Premium cartridges - are they worth it?
- Thread starter Robden
- Start date
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I think that finding a cartridge that suits us , our gun and its choking is very important . No doubt in my mind that a 'Premium' cartridge may be useful on occassions , but considering the expense they need to be used when necessary rather than than at all times .
El Spavo
Well-known member
Worth it if you can tell yourself it is. Otherwise it's your chokes that caused you to miss.
Or your glasses.
Or your jacket.
Or the time of day.
Or the seat of the vehicle you arrived in.
Or your wife/husband/partner's last comment.
Or finally your cat/dog!
Or your glasses.
Or your jacket.
Or the time of day.
Or the seat of the vehicle you arrived in.
Or your wife/husband/partner's last comment.
Or finally your cat/dog!
Doctor Lecter
Well-known member
yes use a quality shell , it removes doubt , one that performs with your chosen choke !! and unless you shoot a massive amount its not that much more expensive over a years shooting !! it just leaves pilot error to work on !! 
Will Hewland
Well-known member
It’s important to evaluate what a cartridge offers in terms of felt recoil and pattern and find one that suits your needs/ expectations. The cartridge doesn’t know if it’s being sold for £350/1000 or given away, so really don’t correlate cost with “better”. Very expensive shells usually do two things; pattern very tightly and have high recoil. Does this suit what you need? Extreme range clays are probably the only reason to use them. If not your requirement then don’t pay for it, as it’s probably even a disadvantage. (Leaving the mental side completely out of it)
The trick is to find one that doesn’t kick you in the shoulder or the wallet (ideally) but which does always perform on the targets you’re tackling.
The trick is to find one that doesn’t kick you in the shoulder or the wallet (ideally) but which does always perform on the targets you’re tackling.
I have always believed that the man behind the gun is what make the difference. However even I have progressed to a better quality cartridge but I do not know of any cartridge I could buy either in France or Italy, where I do my shooting, that could get anywhere near £350 per thousand ! I am paying about €240 per thousand for a quality Rio T4 cartridges and the shells I brought back from Italy last time were Clever T4 PRO at €280 per thousand I would consider these premium cartridges. Anybody paying any more than £230 per thousand needs their head seeing to 
Will Hewland
Well-known member
Don’t try shooting here then! £230 is for average stuff in UKI have always believed that the man behind the gun is what make the difference. However even I have progressed to a better quality cartridge but I do not know of any cartridge I could buy either in France or Italy, where I do my shooting, that could get anywhere near £350 per thousand ! I am paying about €240 per thousand for a quality Rio T4 cartridges and the shells I brought back from Italy last time were Clever T4 PRO at €280 per thousand I would consider these premium cartridges. Anybody paying any more than £230 per thousand needs their head seeing to
Doctor Lecter
Well-known member
so what's your cartridge choice ? i shoot eley superbs they out perform me !! but i wouldn't call them a premium shell , but expensive enough !
Will Hewland
Well-known member
Gamebore EVO mostly. Very middle of the road price wise. Pattern well and smooth.
paul b
Well-known member
I like to stick with what im confident with ,yes most of thats down to the placebo effect of a shell ive had results with and i dont find thumpy and also a shell thats easy to get whilst at a international comp.
As this in the trap section its also worth mentioning some manufacturers say they have more stringent quality control on the high end comp shells as issf comps regularly weigh and measure the shot as do the competitors, so a shell thats constantly wrong will soon be dropped by the top shots for that reason.
As this in the trap section its also worth mentioning some manufacturers say they have more stringent quality control on the high end comp shells as issf comps regularly weigh and measure the shot as do the competitors, so a shell thats constantly wrong will soon be dropped by the top shots for that reason.
Right o. Just come into a job lot of very mixed cartridges at the very right price. There's lots of high end stuff like sovereigns and parcours in there along with some fiocchi . Golden something, fblack and hv. Pro ones and pro one dtl. Hull sporting 100's. So far only shot some sovereigns and this is what I found . Bit harder on recoil than my normal and breaks about the same. I'll update as I try the others.
Normal is fblu 28 grm and dt11.
Jasper.
Normal is fblu 28 grm and dt11.
Jasper.
El Spavo
Well-known member
And that's for plastic, at a guess! Dahn sarf, you're looking at a bit less than that for your cheapest fibre cartridges... Your Hull Superfast & Fiocchi TTone.
I shoot both of them and everytime I miss I have never put it down to the cartridge.Your Hull Superfast & Fiocchi TTone.
As a matter of interest I once got a slab of eley top of the range titanium strike and unbelievably my scores stayed just about the same.
It is plain to see that for whatever reason shooters in the UK are being ripped off for cartridges. I know that currency conversions are in play but I bought Rio Star team EVO cartridges at €216 or about £185 per thousand at the start of this season so they could be more expensive now but not too much . Of course it depends what you term as a premium cartridge but for me these come into that category.
Yes but it would appear that it is a bitter pill that is being swallowed without much angst. It is actually the people who shoot the cartridges that set the price not the manufacturers. They will and can only charge what the market will bear so over to the shooters to let them have their say on prices. It is clear that although I think UK prices are too high a huge majority of UK shooters do not because the manufacturers continue to hold the whip hand. It appears to me there is no appetite to fight with the manufacturers on price ?
Spot on.
what other option do we have? Shoot or don't shoot, pay the price or don’t buy any cartridges? I love shooting for all the reasons most do, the hit, the inevitable miss, the b anter and camaraderie, the ever so important food for my brain, oh and the English weather of course .
I do tend to have a casual nosey at what’s In the bins when at various shoots and have definitely noticed over the past couple of years since “the increases” the usual cartridges in the bin, basically the cheapest ones available like Velocity, Superfast, eley select, some generics etc, few chaps self loaded as well . With the odd premium box here and there but nothing like I was seeing pre 2019 where I would see a lot more of the usual premium white gold, pro one, etc etc..
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