Component Analysis
TBC
Performance Data
| Date | Range | Choke (Nominal) | 30" Circle Impacts (Total) | Performance (Nominal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17/04/2017 | 30 Yards | 0.020" (Improved Modified) | 213 (274) | 78% (Modified) |
| 01/01/2017 | 30 Yards | 0.025" (Full) | 175 (274) | 64% (Skeet) |
| 01/01/2017 | 30 Yards | 0.025" (Full) | 179 (274) | 65% (Skeet) |
| 08/01/2017 | 40 Yards | 0.015" (Modified) | 116 (274) | 42% (Cylinder) |
| 08/01/2017 | 40 Yards | 0.020" (Improved Modified) | 133 (274) | 49% (Improved Cylinder) |
| 17/04/2017 | 40 Yards | 0.020" (Improved Modified) | 128 (274) | 47% (Skeet) |
| 17/04/2017 | 40 Yards | 0.020" (Improved Modified) | 116 (274) | 42% (Cylinder) |
| 01/01/2017 | 40 Yards | 0.025" (Full) | 72 (274) | 26% (< Cylinder) |
| 01/01/2017 | 40 Yards | 0.025" (Full) | 88 (274) | 32% (< Cylinder) |
Performance Analysis
At the time of writing, the Eley “Trap” cartridge is the best-performing cartridge that the team at SmallBoreShotguns have tested. It provides usable 40-yard patterns and is the only cartridge thus far to satisfy The Hedgewalker’s requirement of 120 pellets in the standard circle at that distance, which it achieves with a 0.020″ choke constriction in the SmallBoreShotguns test gun.
On paper, the cartridge is close to ideal, but not absolutely so. The 2.3mm shot is on the small side for hunting. It might be the case that the same cartridge, loaded with #7 shot, would – in spite of containing fewer pellets overall – pattern as well or better than this cartridge, but it is by no means guaranteed.
With so many variables inherent in cartridge design, predicting the result of a single change is more of an art than a science. Whilst larger shot would usually pattern more tightly, the evidence thus far is that the improvement in percentage performance observed is often not enough to compensate for the loss of absolute performance – i.e. pellets in the circle – and it may simply be impossible to find a cartridge containing #7 shot which patterns sufficiently well to equal the performance of the “Trap” cartridge. This, then, may be as good as it gets, so to speak.
A cartridge containing a plastic wad ought to pattern better than a fibre wad, all other things being equal, though as we have seen recently with the testing of the Fiocchi “Magnum” cartridges, a full length wad may be detrimental to patterns. The “Trap” cartridge, with it’s half-length plastic wad, suggests that a compromise may be best.
A fibre wad will not interfere with the behavior of the pellets at the choke, as it passes through after the shot has left the barrel. On the other hand, it does not protect the pellets from scrubbing along the barrel walls and cannot provide such effective obturation of the combustion gases, some of which may pass by and interfere with the shot.
Eley’s plastic “half wad” could therefore be viewed as ingenious. Combustion gases are retained effectively behind the shot by the plastic skirt of the wad and do not interfere with (weld, or damage) the shot. The lower half of the shot column, already damaged somewhat by compression at the point of firing, is protected from further damage with the barrel walls. Meanwhile, the upper half of the column, less affected by compression, is allowed scrub the barrel, but also to exit the muzzle without interference of the wad and the extra constriction it effectively applies to the load, risking a blown pattern. In short, not optimizing for any one factor may produce a cartridge which is optimum for them all.
It is unarguable that this is a cartridge intended for clay target shooting. The branding, marketing and range of shot sizes available for the cartridge all indicate that to be the case, as does the placement of the cartridge’s specification on the Eley website. However, if one is willing to risk the use of #7½ shot on live game, this orientation towards clay shooting grants the prospective hunter one further advantage: hard, high-quality shot.
Although only a materials chemist or the shot manufacturer could confirm the actual hardness and content of the shot, it is reasonable to assume that the shot used to load these cartridges has a relatively high antimony content. This can only be beneficial as far as patter quality goes, since each pellet will have a greater resistance to deformation. Although softer lead may kill better – the softness contributes to deformation on impact with the quarry, causing larger wounds – a gun and cartridge will only kill at all if there are pellets with which the game will be hit in the first place. With the .410 so marginal at medium-to-long ranges already, any improvement in pattern quality is likely to outweigh a fractional loss of “lethality” from using harder shot.
Certainly, the patterns shot under test conditions show that, whatever approach has been taken to the design of this cartridge, the results are outstanding. On the very first occasion that this cartridge was patterned, it accounted for a passing jackdaw which ended up in the photograph posted with the article which reported it. It has subsequently accounted for other birds, near and far, though the number of opportunities to test it in the field has been limited by the need to retain some cartridges for patterning.
Example Patterns
