In this series of reviews we look at some fast (above 1200fps) 1 ounce 12 gauge shotgun shells that would be a great choice for FITASC sporting.  Of course they would also be an excellent choice for English sporting clays as well.  All of the clay shooting shells we look at in this series are of the "premium" variety and cost bracket, though they are all very popular among sporting clay shooters who swear by their high quality components and hard shot.  Be sure to look for the other installments in this series at the bottom of the page to find out about more excellent shot shells.

Vinci

This time we’ll have a look at Vinci shotshells from AbleAmmo.com.  Able Ammo is the exclusive distributor of these shells in the U.S. and they are manufactured in Spain by Maxam Outdoors, the same people who make Rio, Kemen, Diana and many other brands of cartridges.  Right away that should tell you it is a quality shot shell. 

I tested the black hulled 1oz. shell with #8 shot going at 1350fps.  It features a fairly high nickel plated base and the batch I shot had perfect crimps throughout.  In fact it is one of the best manufactured shells I’ve ever seen.  There were no problems with the sizing of the base, seating of the primer, length or crimps and the shells have a nice tapered nose for smooth feeding.  Vinci shells feature a "unitized wad" that has a cork base in the bottom of the shot cup.  This is there to guard against setback and pellet deformation during firing.

I achieved very good consistent patterns with my gun, a .740 bore Browning with Briley Spectrum and Muller chokes.  The picture at right is a pattern thrown from 20 yards with a Briley Light Mod choke.  For reference the surface of the plate is approximately 30 inches and the pattern about 20 inches in diameter as it should be at this range.  At the range in competition I saw good hard breaks, just the way I like them.  You get good feedback as to where you were on a target if you see the nose or rear turn into smoke.  It’s a very clean shell too.  I didn’t notice any unusual amount of powder or plastic buildup after use.

The recoil, I would say, was a bit heavy but not as heavy as the Gamebore Black Gold that I also tested.  That’s just personal perception of course but I just didn’t feel the shell was as smooth as others in the group with nearly the same speed.  Overall if you like a fast hard hitting shell and don’t mind a little heavier recoil the Vinci 1oz. is a great choice and the price is generally a little less (depending on where you live) than the other shells I tested.

I also shot some of the green hulled Vinci 7/8th oz. loads.  I did not pattern them but they were a very nice shooting shell with mild recoil and on medium range birds I didn’t notice much of a difference in breaks over the 1 oz. loads.  Personally I wouldn’t shoot 7/8th unless I had too because nothing can take the place of pellet numbers down range when it comes to breaking targets.  The more pellets the better.

In this series of reviews we look at some fast (above 1200fps) 1 ounce 12 gauge shotgun shells that would be a great choice for FITASC sporting.  Of course they would also be an excellent choice for English sporting clays as well.  All of the clay shooting shells we look at in this series are of the "premium" variety and cost bracket, though they are all very popular among sporting clay shooters who swear by their high quality components and hard shot.

Gamebore White Gold

I have to mention my bias right up front in this post and say that the Gamebore White Gold is my favorite clay shooting cartridge currently available in the U.S. market.  I am also lucky to have the U.S. Distributor IntaSport LLC as a sponsor of this blog. I guess the ultimate testament is the number of top sporting clay competitors around the world who choose to shoot Gamebore cartridges.  There is good reason for this too, Gamebore makes a quality, consistent shell.  In the thousands of them I’ve shot, there has never been a FTF, blooper or malformed shell in the bunch.  They all go bang consistently and reliably, smash targets at all distances and do it with little perceived recoil.

The U.K. made White Gold is a shell that has been around a while.  You could argue that shell technology has moved on, cases, wads, powders etc. but the White Gold is a case of not fixing what isn’t broken.  It’s a work horse for sure pushing 1oz. of high antimony Diamond Shot at 1330fps.  It has a mild perceived recoil no doubt due to a wad with a huge cushion section.  It patterns excellent through my .740 bore gun with both Briley Spectrum and Muller chokes. 

I shot the White Gold 7.5′s in many competitions this year including the TargetLine Cup at Fossil Pointe Sporting Grounds in Slidell, TX.  With me throwing the best moves I had at the Steve Schultz/Tim Miles targets I managed a third in class only three targets out of the win.  The point of shooting a shell you trust is you know it’s going to do the job if you do yours.  You just forget about it and get on with the job of breaking clays and the White Gold does this for me.

Gamebore Blue Diamond

The Blue Diamond is one of Gamebore’s newer shotshells that feature the Gordon System hull from B&P. This hull is supposed to ease felt recoil by the use of a plastic base wad crush zone.  When fired, this base wad is supposed to crush and soak up recoil.  The Diamond Shot payload has about 50fps less velocity than the White Gold but it really felt about the same to me.  It patterns equally as well as the White Gold through my gun and the difference I guess really lays in the price.  The Blue Diamond’s are generally a bit cheaper. 

I would have no problem shooting this load in competition and I did.  I felt it to be a really similar load to the B&P F2 Mach, just a hair slower in velocity.  I really enjoyed shooting it and I guess if I couldn’t get White Gold’s this would be my go to Gamebore shell.

Gamebore Black Gold

The Black Gold is Gamebore’s premium high-velocity target shotshell.  The labeled velocity is 1,500fps and it feels like it on the shoulder even with the Gordon System hull.  I have to say that this shell, of all I tested, was the worst performer pattern wise.  My gun and chokes just did not like it.  Shooting through a Muller U4, which is a Full+ choke equivalent, was useless.  The patterns were completely blown at 45 yards.  It didn’t even appear that half the pellets made it on the plate.  I was better off shooting LM or M at that distance.  Still the patterns didn’t look that great.

Here is the thing with pattern testing.  What you really need to find out is which shell gives you the densest patterns through YOUR chokes and YOUR gun at the appropriate yardages.  The Black Gold did not pattern well for me through my tighter chokes but we know the shell is a good one because it has been used to win world championships including the 2010 World English.  I used the cartridge in competition in the FITASC event at the 2010 Arizona State Championship mostly 7.5′s and a few 8′s.  I stuck with a more open choke, a Muller U2, because the patterns were better for it especially at distance.  I tied for class first.  If I had not done any pattern testing and used my usually tighter chokes, I would have been at a disadvantage.

If you are looking for a top quality shot shell Gamebore has got you covered with a range of offerings.  The White Gold is a trustworthy classic, the Blue Diamond is a great shell and if you must shoot a heavy target load you might try the Black Gold.  It’s heavy on the shoulder for sure but not as bad as others in this velocity range.  You would be wise to pattern these shells in your gun today and find out how good they are.

Next time we’ll have a look at the Vinci lineup.

Today I will present some of the lower cost yet high performance cartridges I have found out in the market. Unless you have been under a rock or even given up on shooting (which I hope you haven’t) I am sure you have noticed some of the outrageous prices being charged for premium shot shells around the country. With lead prices and the economy spinning out of control some manufacturers have seemingly left us shooters out in the cold, with $12.00 a box target loads not unheard of. The last year has been as much about looking for deals on shells as it has been about trying for that perfect clays straight. You hope and pray for both but sadly the odds are against you.

While in my search for cheaper target loads I have found many a good deal from the European suppliers. Like the U.S. manufacturers most Euro suppliers have had to raise prices, but they have done what they can to keep them reasonable. One well known European manufacturer has even made a significant investment to establish a permanent presence in the U.S. market. Here, in somewhat particular order, are the cartridges I have enjoyed shooting and have been able to find for less than $60.00 a case over the last year. By no means is it a complete list, feel free to leave a comment about the deals you have found.

RIO Ammunition: A fairly well known brand in the U.S. market and the house brand of U.E.E. a huge munitions company based in Spain. RIO has recently made a significant investment in the U.S. market opening a loading plant in Tennessee. According to company spokesman Patrick Thomas the new operation will load 12 gauge lead target and hunting cartridges. Cartridges from this plant will trickle into the market by spring. My favorite RIO load by far is the Top Sporting 1 oz. an excellent smooth shooting load at 1280fps that holds a nice tight pattern. It is my ‘go to’ competition load. Other good sporting loads are the Star Team, Top Trap and Target Load Trap. All of these cartridges are loaded with the excellent U.E.E. CSB powders and wads.

NOBEL: Nobel Sport Italia or NSI sporting loads are manufactured in San Giuliano Terme, Italy. NSI cartridges are loaded with a proprietary case and wad, powders are sourced from various vendors including Vectan. I really like the Speed Sporting Clays 1oz at 1300fps. I felt the load to be a little "kicky" compared to a Top Sporting but not unreasonable considering the speed. Anyway, you can be sure that this cartridge has crushing power well downrange. These shells are also offered in a 1 1/8oz load for your English sporting pleasure.

DIANA: Another cartridge loaded in Spain with U.E.E. components and sporting the same hull, wad and CSB powders of the RIO target loads. However this time they are being loaded by cartridge maker SAGA who is owned by…you guessed it, U.E.E. SAGA is not well known in the U.S. but will be familiar to European readers. They are available in 1 oz. and 1 1/8oz loadings of 7.5, 8 and 9 shot at 3 or 2.75 drams. I found the 1 oz. 3 dram load a fine performer and wouldn’t hesitate to shoot it on the toughest FITASC parcour.

Centurion: Perhaps the most surprising load of the group is the Centurion cartridge. According to distributor spokesman Bart Eaton, Centurions are manufactured at Cheddite Italia’s factory in Livonio, Italy. The eight point crimped hull contains a Cheddite wad and the powder looks an awful lot like granulated Vectan but could be of Cheddite manufacture. I have to tell you this is one great shooting load and I enjoyed it immensely. I shot the 1 oz at 1200fps and it was a nice surprise from an unfamiliar brand. They also offer 1200 and 1145fps 1-1/8oz loads.

Wolf: I have heard some people believe the Wolf brand is manufactured in Russia. In actuality it is yet another brand loaded in Spain at the SAGA factory. I have only shot the 2.75 dram 1-1/8oz load at 1145fps and I found it adequate for skeet and some English Sporting. It has a U.E.E. hull, CSB powder and a B&P wad. Wolf distributes a variety of target loads including some interesting 1oz. offerings. They produce one at a speedy 1290fps and one at a really speedy 1450fps.

Charles Daly: Finally we have the Charles Daly Hi-Velocity game cartridge in a 2.75 dram 1oz load. I have not seen this cartridge on shelves in a while but hopefully it is still available. It was found at big box sports retailers like Big 5 on the west coast. This cartridge is again made with U.E.E. components but loaded in Hungary. It has a U.E.E. hull loaded with CSB powder and a Gualandi wad. You’ll agree that sounds more like a target load than a game load! It has around a 1200fps velocity and light recoil. Of everything out there, these surely must be the sleeper of target loads. The company website lists a few other loads suitable for target shooting.

What about the shot, you say? While some of these cartridges are loaded with a high antimony hardened shot, I really find no way to gauge this. From experience I know the truth is you will find all kinds of variations in shot hardness. I look for the proof in the end result or how well it smashes the target down range. I found all of these loads to have uniform pellets and throw excellent patterns through my Inv+ Briley Spectrum chokes. Also I found none of these loads to be particularly ‘dirty.’ You do clean your gun on a regular basis anyway, right? Links of interest:

• Rio Ammo
• Nobel Sport Italia
• Diana (Spanish site)
• Centurion
• Wolf
• Charles Daly

-EDIT- After posting, the RIO company pointed out that U.E.E. officially changed its name in 2006 to MAXAM.