HULL CARTRIDGE PRO PISTON CLOSE RANGE 25M

I am always on the lookout for new ammunition that can enhance my shooting, and these Hull Cartridge Pro Piston Close Range 12-bore cartridges caught my attention. Hull describes them as high-performance close-range cartridges designed for serious competitors looking to maximize their score. They offer a level of performance and consistency not typically found in cartridges at this price point (starting from £343.00 per 1000) and are perfect for competition and practice. I purchased mine from J Knibb.

On inspection
As with all Hull cartridges, they are very well made, with parallel case walls and a very neat six-star crimp closure. Inside, you will find a loading of 28g of No.9 (2mm) shot, all housed in a 70mm long case. If you start counting, you will find a whopping 630 pellets per cartridge.
The case shows a 12mm nickel-washed head and is a transparent green colour, clearly showing the contents within. It is labelled with silver lettering, and inside you will find some green flaked powder that spits out the pellets at 1475fps, which is really quite fast. Interestingly, the wad is plastic and is designed to enable rapid shot dispersal, maximum pattern spread, and minimal recoil.
The wad has a symmetrical cupped section to the top and bottom, one to cradle the shot and the second to cover and enclose the powder content. Not all of the shot is enclosed and as the cartridge is fired, the ventilated concertina middle section compresses and uniformly moves the pellets up the bore to produce an even spread of shot.
The Pro Piston load operates on the principle of minimizing or negating the need to change chokes. It achieves this by utilizing the “shot cloud” wad system, which results in a dense and even spread of all the pellets, leading to a devastating effect on clays at closer ranges. Overall, these cartridges are very handy for fast, close birds that often slip through the pattern before you can correct the amount of lead you are giving them.
They are also designed to produce low recoil, helping to minimize shooter fatigue during a competition. I also found that even after getting through a couple of boxes, the barrel remained remarkably clean of powder residue and pellet streaks.
At the end of the day, these cartridges are suitable for both beginners and seasoned shooters. Hull states that with this load, you have a get out of jail free card if your shooting is a bit off!

In the field
I shot the Browning B525 Autumn Silver 12-bore with ¼ and ½ chokes fitted, and I set up the pattern boards at 25 yards. The box says 25m but I’m still old school, sorry. First up, all of Hull’s cartridges are very uniform and concentric, meaning they pop into the chambers with no issues and eject very positively, with no sticky ejectors due to high pressure. So, a good start. Recoil-wise, it’s so low as to be almost inconsequential, despite still being a 28g loading.
When I walked up to each pattern board it really was like they had been attacked by a swarm of bees, as they were smothered with holes. The ¼ choke produced a total of 493 hits on the board, with 178 inners and 315 outers, which were all very evenly spread.
The ½ choke was even better than expected, with 362 inner strikes and 232 outer hits, so a whopping 594 pellet strikes in total. That’s amazing, as a full load is about 630 pellets to start with. The small shot size has less energy retention than No.7.5s, for example, but that is why these cartridges are for shorter ranges. However, this limitation is made up for by the sheer volume of shot that hits the target.
Again, superbly dense and even patterning, and I would certainly use this round for squirrels, rats, and ferals. The cartridges in Hull’s range are manufactured with integrity to produce consistent high performance. Additionally, they often offer unique features that you didn’t know you needed.

Conclusion
This load is obviously aimed at the clay market and it offers superb performance, as seen on the pattern boards. It is very low recoiling and thus mild to shoot, and a second quick shot is simple to administer. I love the dense and wide patterns and will certainly be using these for some close-range vermin work shortly.

Contacts:
Hull Cartridge - www.hullcartridge.co.uk
J Knibbs – Cartridges -
www.airgunspares.com