G SPOTLIGHT ON... TW
Spotlight on…
Shotgun ammunition S
GTW takes a look at shotgun ammunition and what it’s used for – including information on what makes the various types diff erent and who makes them…
hotguns are the most versatile of the fi rearms used in shooting sports,
being suitable for a wide variety of applications. T ese range from protecting soft fruit in orchards from small birds, through to a huge range of hunting, sporting and target applications. T ey’re even capable of taking large species such as boars and deer with suitable slug ammunition, while also fulfi lling police, military and self-defence roles.
SIZE MATTERS
Shotguns come in a range of calibres, usually referred to as the bore or gauge (as in 12-bore or 12-gauge) with .410 and 9mm being two smaller calibres.
T e 9mm (also known as
a garden gun) is the smallest practical size and the one used to keep the birds off the blackcurrants and kill the odd rat in the barn without knocking it down! T e .410 is useful for close-
range work for rabbits and even game, with appropriate shot load and restrictions on target selection and distance. From 28-gauge moving up to 12-bore, all are now widely used in many forms of shooting. T e 12-gauge is the most popular and, hence, has the widest variety of ammunition types available for it. Going larger, the 10-bore
has regained popularity for wildfowling with the advent of nontoxic shot in some parts of the world, as well as some specialist applications, from military ones to special loads for cleaning the clinker from the inside of steel-smelting furnaces.
T ere are larger shotguns
too, but those of eight bore and larger are very specialist tools usually used for wildfowling, with ammunition in very limited commercial supply but loaded by the gun’s owner for specifi c purposes. Clay-target shooting and
hunting/game shooting provide the largest markets globally and the popular 12-bore usually off ers the most competitive pricing, due to the economies of scale.
TYPES OF SHOTGUN CARTRIDGES: CLAY AND GAME
T e 12-gauge is universally popular, with 20-gauge and 28-gauge currently gaining ground for clay-target and game shotguns. T e cartridges are off ered in
plastic wad and felt or fi bre- wad (environmentally friendly) options to suit conditions. For
What are your best-selling brands?
RETAILER SURVEY
We electronically surveyed a cross section of retailers who receive GTW each month. Here’s what they said...
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www.guntradeworld.com
1: Winchester 2: Federal 3: Eley Hawk 4: Remington 5: Lyalvale Express 6: Rio 7: Fiocchi 8: Gamebore /Kent 9: RC 10: RWS/Rottweil 11: Hull Cartridge Co 12: Kent 13: Sellier & Bellot
14: Nobelsport Italia 15: Baschieri & Pellagri 16: Diana 17: Clever/Mirage 18: Victory 19: Saga
20: Viri/FOB 21: Bornaghi 22: Caledonian 23: GB Mary Arm 24: Miratiro 25: Vinci / Venatum
top-level clay competitions – especially national, international and Olympic – plastic-wad types are favoured for their speed and consistency. Increasingly felt and fi bre wads – being biodegradable – are required where they will fall on agricultural land. Velocities and shot-hardness
levels will be adjusted to make the loads better suited to diff erent situations, such as harder shot for long-range clay targets and high pheasants.
MAGNUM LOADS
Used for shooting game like hares and wild turkeys, magnum loads have heavier-than- standard payloads of larger- sized lead-shot pellets. Where the use of lead is not banned by legislation these are also extremely eff ective against heavy and high-fl ying duck and goose species. T ey are predominantly, but not exclusively, loaded with plastic-shot-protecting cup
Best-selling gauge cartridges
after 12g: 20g: 82% 16g: 6.5% 28g: 2.5% .410: 9%
nontoxic type: Steel: 78% Bismuth: 12% Hevi-shot: 10%
Best-selling
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