Most of us would be better off shooting 24g shotgun cartridges.

The advantages of a lighter load are often underrated and misunderstood. In addition to costing less and producing lower recoil they give you better patterns. This is due to less damage being done to the pellets during ignition and as they travel through the bores.  The upshot to this is that we also get better kills. Because of reduced pellet damage during firing you get fewer ‘fliers’ and this means a greater number of pellets will fly straighter thereby delivering more even patterns. (Read more about gun recoil here.)

The majority of clay shooters would say that price and recoil are their main criteria for selecting cartridges. A 28g cartridge may perform well but be uncomfortable. A 24g load is also likely to be cheaper.

What 24g shotgun cartridges are on the market?

There’s an amazing range of 24g clay loads around, and not just for those of us who shoot the Olympic trap and skeet disciplines. (You might like to take a look at our list of best clayshooting vests.)

For general clay shooting duties there is plenty of choice around with a load for all occasions. That includes fibre wad cartridges ideally suited for use on simulated game days.

Eley Hawk
Olympic Blues 24g

Olympic Blues have a huge following. Their availability in both plastic and fibre wad, combined with reasonable price and smoothness, means they can more than hold their own in competitions.

Gauge: 12
Case: 70mm
Head: 12mm
Load: 24g, 28g
Shot size 24g: 7.5, 8, 9
Shot size 24g Fibre: 7.5 , 8, 9
Shot size 28g: 7.5, 8, 9
Shot size 28g Fibre: 7.5, 8, 9
Muzzle Velocity 24g: 419mps, 1375fps
Muzzle Velocity 24g Fibre: 411mps, 1350fps
Muzzle Velocity 28g: 419mps, 1375fps
Muzzle Velocity 28g Fibre: 411mps, 1350fps
Material: Lead shot, antimony 2%

Gamebore
Evo Competition Load 24g

The Evo is a very smooth cartridge, which makes it particularly popular with shooters who suffer from recoil discomfort.

Gauge: 12
Case 21g & 24g Fibre: 65mm
Case 24g Plastic & 28g: 70mm
Head: 8mm
Load: 21g, 24g, 28g
Shot size 21g Fibre 7.5, 8
Shot size 24g Fibre 8
Shot size 24g Plastic 7.5, 8, 9
Shot size 28g Fibre 7.5, 8
Shot size 28g Plastic 7.5, 8, 9
Muzzle Velocity 21g: 405mps, 1395fps
Muzzle Velocity 24g, 28g: 412mps, 1420fps
Material: Lead shot

Lyalvale Express
Power Gold 24g 

Power Gold is the cartridge of choice for many competition shooters. By offering it in 24g and fibre, Express have widened its appeal to a broader section of shooters.

Gauge: 12
Case: 70mm
Head 24g: 16mm
Head 28g: 12mm
Load: 24g, 28g
Shot size 24g: 7, 7.5, 8, 9
Shot size 24g Fibre: 7.5 2.4mm, 8
Shot size 28g: 7.5, 8, 9
Shot size 28g Fibre: 7.5, 8, 9
Muzzle Velocity 24g: 434mps, 1425fps
Muzzle Velocity 28g: 426mps, 1400fps
Material: Super tempered lead shot

Hull
Sovereign 24g

A thoroughbred competition cartridge. With 5% antimony and available in 7.5, 8 and 9 shot sizes this is a cartridge capable of competing at the highest level.

Gauge: 12
Case: 70mm
Head: 16mm
Load: 24g, 28g
Shot size 24g: 7.5, 8, 9
Shot size 28g: 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8
Muzzle Velocity 24g: 472mps, 1550fps
Muzzle Velocity 28g: 457mps, 1500fps
Material: Lead shot, 5% antimony

Empire
Empire 24g

Empire only produces fibre wad cartridges but they are very reasonably priced and include free delivery.

Double-based powders are batch matched from source, so these should shoot consistently from one box to the next. Empire claims its compostable HemiSEAL gas seal enables these shells to compete with plastic wad rivals too.

Gauge: 12
Case: 70mm
Head: 16mm
Load: 24g, 28g
Shot size 24g Fibre: 6, 7, 7.5
Shot size 28g Fibre: 5, 6, 7, 7.5
Muzzle Velocity 24g: 442mps, 1450fps
Muzzle Velocity 28g: 442mps, 1450fps
Material: Lead shot, 3% antimony

Fiocchi
FBlack 24g

A very smooth high-performance cartridge that’s as good if not better than many more expensive shells. Unfortunately, it is only available in 7.5 (English 7) as it was developed with Olympic Trap in mind. This is a top performing cartridge that won’t bankrupt you and is more than capable of breaking long-range targets with ease.

Gauge: 12
Case: 70mm
Head: 16mm
Load: 24g
Shot size 24g: 7.5
Muzzle Velocity 24g: 410mps, 1345fps
Material: Lead shot

More 24g shotgun cartridges to consider

T3 Grand Italia 24g

A legendary cartridge that was developed for Olympic Trap but is versatile enough to serve you in other trap disciplines as well as Skeet and Sporting.

Gauge: 12
Case: 70mm
Head: 16mm
Grams: 24, 28
Shot size: 7.5, 8, 9.5
Muzzle Velocity: 412mps, 1352fps
Material: Lead shot, 6% antimony

Nobel Sport Italia
Quattro Fluo Trap 24g

Another Trap cartridge but one that excels at Sporting too. This cartridge patterns well, is fast, reliable and smooth, with little recoil.

Gauge: 12
Case: 70mm
Head: 23mm
Load: 24g
Shot size: 7.5, 8
Muzzle Velocity: 420mps, 1378fps
Muzzle Velocity Fibre: 419mps, 1375fps
Material: Lead shot, 4% antimony

Sellier & Bellot
Skeet 24 Super 24g

A shell that’s very smooth to shoot, so recovery on the second target is outstanding. For the Sporting and Skeet competitor, it is capable of breaking everything within sensible range.

Gauge: 12
Case: 70mm
Head: 12.5mm
Load: 24g
Shot size: 9 (2mm)
Muzzle Velocity: 415mps, 1361fps
Material: Lead shot

Eley Select 24gm is a very popular cartridge, available in both fibre and plastic wads. It comes in at a very reasonable price.

RC2 and RC4

If you are a serious shooter, one of my personal favourites is the RC2 and RC4 – both entirely suitable for the Olympic disciplines.

The RC2 comes in plastic and fibre wad, the RC4 in fibre wad. Choice of 7.5, 8 and 9.5 shot sizes. They’re really smooth with excellent performance and both in my view are outstanding.

 

Fiocchi

Fiocchi also offers great quality performance shells in plastic wad only with two offerings in the shape of the Official Trap and the even higher performing Golden Trap. They’re not cheap but represent serious shells for serious shooters.

This article was originally written in 2020 and has been updated.