Cheap Spanish cartridges reviewed

Cost conscious shooters will almost certainly be interested in news that there’s a ‘new kid on the block’ where budget priced cartridges are concerned.

Trust Cartridges from Spain are good quality loads, very competitively priced and consistent.

The manufacturers have an extensive range of shells but the importers have chosen to stick to a limited selection for starters and increase the choice if sales warrant it.

At present Trust’s fibre wad loads are proving too expensive to import, but this may change if the take up proves popular.

This means that for the time being cartridges are only available with plastic wads, not great news for game shooters but the field loads available make for very economical pigeon cartridges.

UP THE COMPETITION
On the clay side, Trust Sporting Competition is available in 24 and 28gm format loaded with 7.1/2 or 8 shot in 2.3/4in (70mm) cases.

And to keep costs down the components have been loaded into a case with a short 8mm electroplated head.

That said, the chosen tube is actually quite eye catching with silver printing on a translucent turquoise plastic and it’s finished with a standard six star crimp.

The shot is regular, hard and contained in a full plastic shot cup that’s propelled by a fast burning Nobel Sport disc powder.

Sporting Competition is smooth to shoot and appear to be hard hitting with a muzzle velocity of 1425fps – not the fastest competition cartridge out there but, then again, they are not the slowest, either.

And then there’s the price…

The 24gm load priced at £152.50 per 1,000 is actually about £10 cheaper than any other 24gm plastic wad clay load you care to mention and that, I think you will agree, is no mean feat in the present economic climate!

The 28gm (1oz) load at £157.50 is right in there among the budget cartridges currently available from most British or Continental manufacturers.

GAME ON
There’s slightly more choice in the range of game loads available with 28gm, 30gm and 32gm in plastic wad 6 shot only in 70mm cases and all called Super Halcon.

The shot in these is even more impressive than the clay loads being extremely regular and of the highest quality.

The Spanish 6 shot is actually an English 5.1/2 which, in my book, is a really useful size and will do pretty much anything you intend to point it at.

I love this 5.1/2 shot size, just as I love the continental 7, which equates to an English 6.1/2.

The Super Halcon also notches up a muzzle velocity of 1425fps, which in field terms equates to being pretty fruity for a game load.

The fact they are only available in a plastic wad will obviously reduce their appeal to the wider market, but it’s unlikely to deter the pigeon shooters amongst us.

Considering the retail price – £170 per thousand for the 28gm version – I have to say the quality is quite impressive.

The cases might still be basic, with short 8mm heads and red plastic tubes with black printing, but they carry similar wads to the competition version and are powered by a Nobel Sport powder.

Price of the 28gm cartridge makes it easily the cheapest game or pigeon cartridge on the market at the moment.

Trust’s 30gm (1.1/16oz) load comes in at £189 which puts it right in amongst mainstream pigeon shooting ammo.

Cheaper alternatives to these are currently available but there’s no guarantee as to how long such offer prices might last.

Finally, for the Super Halcon 32gm (1.1/8oz) you can expect to pay £199 per 1,000 and you can see that the price gap is beginning to narrow.

Still excellent value, there is however only one product that comes in at less money, namely Fiocchi’s Sporting Pigeon at around £196.

IN SUMMARY
It could be argued that there is already too much choice in the cartridge world, with different manufacturers duplicating similar products.

However they all use different components and as such each has different ballistics and characteristics.

Perhaps Trust is a little known make – but purely on value you might decide to give them a try.

And who knows, you may even be pleasantly surprised…

Check the importer’s website at www.trust-eibarres.com