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For many people it was a great loss when the RC range from Italy disappeared from the UK market. They had a strong following in many areas, but fell foul of unfavourable exchange rates and a market in which margins can be slim to say the least. Now they are back, through Shooting Star of Suffolk who also handle the Spanish Saga brand.
Main seller will be the 28 gram 'Sporting Trap' load which is aimed very much at the middle of the market where the volume lies. It is nicely presented in a 12mm brass case (colour coded between the three sizes 7, 8 and 9) well finished with a six star crimp. Component quality is equally good, especially the well-made shot which was very uniform under the magnifying glass.
Performance is in the mid range too, with muzzle velocity around 1400 f.p.s. Through the gun they have the characteristic Italian 'short and sharp' felt recoil which many prefer. Nick Levett-Scrivener of Shooting Star (01728-660372) reckons that prices will be around £111 per thousand and that should prove attractive enough to re-awaken some of the old brand loyalty.
Fibre wad users are catered for with the familiar old RC2 sporting clays load which was always a handy performer. This is a true fibre shell too, without the little plastic obturator that some Italian makers put in to make a bit of a nonsense of the whole thing.
Finally Nick slipped into the package a box of 10 JK6 36 gram loads, - the ideal packaging for Helice shooters or FITASC enthusiasts who like to have a bit of heavy artillery in reserve (or even those who play the pool shoots seriously). As you might expect it comes as a bit of a shock after years of exposure to 28 and 24 gram loads but if you want to get a lot of lead in the air then this is certainly an effective way to do it! The cost is likely to be about 17p a bang so it's not one to use on everything.

MIRAGE GRAND ITALIA SKEET

Skeet loads in 24 gram form are a bit like London buses. You don't see any for ages then two come along at once.
First up was the new Clever Mirage Grand Italia being brought in by Continental Shooting Supplies. Mirage cartridges are the only ones to bear the Perazzi name and have impressed us in the past, but mainly in trap loads. Coming from Italy, this one is obviously aimed at the serious Olympic Skeet shooter.
A combination of SNIA 205 powder and the Ballistica 27 wad (exclusive to Mirage) is loaded in a high brass Cheddite case, in all a neat and well assembled package. Like most 24 gram competition loads it is a sharp performer at 347 m.p.s. (1140 f.p.s) observed velocity. The pressure is a highish 667 bars although it is not a particularly heavy recoiling cartridge.
This speed is not really necessary in a skeet load, particularly if pattern quality suffers, but that certainly could not be said of this one. In fact I got a high percentage of 'cor look at that' breaks at skeet ranges, which indicates that the Grand Italia throws quite dense patterns. At £116 per thousand they are probably not for the average club shooter, but anyone looking for a cartridge with which to shoot Olympic Skeet seriously should put this one on the short list.

EXPRESS EXCEL SKEET

The second lightweight skeet load to come my way was this version of the Express Excel, which has built up such a following for international trap shooting. This too is a candidate for anyone serious about Olympic Skeet, but it was in fact recommended by a lady shooter of my acquaintance, who sacrifices a few pellets but enjoys the comfortable shooting the lighter load offers.
It is indeed a smooth performer, but with no compromise at the business end. At the kind of ranges (25 yards or so maximum) that number 9 shot is designed for, I would defy most people to tell the difference in effectiveness between this and a full one ounce (28 gram load). With a well-matched choke selection, there are more than enough pellets in the pattern to do the job. Another top performer from the Lyalvale stable.

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