Patterning Board

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Potashminer

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I'm looking to try out various brands of ammo / various shot sizes. I have never even seen a proper patterning board, so looking for suggestions. I have a used and condemned 60" diameter circular saw blade - for the moment, I was thinking to cut a 30" diameter circle and set up at 40 yards away on a post. Is a fair amount of cheap white paint available - I thought to slosh some on, take a shot - take a picture of the pattern, then paint over and repeat. Is this close to a "real" patterning board and how one is used? It has been a few years since I had that saw blade out of it's wooden case - as I recall, it is circa 3/16" or 1/4" thick with a hole for mandrel, in the centre of it.
 
The saw blade sounds like a perfect pattern plate for use as you described. White paint is normally mixed with grease for this use.
The problem for you, if the saw blade is hung on a public access range is some idiot firing a slug at the target.
Patterning on paper gives better photos if you want to do statistical analysis with pattern evaluation software.
 
Our club's patterning board is 1/4" steel about 3 ft. square. Painted between tests. BTW patterning is often done by
shooting 3-5 shots before repainting to better see "Where" your pattern is going. Too see the denisty of your pattern
then repainting between shots is needed. Some people use whitewash in stead of paint.
 
I am using white and brown packaging/wrapping paper rolls ....

I cut down two small straight trees ... and created a crude large frame and that I can clamp pieces of packaging paper to it.

It gives a large area to work with ...
 
tiriaq said:
Should work just fine. I wouldn't bother cutting it down, just paint a circle on it.
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I had considered that - at least in the wooden crate, it is too heavy for me to pick up any more - if it falls flat on the ground - experience talking from last summer! I had to get the neighbour to help stand it back up on edge. I had thought if I cut as smaller circle, I might be able to handle it alone. Our bonfire "pit" metal bowl is rusting through the bottom - I had thought to use part of remainder to re-line that fire-pit bottom. No clue what the weight would be like, but idea might be to make it like my gongs - on A-Frame, like saw horses - sort of portable - I can haul them in 1/2 ton and take them home with me when done. Or drill bolt into tree - hang on that - leave it there. I suspect is something I might use up to half dozen times, then won't need to any more.
 
I would sell the blade and use the money to buy a roll of shipping paper, Its cheap. Build a frame with a dowel thru the top and a piece of 1/4" plate steel to protect the roll while patterning. Pull the paper down and use two spring clips to hold it in place. Ours has a steel 1/4" plate 2 " behind and has lasted for years. When done pull out the dowel and store the paper safe and dry. We also have a steel one and paint it with white paint and grease. I use the paper cuz its easy and I write on and save the good info.
 
I've used plastic table covering before, the white stuff that comes in a long roll and is used to cover portable tables placed end to end. The plastic shows nice round holes and doesn't tear out like some kinds of paper does. It's kind of difficult to use if the wind is blowing but placing it against a barb wire fence and allowing the wind to pin it in place gets the job done too.
 
longstud said:
i would sell the blade and use the money to buy a roll of shipping paper, its cheap. Build a frame with a dowel thru the top and a piece of 1/4" plate steel to protect the roll while patterning. Pull the paper down and use two spring clips to hold it in place. Ours has a steel 1/4" plate 2 " behind and has lasted for years. When done pull out the dowel and store the paper safe and dry. We also have a steel one and paint it with white paint and grease. I use the paper cuz its easy and i write on and save the good info.
Click to expand...

this^^^
 
We have a wooden pallet hung between two posts at the shotgun range. We use a couple welding lead clamps to clamp a sheet of cardboard to it. The cardboard comes between the mid-layers of clay target boxes and between the bottom boxes and pallet. I.E. we get two sheets of cardboard about a meter square for every 63 boxes of clay targets the club receives. With an aiming point added via a marker, the cardboard provides an excellent pattern sheet, and the pallet lasts a year two before it is shot out.
 
Here is my patterning solution ….. primitive, simple, quick, and low cost …


Patterning_frame_lowres.jpg


Link to image
 
I used some 2x2's to build a frame and legs that pivoted flat with the frame for storage, as I worked at a truck dealer at the time I had easy access to lots of large cardboard for backing, made it 4ft x4ft to suit pcs from battery skids, could cut stock order boxes and seat boxes to suit as well. I got rolls of paper and stapled or taped it on to shoot at, put a targ dot or felt pen mark on it to aim at, or taped a turkey head target on there, drew the 30" circle after shooting. Used it out to 50yds, got a good picture of what chokes did what at what range, in my SBE2 and a Fabarm SxS, a Mossberg 500 and an 870 supermag and a CZ 20ga SXS. It certainly enlightened me to the differences in shotshells and lot nbrs, variances on them as well. I quit buying aftermarket chokes after that, never saw anything really any better than the factory ones, and found far more difference in shotshells and lots, than I got with the aftermarket chokes.
 
209jones said:
I used some 2x2's to build a frame and legs that pivoted flat with the frame for storage, as I worked at a truck dealer at the time I had easy access to lots of large cardboard for backing, made it 4ft x4ft to suit pcs from battery skids, could cut stock order boxes and seat boxes to suit as well. I got rolls of paper and stapled or taped it on to shoot at, put a targ dot or felt pen mark on it to aim at, or taped a turkey head target on there, drew the 30" circle after shooting. Used it out to 50yds, got a good picture of what chokes did what at what range, in my SBE2 and a Fabarm SxS, a Mossberg 500 and an 870 supermag and a CZ 20ga SXS. It certainly enlightened me to the differences in shotshells and lot nbrs, variances on them as well. I quit buying aftermarket chokes after that, never saw anything really any better than the factory ones, and found far more difference in shotshells and lots, than I got with the aftermarket chokes.
Click to expand...

For the same shotgun and choke - did you find that the densest part of the pattern to change with different shot size? I think I can understand "blown patterns" from brand to brand - I was curious if "Point of Aim" / or centre of densest pattern changed with shot size and type of shot - lead versus steel versus bismuth, etc.
 
209jones said:
I used some 2x2's to build a frame and legs that pivoted flat with the frame for storage, as I worked at a truck dealer at the time I had easy access to lots of large cardboard for backing, made it 4ft x4ft to suit pcs from battery skids, could cut stock order boxes and seat boxes to suit as well. I got rolls of paper and stapled or taped it on to shoot at, put a targ dot or felt pen mark on it to aim at, or taped a turkey head target on there, drew the 30" circle after shooting. Used it out to 50yds, got a good picture of what chokes did what at what range, in my SBE2 and a Fabarm SxS, a Mossberg 500 and an 870 supermag and a CZ 20ga SXS. It certainly enlightened me to the differences in shotshells and lot nbrs, variances on them as well. I quit buying aftermarket chokes after that, never saw anything really any better than the factory ones, and found far more difference in shotshells and lots, than I got with the aftermarket chokes.
Click to expand...



Some people seem to think that aftermarket choke tubes are automatically better than factory ones and it just isn't true in most cases. Any machine shop can make choke tubes and claim they are great but it's unlikely they have put the R & D into them that the gun manufacturers have and for the most part they are just copying the technology. Some tubes do stand out from the others such as Teague, Muller and Briley but are they so much better than the factory tubes as to make a difference, maybe but if your ammo isn't up to the task then choke tubes aren't going to make up for it.
 
Falconflyer said:
[/B]


Some people seem to think that aftermarket choke tubes are automatically better than factory ones and it just isn't true in most cases. Any machine shop can make choke tubes and claim they are great but it's unlikely they have put the R & D into them that the gun manufacturers have and for the most part they are just copying the technology. Some tubes do stand out from the others such as Teague, Muller and Briley but are they so much better than the factory tubes as to make a difference, maybe but if your ammo isn't up to the task then choke tubes aren't going to make up for it.
Click to expand...

I bought a lightly used Blaser F3, and four Muller choke tubes were included. What I noticed is that I tighten them by hand, they never come loose, and they don't build up wad fouling like most choke tubes.
The only choke tubes that I really don't like, are the factory DS tubes, the patterns were more open, and not as even as the Briley versions.
 
I have a set of muller choke tubes and they’re highly resistant to plastic build up as well. That’s not to say the don’t pick up plastic over time but certainly not as much as other chokes I’ve had. Also, I’ve found that they pattern very evenly with most ammo and have few hot spots.
 
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