Hi guys,well what make of shot do you use and why,I have been using a Dinsmore non-toxic shot more than 25 years back,I bought a trade pack of the seven partition boxes from my grandfather in law's shop,they were good,didn't damage the line,were re-usable for quite a while and open and close with your thumb nail,after quite a while the AA's got lowish,so I bought a trade pack of those and although they were different style,they were good too,so after a while I bought another trade pack of 7 partition boxes before the old fella retired,they looked pretty similar to the AA's,but they weren't,they were sh1te,hard,impossible to close and open without pliers or a knife,hence the question,answers on a matchbox please,lol...
What make of shot do you find best?
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wetthrough
Well-known member
I don't often use bigger than 8s but when I do they're Anchor. Seem OK. Easy enough to get on and off and reuse. For the 8s and 10s I was using Waterline StikShot which suited me fine. Easy to put on and for the most part get off if you don't squeeze them too tight. The source for Waterline has dried up. Got some Stubz Stumpy Styles (lead, 8s and 10s) but they're hard, materially and to get on and off, don't like them. Ended up with NG Grippa Styx but don't much care for them either. They're not bad just not as easy to put on as the Waterline.
Paste paul
Well-known member
I use dinsmore which I’ve had for many years and find it ok in sizes 6-4-1-bb-aa-ssg
On thicker line and when carping on commercial waters I use Stotz sizes 8-9 normally sometimes 10 which sticks on the line really well but on thinner line it does tend to move ......
So on finer line I use dinsmore lead shot sizes 8-9-10-11 micro shot and find this works ok but occasionally it pings off......
Both my dinsmore packs have lasted years and I still have plenty left.
On thicker line and when carping on commercial waters I use Stotz sizes 8-9 normally sometimes 10 which sticks on the line really well but on thinner line it does tend to move ......
So on finer line I use dinsmore lead shot sizes 8-9-10-11 micro shot and find this works ok but occasionally it pings off......
Both my dinsmore packs have lasted years and I still have plenty left.
markcw
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I was using Dinsmore yesterday for locking shot for float, I used stotz down the line,
I have noticed with some of the smaller sizes of Dinsmore the slot is either closed or hard to open.
I have 3 of the 7 compartment tubs and most in them seem to be the same,
Will be going back to Prestons or try and source some ZLT
I have noticed with some of the smaller sizes of Dinsmore the slot is either closed or hard to open.
I have 3 of the 7 compartment tubs and most in them seem to be the same,
Will be going back to Prestons or try and source some ZLT
Paste paul
Well-known member
What about the ballenbini shot....... I watched a Facebook film by Tom scholey and he swears by it....
He says it’s even the same size and the cut is the same but it’s quite hard......
He says it never pings of!!!!!
I think bob nudd uses it too so it must have some merit......
He did say it’s pricey though
He says it’s even the same size and the cut is the same but it’s quite hard......
He says it never pings of!!!!!
I think bob nudd uses it too so it must have some merit......
He did say it’s pricey though
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Blimey, your a bit posh arn't you, but you have good taste
.I've used pretty much all the regular shot available to us at one time or another. I got some of the real lead shot from Ireland, and even from poland, but, the problem with that stuff is the slits are cut at irregular places on the shot and so they don't sit well on the line....I like mine being regimental ....oh, and lead is illegal
.I do still have numerous containers of various shot types including dinsmores, all void of bb's and no1's, my most used shot.
My gripes with dinsmores are the shot are too hard, and if I lightly pinch them on my line (which I like to do) as it enables me to slide them up and down without damaging the line, they keep pinging off.
Probably over a decade ago I discovered anchor double cut shot and I prefer them to all the others by a country mile. They are very easy to remove as they are double cut, and they don't seem overly hard.
I re use mine until I inevitably drop them in the grass etc, or they get snagged and left in the water.
Just for reference to anyone interested, I find when adding shot to my line...if I pull my line so it stretches a little before adding the shot I don't have to pinch them on so hard, as the line expands when released and fixes the shot in place. To move my shot about whilst fishing, by pulling my line taught again, the shot can slide along the line with ease.
My old dinsmores you could open a shut easily with your fingers and they weren't double cut and that was from new,they obviousy weren't making enough money on those,as the newer versions(double cut or not are inferior),so obviously cheaper materials imo.
Just to add,I looked at trying Dave Harrells shot from fleabay,but was put of when in the write up it said that you might want to use pliers to put them on the line,yuk....
Just to add,I looked at trying Dave Harrells shot from fleabay,but was put of when in the write up it said that you might want to use pliers to put them on the line,yuk....
wetthrough
Well-known member
You might be right. The Stubz I got claim to be lead but they're quite hard. Even if pure lead gets hard through processing, from what I've read it reverts to its soft state in time. Tiny amounts of contaminants can cause it to be hard and I would guess the same applies to non lead shot. If they're using poorer quality/less pure materials, possibly from reclaimed sources, it may well account for variation.
Another shout for the Sensas Soft Green shot . . . I've used it ever since it first came out and find it perfect as it is soft enough to pinch on by hand but hard enough to stay put until you want to slide it up or down.
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Mark Wintle
Well-known member
I got a good supply of the best Dinsmore no. 8s a few years ago but for non toxic Anchor double cut is good; needs to be used a couple of times to soften it up and eventually the hinge breaks through fatigue. I have a couple of boxes of the Sensas green shot and very good it is too but finding it is another matter *tell a lie Matchman Supplies have it but it's expensive!
That's the brand I have found most variable. Some is lovely and soft but the majority - in my experience - is hard as tin !!
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
I’ve never had a problem with Preston super soft shot, they come in nice little individual dispensers too..
I bought a very large supply of Sensas Green shot from France and have never found it to be . . . hard
Maybe that's what I should have done rather than buy it here. I think if i had 20 tubs (8' and 10's mostly but some 11's) I must have binned 15 of them.They were that hard.
The variation between batches might explain one of the puzzling things about lead shot - people recommending things in good faith that turn out poor when someone else buys them. I have some tubs of famous name no 8's that are like black ball bearings but which I ordered after reading how great they were.
I've found Sensas to be consistently satisfactory which is why I've used it for many years. I usually top mine up with a few boxes tagged on to orders from Bobco or Benwicks as my local outlets only seem to stock Dinsmores.