doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Opinion on Shells

Unless you shoot a whole lot, I'm not sure buying all Pb loads you can is a good idea.
I did buy entire invetory of Bismuth 'Upland Loads' at certain pistol range in Northern Va. These were those precious 1&1/8oz variety and they were priced to move.
I will buy all closeout priced "Soft" non-tox loads I can get my hands on.

Effective to the tune of about 20% for a shooter who wingshoots opening day of dove season only. I concur with Homeless on Beale Street because with a promo load, if the dove isn't shot with its wings up, the load just knocks the tail feathers out and as it approaches from across the field you have to finish the process at a target that isn't quite that challenging, but a necessary shot.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Jager:

Are any of those Bismuth loads for sale, or have to ignited them all?

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Hansli what I mean is they don't knock things down as well as a well constructed shell...I just as soon light a pack of fire crackers. It would be almost as effective.

Raimey, local vineyard requests I use non-tox only and there seems to be no brown-boxed stuff around where I live. I have nothing to spare, sorry.

I have not had these problems in the past, but I have been rolling my own for several years and haven't used promos in the field for awhile. I'm talking doves, not turkeys, but each guy to his own best results, it's pointless for me to discuss what works for you. I do find Promos harsh to shoot in my sxs's. I save them for o/u and 1100.

jOe: In general, what we call 'promo' loads ARE well constructed shells. What they lack is a brass head hull with long reloading life. The Gun Club hulls can be, and frequently are, reloaded with decent hull life.

Just because STS/AA/Gold Medal shells are top of the line, does not mean that the more economical offerings are necessarily ineffective. I've had zero problems with Federal promo loads, and I've shot thousands of them. A few Gun Club shells have slipped by QC that shouldn't have, and Winchester has issues with the Super-X shells. I've used RIO with success, and find them an excellent shell at a great price.

The pressure is on all the makers to keep price down. Doing so without reliability problems must be quite a challenge. Some do better than others.

There was a time when I swore I'd never buy another Remington shell or primer, but now their STS shells set the standard. Things change.

Rios are a good choice but do dirty your double a bit. I've had one not to ignite in several thousand rounds(lead) and on 2 occasions have had steel to roll out the end of the barrel, leaving the wad in the barrel, after the steel cartridge were exposed to moisture. If you use steel Rios, always have a wooden dowel handy when you are in a swamp.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Promo load shot / lead has a lower percentage of antimony (1-2%). Higher quality /more expensive game and target loads have 5-6% antimony resulting in better patterns, penetration and less shot deformation.

Promo loads are fine for everyday shooting at the range. But in the field, I want the best shell performance I can get to minimize injured or lost birds. It is worth the extra cost to me.

That said, I agree with Jagermeister, not sure where lead is going? I believe non-tox is the future.

Ken

Most promo loads don't have a shot cup and don't pattern worth a flip.