Thin young lad needs a no kick gun!

[PeeJay]

I’m going to check with him next time he comes along. But as a beginner myself I don’t really want to start advising him too much as I may make it worse.

Re the cartridges, but not directly regarding this lad, what are the main pros/cons of the 21g, the 24g and the 28g when shooting clays? I’m only asking from a learning point of view, I’m one of these that likes the knowledge and theory.

 

[Bavarian]

He has the stock sitting on his shoulder
and not in the shoulder pocket as mentionend before.
Perhaps he should move his body and the shoulder more inwards.
But hard to say without seeing him shooting.

 

[MartynB]

I’ll probably get slated by half the members of this board but here we go , if your gun is serviceable , and it fits you , it’s presumably been supplied with some sort of rubber pad , and you have a basic level of competency , there will be no issue whatsoever shooting 28gm loads ,I’m assuming you are shooting a reasonable mid range ‘ club ‘ Shell . Also shooting as a club / fun shooter , not hundreds and hundreds a week . Your gun will pattern how it will pattern , you will not be conducting experiments. If you settle on one pellet size say 7.5 , why would you not want the 33% more pellets in the 28gm v the 21 , or the 17% more pellets in the 28gm v the 24 ?
It’s not just a few pellets in the 28v21 7.5 shot scenario above that could be around 90 /100 pellets , nice to have ? Definitely ! Go for a 8 and the number of pellets higher still . There’s not much difference in price , something like an Eley Select there is only £6/1000 spread from 21 to 28 so why even bother ?

 

[PeeJay]

I’ll probably get slated by half the members of this board but here we go , if your gun is serviceable , and it fits you , it’s presumably been supplied with some sort of rubber pad , and you have a basic level of competency , there will be no issue whatsoever shooting 28gm loads ,I’m assuming you are shooting a reasonable mid range ‘ club ‘ Shell . Also shooting as a club / fun shooter , not hundreds and hundreds a week . Your gun will pattern how it will pattern , you will not be conducting experiments. If you settle on one pellet size say 7.5 , why would you not want the 33% more pellets in the 28gm v the 21 , or the 17% more pellets in the 28gm v the 24 ?
It’s not just a few pellets in the 28v21 7.5 shot scenario above that could be around 90 /100 pellets , nice to have ? Definitely ! Go for a 8 and the number of pellets higher still . There’s not much difference in price , something like an Eley Select there is only £6/1000 spread from 21 to 28 so why even bother ?

I currently shoot Ficchi TT One. I was shooting the clubs own 28g 7.5, but I found I was having a misfire or two every visit. This has stopped with the move to TT.

I’m not saying I would swap cartridges. But I’m still unsure of the pros and cons of the 21g and the 24g. Fewer pellets would be seen as a con (I assume) but what are the pros? I’m assuming there must be some otherwise why do they exist. Or is it just fashion?

Again, this is not to persuade me to change or not, I’m just interested in the theory etc. I’m not good enough or knowledgeable enough to know the effects of different cartridges. Let’s be honest, I’m buying the 28g 7.5 because that’s what they sell and they are one of the cheapest there. It’s not an informed decision.

 

[perazman]

I currently shoot Ficchi TT One. I was shooting the clubs own 28g 7.5, but I found I was having a misfire or two every visit. This has stopped with the move to TT.

I’m not saying I would swap cartridges. But I’m still unsure of the pros and cons of the 21g and the 24g. Fewer pellets would be seen as a con (I assume) but what are the pros? I’m assuming there must be some otherwise why do they exist. Or is it just fashion?

Again, this is not to persuade me to change or not, I’m just interested in the theory etc. I’m not good enough or knowledgeable enough to know the effects of different cartridges. Let’s be honest, I’m buying the 28g 7.5 because that’s what they sell and they are one of the cheapest there. It’s not an informed decision.

A brief history of 21gm shells!

After another price rise, around 20 years ago (roughly). Hull cartridge introduced the 21gm Comp X as a cheaper alternative. They had a novelty factor at first but did prove themselves after that.

The biggest advantage being their lack of recoil even at high velocities due to the shot weight. For their weight they also produce slightly tighter patterns than would be expected. The longer the shot charge = more pellets in contact with the bore and potentially damaged pellets ie.flyers. In this respect the short 21gm loads score highly.

Put simply, they don't out perform heavier loads but perform better than their weight would suggest. They'll break most targets on a sporting course. Just not as well. Their only advantage now is reduced recoil. Price was the original driver but somehow the manufacturers have managed to close the big price difference between them and 28gm loads which is a bit naughty.

PM.

Ps, this is my opinion of them. Someone will no doubt disagree and they're welcome to!

 

[PeeJay]

A brief history of 21gm shells!

After another price rise, around 20 years ago (roughly). Hull cartridge introduced the 21gm Comp X as a cheaper alternative. They had a novelty factor at first but did prove themselves after that.

The biggest advantage being their lack of recoil even at high velocities due to the shot weight. For their weight they also produce slightly tighter patterns than would be expected. The longer the shot charge = more pellets in contact with the bore and potentially damaged pellets ie.flyers. In this respect the short 21gm loads score highly.

Put simply, they don't out perform heavier loads but perform better than their weight would suggest. They'll break most targets on a sporting course. Just not as well. Their only advantage now is reduced recoil. Price was the original driver but somehow the manufacturers have managed to close the big price difference between them and 28gm loads which is a bit naughty.

PM.

Ps, this is my opinion of them. Someone will no doubt disagree and they're welcome to!

Thank you, that’s very interesting

 

[Luke_(NL)]

While a part of it maybe conditioning, one the others part is not giving the gun room to move. It has to firmly touch the shoulder and 'locked in' (my words) by the cheekweld. Any room to move the shooter gives the gun, will be used up by the gun in recoil. Imagine recoil like a slap to the face: If the slapping hand touches your face from the outset, all it can do is push. If you give the slapping hand room to move however... ouch.

 

[Nickredhill]

I think he’ll look at that first as the initial cheap option. The Jack Pyke one although ambidextrous is designed for a left hander, so you turn it inside out for a right hander. That seems a strange choice of design.

it fits the same as this more expensive one, pictured. It's right shoulder.

 

[Freddypip]

My experience of a pad or recoil reducer in vests is that they make mounting the gun less consistent and also take away the feel of whether it is mounted correctly. The browning/musto option was awful - like having a paperback stuck to your shoulder. The better option (in my opinion) is to put a kick-ezz on the gun - I have them on both of the guns I use for visitors - mindful also that they probably add value to the gun.