shot selection.
For me personally the difference between cheap and expensive IS detectable, that between mid and top range I'd pass the ball to someone with better sensory faculties.
Performance is always a difficult thing to quantify without extensive side by side comparisons done preferably by qualified people but cheaper shells often have slightly more recoil, lower antimony shot with limited shot size selections. There is also no denying that the expensive brands are better finished and packaged and offer greater shot selection.
For me personally the difference between cheap and expensive IS detectable, that between mid and top range I'd pass the ball to someone with better sensory faculties.
Jim Wheeler
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So, what do you think of Fiocchi TT1 28gram plastic 8? I got a thousand this morning at Horne. price £175.00. Seems a popular cartridge, and apparently 1425FPS.
Good shells, replaced the Top1's if I'm not mistaken, close to medium range I couldn't tell the difference but gave crumbly instead of pulverising breaks past a certain range.
Ah yes, we have a few of those FU shooters over here too, I was clocked behind the ear by one of their gunstocks only last week, AND that was in the clubhouse !
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ips
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current cost of any make or model tells me there is no budget load anymore. There is expensive and there is "your taking the proverbial"
as an aside my .177 accupel tin about ten yrs old says £5-95 per 500. The tin I bought yesterday was £12-95
still a darned sight cheaper than 12b ?
as an aside my .177 accupel tin about ten yrs old says £5-95 per 500. The tin I bought yesterday was £12-95
still a darned sight cheaper than 12b ?
Yep that's where i'm at as i couldn't tell the differance between a good and totally s**t load tbh i miss with whatever i load in the Gun
Likewise. Couldn't tell the difference between a high end and a low end one either.
What I would like is a a way to buy by standing order. X number carts for £y every 1 or 2 months. I would imagine that most people (newbies especially) don't really care or notice what they shoot. Brands could vary every month, that way you could try out a lot of different brands.
What I would like is a a way to buy by standing order. X number carts for £y every 1 or 2 months. I would imagine that most people (newbies especially) don't really care or notice what they shoot. Brands could vary every month, that way you could try out a lot of different brands.
Well its interesting to hear others views of what constitutes "budget". I am going back to my Clever T2 cartridges not because I don't particularly like the budget ones I am using. Just that the shop I buy them from online has reintroduced free delivery on 2K or more so I can now just order when I need more and never leave my chair... I also think the Clevers are slightly superior through my gun... but there goes my imagination again :lol: on the scale of things though Clever T2 are still budget. I usually buy a thousand T4's for competitions... its good for the brain and if you are shooting well you can get creative shucking them into the bin after you have clattered the target :lol: ... these in my view are defo not budget yet I now people who practice with them :wacko: ??
Clevers really are a nice cartridge. The entire range is decent. The T2 for the price is a very nice cartridge and after doing a lot of patterning with different cartridges ,it Patterns better than any other budget cartridge on my gun.
Personally in competition i mainly use the Clever T3 Grand italia or the Fiocchi F-Black as they are the 2 that pattern the absolute best out of my gun and i just like the feel of them .
The T4 shoot like silk but they are a tad pricey
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Nick Selby
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Cheap for me means I can shoot more, then I can learn more, which leads to me hitting more.... I shoot the cheapest i can get. As I have said many times, they are all better than me.
Will Hewland
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As long as they are not uncomfortable to shoot (cheap sometimes means punchy) then totally agree!
ChrisPackham
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Because I only use fibre wads then it often comes down to store availability. Also the performance and particularly recoil is more noticeable on the mid range to budget (white gold or pro fibre vs less expensive). I wish I could get clever cartridges locally in fibre, even the T1 in plastic seemed good to me and 2 years ago was 142 per thou.
