Drennan Kenderdine gets his hands on the newest member of the Power Blue range, and tests its performance on several sim game days.
The Power Blue range has certainly cemented itself into British clay shooting, and you see it being used the length and breadth of our island. It received a facelift not so long ago, and more recently, The Alchemist (who seems fixated on his lab and his endless concoctions) decided to add to the Power Blue range with the birth of a 24g fibre load.
The 70mm case comes in the famous petrol blue colour and is supported by a bright 12mm silver ferrule. The box has the usual large green label on it to indicate that this is a fibre wad cartridge, and as I have said before I think this easy method of identification is brilliant and a must to separate fibre and plastic wads. The outer packaging (boxing 250 cartridges together) supports the same labelling system, so you could have two Power Blue cartridges, one in plastic and one in fibre, and you are going to be able to spot the difference swiftly thanks to the simple green label… genius.
Horses for courses
The Alchemist told me that the 24g Power Blue was created with the intention of meeting the increasing demand for cartridges suitable for simulated game shooting. The 24g certainly is getting more and more popular, with many shooters just wanting that bit more oomph than you will get from a 21g load, while still wanting respite from the recoil you can experience from a 28g load. So, armed with the knowledge that this cartridge is made with sim game days in mind, I put it to work on several, including E J Churchill’s, Barbury Shooting Ground’s, and a couple of my own days run at various estates.
As expected, the performance shone through, and I found that its smooth and crisp performance combined with the distinct reduction in recoil made for an effortless and very enjoyable shooting experience. The beauty of simulated days is that you get to shoot a variety of targets at all ranges; this rings even truer if you are shooting with a group of light-hearted people who enjoy the tradition of poaching targets. I love this as it gave me the opportunity to shoot a few pegs down to really test the legs and performance of the Power Blue 24g at extended range.
Conclusions
I did report back to The Alchemist that his new child behaved and performed outstandingly! I did also mention to him that, although it was birthed with simulated game in mind, this 24g fibre shell sits very well for those shooters looking for an environmentally conscious cartridge with great performance and minimal recoil, to shoot on grounds and estates that require fibre only cartridges for Sporting, and even other disciplines.
Available in No.7.5, fibre wad
SRP: £272 per 1,000
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