KF 12 ga ammo-Astram

[shahid]

Folks it is not that all IOF products are substandard. The ASTRAM range made by IOF for 12 Bore shotgun is excellent. Specially the no. 3 shot in 32 grams is as good as any world class manufacturer although the packaging is crude. There is also an ASTRAM Magna in 34 gram shot load that performs to international standards.

However mostly no. 1 is all thats available , no 3 and 4 are hard to get. And if they make ASTRAM then why don't they improve the quality of KF Special cartridges ?

[danish21]

Welcome to IFG Shahid Bhai....

Danish

[shahid]

How can I not be a member of this forum, when shooting and hunting is all that I live for in this world.

[danish21]

I knew that u will love this forum.... Just Enjoy.

Danish

[eljefe]

Shahid, Saw the Astram a while back...wonder why they cant spice up the print on the cartridges? looks like it was made in some illegal gun factory in Munger!

[mundaire]

I have taken apart quite a few of the Astram shotshells - besides the high brass (IOF uses real brass one plus for them) and plastic case, inside you will find 1 more plus - which is a plastic shotcup+wadding combo (the quality of plastic used leaves a lot be desired though) - while the regular IOF KF "Special" ammo uses paper/ cardboard wadding and no shotcup.

Other than that, as Shahid pointed out, Astram ammo has 32 grams of shot as compared to the 30 gram in KF Special ammo.

BUT - AFAIK the type of powder and primer used are the same in both (of course the quantity of powder would differ).

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[TC]

Welcome to the forum Shahid. Interesting posts on Astram !!

TC

[Sakobav]

Welcome aboard Shahid..

[badshah0522]

I am also a big fan of Astram,Astram magna.very good for * Loads.
One question-Do The KF Special supplied to army are different from regular ones available in market?
bcoz once i used them at the army range ,they were much powerful then the regular supply.

*Deleted-penpusher

[Mack The Knife]

One question-Do The KF Special supplied to army are different from regular ones available in market?
bcoz once i used them at the army range ,they were much powerful then the regular supply.

Hmmm....that's an interesting observation.

Could one of the mods split this discussion on Astrams and make it a new thread. For obvious reasons I am not quite upto it.

Mack The Knife

[shahid]

What makes the Astram different and better is the powder used in it, which is similar to Hercules Green Dot powder.

Besides the power piston and shot cup increases the effective range by at least another 15 yards, besides improving the shot pattern and charge density.

The KF Special for the Indian Army is a special manufacture from Khadki factories. Paper shells, but higher brass caps, and Astram grade powder but no power piston or shot cup I guess.

The KF special still uses the old Nitro Cellulose powder that leaves an appreciable amount of soot in the barrels. Good guns need to be cleaned very quickly in the field itself, to prevent fouling deposit inside the barrels.

The powder here does not burn completely and use of paper wads produces burning paper residues.

ASTRAMS come in no. 1 , 2, 3, 4 and 6 shot. Although mostly no. 1 is available in our parts.

The box says we recommend Astram for competition shooting. Now who would shoot 32 grams no. 6 shot for sporting clays or trap ? The norm is 24 grams worldwide, or a maximum load of 28 grams.

I saw a new product Magna 34 gram game loads last year.The results are astounding though only No. 1 was available in Bihar. This in no. 3 is going to be a world beater, that can compete with ELEY Alpha Max, Federal, Remington or Winchester wildfowling loads.

I am yet to see Astram in the trap size of no. 7 1/2 shot or the skeet sizes of No. 9 or 9 1/2 shot.

[mundaire]

Shahid, thank you for an informative post... I was under the impression that KF Astram used the same powder used in KF Special. Thanks for clearing that up

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[danish21]

Check this link of Astram cartridges.. they say that they manufacture from biggest no. 1 to smallest no. 9. But i have seen only no.1 & no. 2 of astram cartridge.

http://ofbindia.gov.in/products/data/am ... /sc/15.htm


Danish

[penpusher]

saw a new product Magna 34 gram game loads last year.The results are astounding though only No. 1 was available in Bihar. This in no. 3 is going to be a world beater, that can compete with ELEY Alpha Max, Federal, Remington or Winchester wildfowling loads.

There is a lot of fouling in the barrels, though less than in the case of KF special.The brass used is very soft and when I use the cartridges in my GP single barrel the extractor dents the rims if the lever is pulled vigourously.The rim thickness also varies from cartridge to cartridge.So I think that the celebrations are a bit too premature.KF has still got some hurdles to cross in terms of the quality of it's ammo.

I have not seen what KF provides to the Armed forces in terms of 12 ga ammo. recently,however the 12ga cartridges that KF used to provide 5 years back looked the same as the ordinary KF Special cartridges.However they seemed to have a slightly louder bang than the ordinary KF Special you could buy from the mkt.This,I was told ,is because of the manner in which KF sells it's products.The cartridges of the most recent manufacture is sold to the Armed Forces and the slightly older stock is sold to the dealers.Things might have changed since then.

I hope nobody from the OFB reads Shahids comments about the Astram cartridges or else they might just decide to increase the price further.

penpusher

[Mack The Knife]

penpusher,

Thanks for the split.

It seems pretty obvious now that the military would get first dibs.

Mack The Knife