Cheapest clay cartridges

The pigeon man

So I'm currently buying Olympic blues and tunet universal for €55 a slab. I'm wondering is anyone getting better value?

I can buy in bulk. Up to 2,000 in one purchase.

Thanks in advance.

Luckysasha

You can go to around €200 per thousand for some ofthe budget shells. Express English Sporter for example but you will sacrifice on quality. Your not bad in the price bracket your in at €220 per thousand thats what im paying atthe moment for express power blue or eley olympic blues. Im shooting roughly 500 - 600 a month and i tried a lot of shells at the start thinking price point wouldnt make a difference but it does. I find the €200 per thousand shells to be thumpy and hard shooting if your doing a lot so maybe bare that in mind. Maybe shop around and try a few more brands in your price bracket and find a shell that suits you and your gun.

garv123

Olympic blue and can kick quiet a bit compared to others.
Same as caledonian cartridges which are made by eley apparently.

I found Hull superfast or Kents are much smoother to shoot, especially in a lighter gun.

Cheap isn't always better in the long run.

cavan shooter

Be careful wity cheap vs good value. Nothing wrong with Express or Eley Blues good value and good shells, i d give a shout out for Fiochii TT ones at €220 per thousand.

Next step up would be Hull Superfast at €235. That's what I'm sticking with at the minute but 2000 would do me a long time and worth it for consistency. I like them the auto likes them and im getting good breaks.

Gorgeousgeorge

Gamebore velocity are a decent cart. Bought some cheddite mach 3 in courtlough a few weeks back at the LL got them at 55 a slab as we bought 3000 between a few if us.

Luckysasha

The only problem with trying to use one brand of shell is the availability. I know i cant find express power blues anywhere at the moment thats why i try and shoot 50 / 50 between power blues and eley olympic blues. Most dealers will do you a discount if buying in bulk. Ardee sports are the distributors for eley so go direct to them for your olympic blues likewise as far as i know mourne shooting grounds are distributors for express so go directly to them. Get a few lads together do a deal on say ten thousand, payfor them and lift your license limit as you need them.

Luckysasha

Gorgeousgeorge wrote: »

Gamebore velocity are a decent cart. Bought some cheddite mach 3 in courtlough a few weeks back at the LL got them at 55 a slab as we bought 3000 between a few if us.

Now you need fibre wads For Batterstown!!!

The pigeon man

I wouldn't mind going in with a couple of shooters for a bulk buy. I'm shooting the Leinster league.

Gorgeousgeorge

Luckysasha wrote: »

Now you need fibre wads For Batterstown!!!

always did! picked up some whitegold in fibre for it a few weeks back!

ace86

With clay cartridges like the guys said cheapest is not always the best,but some fellows tell you it don’t matter what cartridges they have in they will hit them. I use hull pro ones and dtl 300 costing roughly €250/1000 and used some of the below which I find good but prefer a fast shell to be honest .
Eley blues are €205/1000 good but pucky on the shoulder
Eley gold are €245/1000
Fiocchi F Blacks €245/1000
I have used bornaghi as well but your talking 265/1000
I have seen clevers too at €225/1000 but I don’t like them and don’t rate them very much to be honest.

The pigeon man

I've heard alot of lads saying the Olympic blues are thumpy. My gun is heavy so I must not feel it. I feel that if I spent an extra €20 a slab for premium shells I wouldn't hit anymore clays.

I think the gamebore velocity plus cartridges are also good and reasonably priced. Great for crows aswell through a tight choke.

Luckysasha

Your right, the price of the shell wont make you hit or miss more clays. But what it will do is take another variable out of the equation so to speak. If your happy with your gun set up and fit, happy with your choke selection and keep to the same shell then if your missing the clay it gives you a baseline to start from as to why your missing ie: your technique, reading the target properly, too much or too little lead. I have seen it time after time at shoots lads run low on shells and grab 2 from their mates bag and miss a pair of targets and the first thing they blame is the shell. I use express power blues or eley olympic blues because they are nearly identical to me in terms of speed and recoil. So take your time and find a shell both you and your gun are happy with and try to stick to one shell. When i started first whatever shell was available at the grounds i was shooting is what i used and my scores where all over the place but since i have standardized on shells im hitting consistant numbers

ace86

The pigeon man wrote: »

I've heard alot of lads saying the Olympic blues are thumpy. My gun is heavy so I must not feel it. I feel that if I spent an extra €20 a slab for premium shells I wouldn't hit anymore clays.

I think the gamebore velocity plus cartridges are also good and reasonably priced. Great for crows aswell through a tight choke.

Well what I have found the dear shells are faster and give better patterns then the cheap ones but like a poster said your technique timing etc can be a factor as well and maybe not the shells but I have found the dear shells worked better for me to be honest. Hull travel at 1450F/ps don’t know what eley blues are but it does make a difference in my opinion.

Gorgeousgeorge

speed is all lies and marketing lads ignore the fps. gamebore claim 1500 fps for the black gold and express 1450 for the power gold etc. tests done a few years ago proved it was bull. the fastest proven cartridge is suppose to be the clever t4 and the bornaghi black.

alot of cartridges use the same powder wads primer etc.

but again who knows!! marketing is a powerful tool!

The pigeon man

I've never found speed to be that important. No matter what speed the cartridge is you still need to the right amount of lead to break the clay.

I shot the gambore hyper velocity in 26g. They have a stated velocity of 1500 fps and they were unpleasant on my shoulder. I didn't hit anymore clays with them that I would with an Olympic blue.

When it comes to patterns I think that you can still get just as good of a pattern with a cheap cartridge. Have a look at the pattern below. This was velocity plus at 30 yards through a half choke in a silver pigeon. I shot slightly up the left. That was my fault.

https://m.imgur.com/a/bvGsUzr

cavan shooter

I see Gillilands has the express back in.

cavan shooter

I see Gillilands has the express back in.

Luckysasha

Prices have gone up though. I rang today and was quoted €240 / 1000 for power blues. An increase of €20. Might stick to the olympic blues. Brennans in ardee have them at €220 / 1000

ace86

Gorgeousgeorge wrote: »

speed is all lies and marketing lads ignore the fps. gamebore claim 1500 fps for the black gold and express 1450 for the power gold etc. tests done a few years ago proved it was bull. the fastest proven cartridge is suppose to be the clever t4 and the bornaghi black.

alot of cartridges use the same powder wads primer etc.

but again who knows!! marketing is a powerful tool!

Bornaghi all black are a great cartridge to be honest but just costly ,but like I say from my own experience a good shell are better then the cheap ones just find they give better kills and ur shoulder will still be in tact in the morning. Like that each to their own if a cheap one suites you and are getting the hits and scores you need don’t change.

cavan shooter

If it has the right address it's going to get there. I know a man that will shoot you off a sporting field using a browning got trap gun and a slab of the cheapest shells you have got. I saw him shoot a 50 straight with a Tesco bag full of old cap he found around the house...this man is a legend up our way and for the record he is shooting Eley blues. I also hear Bawnboy firearms has caledonian shells and I think he is €200 per thousand,.

The pigeon man

cavan shooter wrote: »

If it has the right address it's going to get there. I know a man that will shoot you off a sporting field using a browning got trap gun and a slab of the cheapest shells you have got. I saw him shoot a 50 straight with a Tesco bag full of old cap he found around the house...this man is a legend up our way and for the record he is shooting Eley blues. I also hear Bawnboy firearms has caledonian shells and I think he is €200 per thousand,.

You're dead right. It has to be in the right place. I think that choke is far more important than cartridges for clean breaks. I have Muller u2s and they really mince the clays. Whereas with the factory chokes I was getting chippy breaks.

I put 100 Olympic blues down my gun today and the barrels looked so clean you'd think it wasn't fired.

cavan shooter

Luckysasha wrote: »

Prices have gone up though. I rang today and was quoted €240 / 1000 for power blues. An increase of €20. Might stick to the olympic blues. Brennans in ardee have them at €220 / 1000

I see he has express english sporter at €43.50 and Sporttrap for 52 per 250. Now thats good value

cavan shooter

Luckysasha wrote: »

Prices have gone up though. I rang today and was quoted €240 / 1000 for power blues. An increase of €20. Might stick to the olympic blues. Brennans in ardee have them at €220 / 1000

I see he has express english sporter at £43.50 at €52.50 per 250.

Luckysasha

I was in it yesterday and saw the new price list. English sporter where always €199 / 1000 so they have come down a bit. The blues and golds have jumped €20 & €35 respectively / 1000. Would love to keep shooting the blues but at €240 / 1000 i think i will stick to the eley olympic blues

Gorgeousgeorge

Luckysasha wrote: »

I was in it yesterday and saw the new price list. English sporter where always €199 / 1000 so they have come down a bit. The blues and golds have jumped €20 & €35 respectively / 1000. Would love to keep shooting the blues but at €240 / 1000 i think i will stick to the eley olympic blues

I like the english sporter. Can get it in any size you want. 240 is pricey for the blues. I bought 1000 of them last year when you suggested for 212 a 1000 off him. Fine cart for that price.

The pigeon man

Are you talking about Mourne shooting grounds? Do they deliver 1000 shells for €200

garv123

I shot a 50 bird twice with Eley superbs yesterday, very smooth compared to the eley Olympic blues.

Luckysasha

Gorgeousgeorge wrote: »

I like the english sporter. Can get it in any size you want. 240 is pricey for the blues. I bought 1000 of them last year when you suggested for 212 a 1000 off him. Fine cart for that price.

They are a lovely shell and they suit my gun but im afraid €240 is a bit too much.

Luckysasha

The pigeon man wrote: »

Are you talking about Mourne shooting grounds? Do they deliver 1000 shells for €200

Ring them and ask the lads. Closed Monday though

Luckysasha

garv123 wrote: »

I shot a 50 bird twice with Eley superbs yesterday, very smooth compared to the eley Olympic blues.

I think i was quoted €260 / 1000 for superbs in Brennans. Open to correction though

cavan shooter

Good article a while back comparing Eley blues and superb and nothing between them only price.

The pigeon man

This thread is like one on the bargain alerts forum.

The best quote I can get so far is 1000 English sporters for €210.

I want to get to about €200. Thanks for all the contributions so far.

Luckysasha

English sporters in mourne are €172 / 1000 according to their Facebook page

The pigeon man

Luckysasha wrote: »

English sporters in mourne are €172 / 1000 according to their Facebook page

Correct me if I'm wrong but is that in pounds?

raymo19

I have been shooting Tunet 7.5 and 8 recently. Much better shell that Caledonian. No need to go to the dentist after shooting. Tunet are an excellent shell IMO. Quite smooth and clean. Work out at 220 per 000. Every bit as good as Olympic blues. Expensive shells usually with harder shot only required for edgy long range targets. Waste of money IMO considering most sporting targets are hit or missed within 40 yds. Leave the expensive shells for the well healed idiots.

Gorgeousgeorge

Gonna bump this one up as I'm now totally out of cartridges and il be fecked if I'm paying 70 a slab!

So anyone have anymore bargains. See John Lambert in wexford is carrying the full GB range now not sure on prices but the lower end is around 50/55 a slab

raymo19

Tunet still best bang for buck in that range. Hard to get them anymore.

Raymo.

ace86

Luckysasha wrote: »

I was in it yesterday and saw the new price list. English sporter where always €199 / 1000 so they have come down a bit. The blues and golds have jumped €20 & €35 respectively / 1000. Would love to keep shooting the blues but at €240 / 1000 i think i will stick to the eley olympic blues

Knocknagoshel doing eley Olympic blues for. 205/1000 anything after that ur taking €245/1000 roughly

The pigeon man

Two slabs to your door for €110. A decent deal and very convenient.

https://outdoorsports.ie/products/eleyolympicbluestrapshells

Four slabs of tunets delivered to your door for €215

https://ardeesports.com/products/tunet-universelle-28gr