For years Clever cartridges have largely been associated with the top end of clay shooting. Founded by the Chiampan brothers back in 1952, the company was focused on excellence - and that’s what they have delivered. Visit their website at www.clevervr.com/en/ and you’ll find a list of European, World and Olympic medal winners who have put their faith in the Clever brand; it reads like a Who’s Who of clay shooting greats.
Clever realised that many shooters would like to use such a prestigious brand but can’t justify premium ammunition for training, practice and the less demanding disciplines. They introduced their Mirage T1s for the club shooter. We reviewed them in our April 2020 issue, and they performed remarkably well. This month we have some cartridges from the premium end of the Clever range. These are the Grand Italia, part of the stable that has garnered so many medals.
A glance at the Grand Italia cartons leaves you in no doubt as to Clever cartridges’ success, as they list 42 European Championships, 19 World records and a list of Olympic successes spanning from 1960 to 2016. Clearly printed on the top flap, along with shot load, shot size and calibre details, are the words ‘Extra Hard Shot’, a key factor in any premium cartridge.
Richard Atkins has decades of experience testing guns, cartridges and accessories, and is our expert on all aspects of ballistics, shotgun performance and technical analysis
The Grand Italia has made its name as a plastic wad version, since all major top flight competitions have used only plastic wads since they became available. For a long time there was no Grand Italia fibre wad option - but now there is!