STANDARD SHOT SIZES

You frequently carry excellent articles regarding the most appropriate shot size and load to use for various game. Your writers base their advice on true English shot sizes but with the trend to ‘Continental’ shot sizes, do all shooters know what true (English) shot size they are actually using? One of my shooting companions has just bought a large quantity of Gamebore Black Gold No 6 for partridge shooting only to realise that, with a diameter of 2.8mm, the cartridges are in fact equivalent of true English

No 5s and not really appropriate or what he wanted.

Contacting manufactures or visiting their websites reveals that not all ‘Continental’ sizes are the same. With a 2.7mm diameter RC and Fiocci 6s are English 5.5s but Gamebore

Black Gold 6s with a diameter of 2.8mm are English 5s.

The matter is further confused by some manufacturers having cartridges with both English and Continental shot sizes but naming them the same. Lyalvale uses Continental shot sizes for its Supreme Game Ultimate Power (No 6 at 2.8mm is English 5) but English shot sizes for all its other cartridges.

It is about time that manufactures selling cartridges in the UK used one definition for shot size and that should be

the true English size. Failing that they should indicate the shot size diameter on the cartridge boxes so shooters know what they are actually shooting with. Malcolm Sindrey Tixall, Staffordshire