The steel thing
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philpot
Well-known member
A little off topic but may be of interest to some, BASC emailed me yesterday with the results of their .22lr rimfire lead alternative ammo and oh boy the rabbits will be singing and dancing in the fields very soon but not us who are involved in vermin control. Just for your interest guys.
https://basc.org.uk/uk-reach-proposals-rimfire-ammunition/
Phil
https://basc.org.uk/uk-reach-proposals-rimfire-ammunition/
Phil
I heard, I think in the BASC magazine maybe, the HSE have gone off to think about things for a few months.
A total blanket ban on lead ammo is, given the ammo technology at the moment, not looking workable.
philpot
Well-known member
Totally agree. I use fac air rifle for a great deal of my vermin control out to about 120mt and without a suitable pellet or slug, I simply cannot do the job.
Can nobody on here recall Gamebore doing steel shot cartridges around 20 years ago ? I was running a clay shooting club on a Military rifle range at the time and the 28 gram steel loaded, 7 1/2 shot plastic wad cartridges were quite a bit cheaper than the lead equivalent. We were putting them through a Miroku 3800 trap gun, bored 3/4 and Full. They broke clays on the DTL layout very well. At the time steel proofed guns were unheard of and the proof houses were not interested in what choke constrictions were on any guns shooting the stuff. THEN the rumours began ! Steel shot will ricochet off anything it hits, steel shot will not break clays, if steel shot gets into timber it will ruin any chain saws used on that timber etc. etc. All I can say is, I noticed that the steel cartridges were a bit thumpier than lead, but they broke clays well enough. The club Miroku must have shot a few thousand of them without any problems and it was only the Army insisting that ALL steel trap houses had to be clad in wood to prevent ricochet's, that we stopped using them.
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I bought the last 1000 Superfarts plastic wad, from the local dealer at the old price of £238 yesterday. A new delivery of the same cartridges had just arrived. They are now £268/1000 !
Had a shoot Friday and surprised on how quite the ground was and ask how business was going. They said the competition dates were filling up nicely, but the practice side seems to be getting very quite and the gun shop the same. Not looking good for clay shooting at the moment.
When you work out that day all in was nearly £100 I can only see it getting worse for the grounds as people cut back on none essentials
philpot
Well-known member
My wife and I have just booked into John Bidwell's Highlodge for a week in September then reading this again, makes me wonder if we will have any money left to shoot and eat after buying the cartridges....... we will ensure the wine and gin are plentyful though 
Phil
Phil
Yes, when you work out all the costs of a weeks shooting, you'd probably get 2 weeks x 2 abroad in a nice Hotel spread over the yearMy wife and I have just booked into John Bidwell's Highlodge for a week in September then reading this again, makes me wonder if we will have any money left to shoot and eat after buying the cartridges....... we will ensure the wine and gin are plentyful though
Phil
Yep, spot on! Where shall we go mate.We only need cheap beer and cheap women mate?Yes, when you work out all the costs of a weeks shooting, you'd probably get 2 weeks x 2 abroad in a nice Hotel spread over the year
Go on organise a trip mate. I’m first on the list though
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Paul120
Well-known member
Just out of interest. If say you had a high end gun. A perazzi. Beretta DT10 or a trap barrelled DT11, So5 etc. How much would getting a replacement barrels be? Would it be cost effective. Not in relation to the value of the gun as such but instead of splashing out on an equivalent new gun. Yes you could get multiple MK38s and Silverpogeons etc. But that's not the point.
It made me think as in a car forum a guy was told his car wasn't worth repairing due to a corroded subframe and the garage said it should be scrapped. But once you consider the cost of getting a similar replacement he would have to spend more than the outlay of the repair.
I got caught by this. I had a shogun which at it's last MOT required a steering box. New tyres all round and a new fuel tank. Other than that it was solid. Prob £1000+ of repairs so I got rid. 3 years later I wish I'd got the work done as I've not seen anything better for less than 3k.
While it won't be cheap the option of a second set of barrels may be worth while.
It made me think as in a car forum a guy was told his car wasn't worth repairing due to a corroded subframe and the garage said it should be scrapped. But once you consider the cost of getting a similar replacement he would have to spend more than the outlay of the repair.
I got caught by this. I had a shogun which at it's last MOT required a steering box. New tyres all round and a new fuel tank. Other than that it was solid. Prob £1000+ of repairs so I got rid. 3 years later I wish I'd got the work done as I've not seen anything better for less than 3k.
While it won't be cheap the option of a second set of barrels may be worth while.
No problems with steel shot here.
After sending around 200.000 through my barrels, they’re still like new.
Gun wasn’t new when I bought it, so total amount is even higher.
Luckily you don’t need a lot of energy to destroy a clay.
On most grounds we’re allowed to use up to 28/6, but you’ll be surprised how far you can get with a #7 if you put it in the right place.
Of all targets missed with steel, I’m quite confident I would have missed them with lead as well.
Most of the gun and/or ammunition manufacturers limit choke size for steel shot for the shot sizes that aren’t allowed for clay shooting.
I’ve stopped using my full chokes (titanium), but that was just because I came to the conclusion that the range till 5/8 is also sufficient for more distant targets.
For OT we’re allowed to use 28/5.
Of course a bit more recoil than from a 24/7 what’s the maximum allowed for lead shot.
Still manageable though if you’re gun has some weight.
I regularly mixed high performance with standard, and difference isn’t as big as some manufacturers want you to believe.
Not saying there’s no difference, but I recommend to put the premium in practice/training.
A lot of guns here aren’t proofed for steel shot, especially the older ones.
I haven’t seen a single failure yet, that was caused by using steel shot.
Enjoy using lead shot as long as you’re allowed, but don’t be afraid you can’t enjoy shooting after a ban on it.
As long as your gun is solid, you don’t have to buy a new gun either.
Of course you can tell your partner something else if you need an excuse to buy something new
After sending around 200.000 through my barrels, they’re still like new.
Gun wasn’t new when I bought it, so total amount is even higher.
Luckily you don’t need a lot of energy to destroy a clay.
On most grounds we’re allowed to use up to 28/6, but you’ll be surprised how far you can get with a #7 if you put it in the right place.
Of all targets missed with steel, I’m quite confident I would have missed them with lead as well.
Most of the gun and/or ammunition manufacturers limit choke size for steel shot for the shot sizes that aren’t allowed for clay shooting.
I’ve stopped using my full chokes (titanium), but that was just because I came to the conclusion that the range till 5/8 is also sufficient for more distant targets.
For OT we’re allowed to use 28/5.
Of course a bit more recoil than from a 24/7 what’s the maximum allowed for lead shot.
Still manageable though if you’re gun has some weight.
I regularly mixed high performance with standard, and difference isn’t as big as some manufacturers want you to believe.
Not saying there’s no difference, but I recommend to put the premium in practice/training.
A lot of guns here aren’t proofed for steel shot, especially the older ones.
I haven’t seen a single failure yet, that was caused by using steel shot.
Enjoy using lead shot as long as you’re allowed, but don’t be afraid you can’t enjoy shooting after a ban on it.
As long as your gun is solid, you don’t have to buy a new gun either.
Of course you can tell your partner something else if you need an excuse to buy something new
