The Vouzelaud Live Quarry steel shot cartridges promise to be the solution for game shooters who need a non-toxic cartridge but don’t want to be constricted by their choice of chokes. This range of cartridges are suitable for vintage guns and/or guns with chokes tighter than half choke (which is often an issue with other steel shot cartridges).
In February 2020 a number of Britain’s leading shooting and rural organisations announced that within five years they wanted an end to the use of lead in shotgun ammunition for live quarry shooting. Steel shot has been the overwhelming replacement of choice, however steel does have limitations. Currently the general consensus is that you shouldn’t shoot steel shot through guns that have choke tighter than half choke and you should be careful when shooting steel shot through a vintage gun.
Twenty years ago the small, family-run French gun and cartridge manufacturer Armurerie Vouzelaud set about developing an effective steel shot cartridge. By 2008 this cartridge was ready. Over the subsequent decade and a half this cartridge has be extensively tested on their own shooting grounds and in “real world” situations. Millions of these cartridges were fired through a large range of shotguns, both old and new. The tests successfully showed that these cartridges are suitable to be fired through guns with tighter chokes and older guns.
The Vouzelaud Live Quarry steel shot cartridges are available to the British market through Vouzelaud’s UK importer and partner, Lancaster Wholesale (a division of the Charles Lancaster Group).
ACP Wad and ANYCHOKE Technology
The key to the Vouzelaud Live Quarry’s success is its patented ACP wad. This is the central part of Vouzelaud’s groundbreaking ANYCHOKE technology.
Steel shot cannot easily go through tight chokes like lead shot as it is less malleable due to its greater hardness. The steel shot compacts at the back of the cup wad and there is no room for it to move when going through the forcing cones of the chokes. The barrels are the only part that is able to ‘give’, this is how barrel bulges occur. The ACP wad has been designed to allow controlled bleed of the pressure around the wad, which keeps the pellets in place and allows them both to pass through the choke without issue. Since the pellets are kept in the wad the steel shot does not come in contact with the barrel walls, further minimising any potential damage.
A further advantage of this system is the ability to maintain a high muzzle velocity of up to 1,350 feet per second using the unique double base powder, which has been specially made for the Vouzelaud Live Quarry range of cartridges.
The ACP wad is fully biodegradable and is made from Greenwad, a unique substance that uses bacteria to break it down over time. Using Greenwad ensures that these cartridges have an unlimited shelf life as temperature and moisture does not affect the chemical make up of the wad or its ability to break down.
The Greenwad material that makes up the ACP wad contains SHEEPSTOP, a repellant that prevents animals and birds from eating it – a key concern regarding any wad that does not immediately disintegrate.
Gun Proof
The Vouzelaud Live Quarry range of cartridges conform to the requirements of C.I.P STANDARD PRESSURE STEEL. The advantage of these cartridges being standard pressure steel is that guns only need to be proofed to nitro proof standards (proofed to at least 930 BAR).
By C.I.P. regulations, standard pressure steel cartridges may pass through any choke, so long as the gun is in good condition (see Vouzeland’s user guidance here) and within nominal bore dimensions. For a 12-Bore shotgun, nominal bore dimensions are classified by Vouzelaud as being between between .728″ and .735″ bore diameter, with the exception of guns over-bored at the point of manufacture, such as Browning Back Bore and Beretta Optima Bore guns.
To conform to the C.I.P. requirements of standard pressure steel, the ammunition is:
- Below the required momentum of 12 Newton/Seconds,
- Below Pressure of 740 BAR,
- Below Muzzle Velocity of 425 m/s,
- Maximum shot diameter of 3.25mm.
Vouzelaud’s factory is C.I.P. homologated and the Live Quarry cartridges have been assessed by the Gardone Proof House (Italy), the St Etienne Proof House (France) and the Birmingham Proof House (England).
Range of Vouzelaud Live Quarry Cartridges
Currently this range of cartridges consists of the Live Quarry cartridges and the Live Quarry Vintage cartridges in 12 bore, however for the 2023-2024 game season a 20 bore cartridge and a 12 bore clay cartridge will be introduced. Following this a 16 bore cartridge and additional loads for the 12 bore and 20 bore range will be added.
Vouzelaud Live Quarry
This is a 2 3/4″ cartridge produced in a 28g No. 4 (French) load. This pellet is 3.25mm in diameter, equivalent to a UK No.3. The average pellet count is 200 per cartridge, which is similar to a British lead shot cartridge in a 34g No.4.
Vouzelaud Live Quarry Vintage
This is a 2 1/2″ cartridge produced in a 24g No.5 (French). This pellet is 3mm in diameter, equivalent to a UK No.4. The average pellet count is 218 per cartridge, which is similar to a British lead shot cartridge in a 28g No.5.
