Cartridge price war!
Cartridge price war!
When the game season finishes, cartridge sales tend to fall away until better weather encourages clay shooters and pigeon decoyers to venture out again.
First job for many will be to buy a new supply of ammunition – at the best possible price.
As we all know, world commodity prices and the exchange rate have played havoc with cartridge prices recently and while they’re still cheaper in real terms than in days of yore, the steep increases have hurt us all.
However, odd as it sounds, the start of 2012 saw an unprecedented price war with British manufacturers vying for a slice of the diminished cake.
With special offers and no frills minimalist loads, our Bin Ends page has never been busier!
Only down side was that the offers happened so fast, it was a job to get them into print and some lines sold out quickly.
That said, a fair number will still run until the cartridge trade picks up again in springtime.
LYALVALE
Lyalvale Express have stuck their head above the discount parapet with what one could argue are “double discounts” on what was available earlier in the year.
Their Dan Arms discount clay brand has dropped even lower in price at £150.50 for the 1oz (28gm) plastic wad version and £161 for the fibre.
On the pigeon front, they too have joined the money saving 29gm club with Chasse Pigeon Special at £174 in plastic and £186 in fibre.
This is a fraction more than Gamebore, but it’s a good quality budget pigeon shell at very sensible money.
They are also very hard hitting thanks to the Continental 6 shot which equates to a UK 5 in size. So plenty of cheap prices at the moment, but of course it will not last forever, so be warned and strike while the iron is hot.
I can tell you that particularly on the budget clay loads, the manufacturers are making a tiny margin.
When you factor in the cost of the lead at about 30%, add the other components, packaging, transport and overheads, they are making significantly less than £10 gross margin per 1,000.
Hardly profiteering in my view and one could argue unsustainable, so that is one very good reason that the discounts available currently will not be offered for ever.
My advice is to take advantage while you can.
Lyalvale Express Chasse Pigeon Special 12b 29gm 6
Continental (UK 5)
Case Length: 65mm
Wad: Plastic or Fibre
Powder: Vectan
Velocity: 1375 fps
Price: £174 Plastic
£186 Fibre
Lyalvale Express Dan Arms 12b 28gm 7½
Case Length: 70mm
Wad: Plastic or Fibre
Powder: Vectan
Velocity: 1350 fps
Price: £150.50 Plastic
£161 Fibre
GOOD NEWS
Gamebore’s Kent Velocity and Hull’s popular Comp X range look set to run for a couple of months yet.
And talking of cartridge prices, my view is we may even get away without another increase from UK manufacturers this year.
Even with the current oil prices, the cost of lead – although fluctuating – has settled a little bit.
We may see some increases on imported cartridges but these will come about through exchange rate changes rather than anything else.
Hull Cartridge kicked off the price war with a one-off run of its 27gm Super Fast shell, plastic or fibre wad, at just £151 per 1,000 – and they also did a Super Fast No 6 shot in pigeon format, namely a 29gm plastic or fibre starting at £175.
You may remember that during the fiercest lead price increases, it was Hull with its Comp X range that pioneered the now popular 21gm clay load.
Other manufacturers keen to cut costs quickly followed suit and thanks to the lighter recoil and better patterns this load is definitely here to stay.
Hull Super Fast Competition 12b 27gm 7½
Case Length: 67mm
Wad: Plastic or Fibre
Powder: Nobel Sport
Velocity: 1500 fps
Price: £151 Plastic
£159.75 Fibre
Hull Super Fast HV 12b 29gm 6
Case Length: 67mm
Wad: Plastic or Fibre
Powder: Nobel Sport
Velocity: 1450 fps
Price: £175 Plastic
£182 Fibre
REAL VALUE
Gamebore has followed Hull’s lead in the pigeon shooting market with a 29gm Kent Velocity load starting at just £173 in plastic and £181, fibre – incredible value for any sort of game cartridge.
Gamebore have also discounted its entire Clear Pigeon range starting at £194 for the 30gm (1.1/16oz) plastic wad version.
Clear Pigeon was entirely re-vamped last year, with new branding, packaging and an auto-friendly 2.3/4in (70mm) case across the range.
It also added what has proved to be a very popular fibre wad in the 1.1/8oz (32gm) load at £205 per 1,000.
Not a huge discount on list prices admittedly, but a discount all the same and after originally putting them on special offer for the month of February only, this offer is still running.
Gamebore Clear Pigeon Range 12b 30 or 32gm 6
Case Length: 70mm
Wad: Plastic or Fibre
Powder: B & P
Velocity: 1415 fps
Price: £194.00 30gm plastic
£198.00 30gm fibre
£199.50 32gm plastic
£205.00 32gm fibre
STOP PRESS
Gamebore’s revered discount brand, Kent Velocity, has reduced again and currently starts at £152.50 per 1,000 for the plastic wad and £163 for fibre – a significant discount off the list prices.
Hull’s Comp X range is just £1 more in both cases. Sales of these two are particularly buoyant given the quality you get for your money.
Gamebore Kent Velocity 12b 28gm 7.1/2
Case Length: 70mm
Wad: Plastic or Fibre
Powder: B & P
Velocity: 1400 fps
Price: £152.50 Plastic
£163 Fibre
Hull Comp X 12b 28gm 7.1/2
Case Length: 65mm
Wad: Plastic or Fibre
Powder: Nobel Sport
Velocity: 1375 fps
Price: £153.50 Plastic
£164 Fibre
Gamebore Kent Velocity Pigeon 12b 29gm 6
Case Length: 70mm
Wad: Plastic or Fibre
Powder: B & P
Velocity: 1400 fps
Price: £173 Plastic
£181 Fibre
