Rio Debuts New Competition Load

PRODUCTPROFILE
110
PATRICK THOMAS
A REPORT BY DANA FARRELL
R
io Ammunition, a subsidiary of the Spanish mother
company Maxam Corporation, has released the Elite
line of 12 gauge competition shotshells in a variety of
loads spanning the range from 7/8 oz to 1 1/8 oz. What’s different
about this new product is the petal-free, cork based wad –
something not seen elsewhere on the American market, says
Rio. This line of shells, according to Rio National Sales
Manager, Patrick Thomas, “was developed with the
competitive shooter in mind. The wad is very instrumental to
the performance of the load and plays a big part in lessening
shot deformation – reducing fliers and producing great
patterns,” he says.
The product was not widely available when I caught up
with Thomas at the US Open at Backwoods Quail Club this
past May, but having putting several boxes through their
paces, I’m sold on their effectiveness. They hit targets
sledgehammer hard and a subsequent round of pattern testing
back at home later confirmed they patterned very well for me
on paper at 30 yards using a .715 constriction – my go-to
choice for most sporting clays applications. “Feedback has
been great from trap and sporting clays shooters who have
tried them,” says Thomas.
Quality Components
THERE’S A NEW TARGET
LOAD ON THE AMERICAN
MARKET – AND BY ALL
INDICATIONS IT LOOKS
LIKE A GOOD ONE.
The Elite shell is loaded in Rio’s trademark dark blue ribbed
case, but unlike most of their target loads, they sport one inch
nickel plated heads. In addition to the
aforementioned wads, other Elite
components include Rio primers,
proprietary Rio single based powder and
5% antimony magnum shot in 7 1/2 and 8s
size. Loads include 7/8 oz and 1oz at
1350fps, 1oz at 1250fps and 1 1/8 oz at
both 1175 and 1225fps.
Rio is currently supplying the
reloading market with 209 primers and
primed hulls. New G-1000 primers will
be making their way onto dealer
shelves this fall. They’re a direct
RIO DEBUTS NEW ELITE
COMPETITION LOAD
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112
PRODUCTPROFILE
replacement for the current G-600 that has been around for some time
now. “The G-1000 is an improvement over the G-600 in terms of lot to lot
consistency which is important to the home reloader,” says Thomas.
Primed hulls are available in many configurations and can be found at
reloading specialist such as Ballistic Products, Inc. Due to Maxam’s
extensive knowledge of powder, don’t be surprised when you see
canisters of powder available for reloading purposes in the future.
Ammunition Facilities
In existence since 1896, Maxam is a diverse company, employing
upwards of 6,000 employees worldwide. They are a gargantuan producer
of explosive ordnance – 80% of which is used for civil application (mining,
underwater construction, etc.), 10% is military purposed, with the
remaining 10% destined for sporting ammunition. Maxam Outdoors (the
sporting ammunition business unit) has ammo plants in Spain, England
(operating under the name of Eley Hawk) and Tennessee and for the last
seven years these three facilities have collectively produced over 500
million shotshells annually.
The ‘Mother’ facility in Spain extrudes the 12, 16 and 20 gauge cases,
stamps the metal heads and does the molding of the base wads for all
three factories. The specialty type loads, like sub-gauges, buckshot,
pigeon loads and steel are also all made at their Spanish facility. “What we
do here in Tennessee is the bread and butter – your 12 and 20 gauge
target and game loads – that’s what we do all day long on these
machines,” says Thomas.
REPRINTED FROM NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 CLAYSHOOTINGUSA
Ammo Shortage
June, July and August is historically the busiest time of year at Rio
because ammunition demand is high due to good weather drawing a lot
of shooters to the range and the glut of trap, skeet and sporting clays
competitions across the US, but also because they’re ramping up for the
hunting season. This year has seen ammunition supplies run alarmingly
thin. Rio has responded to the scarcity by running 24/7 to meet market
demand. They went from one shift to two in March and then three shifts
around the clock starting in May.
Thomas, an eight year Rio employee, has seen his share of market
fluctuations. “Increased demand was obvious when we attended the
dealer shows at the beginning of the year. We knew when Obama got reelected in November that we would sell a lot of buckshot, slugs, etc. for
tactical/defense purposes, but didn’t realize there would be a run on
target loads. It was unfortunately compounded by the tragedy in
December, and since then has been non-stop. No one saw that coming.”
I asked Thomas for his professional insight on the ammo shortage
we’ve seen gripping the country this year, and the likelihood of it easing
anytime soon. “I think with the amount of product everyone has put into
the marketplace and with the seasonal end-of-year demand slowdown, the
shortage of shotshells will ease up considerably.”
We certainly all hope he’s right. ■