Patterning Question

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MikeyBl

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Hey All!

Quick question.

When patterning different shells, should I finish a particular shell before starting the next? Meaning should I pattern one shell at 10, 20, 30, 40 THEN do the same with another brand, or can I pattern 4 different shells at 10, then all 4 at 20, then all 4 at 30 etc?

Thanks for the help!
 
What ever works for you.

I'm not sure you have to pattern every 10 yards though.

A trick I use to keep things simple is use a 8.5"x11" piece of paper with a aim point in the centre. To me, this piece of paper represents that "kill zone" on a turkey when you take into account the turkey or your gun barrel moving when shooting.

When you no longer have good coverage on the piece of paper, you have found your maximum range.

It saves drawing circles and counting pellets.
 
What is the intended game?? if it is turkey yes a small pattern size is all that is necessary. But if your hunting ducks and geese 40 yds gives you a good idea what's happening. I patterned hundreds of rounds over the years always did it at 40 yds. Some loads I would try out to 45 and 50 to see what's happening. The results can be very enlightening to say the least. When I was heavy into goose hunting I found that my gun patterned best with a load of 1 1/4 oz of #4's at 1330 fps. If I kept the birds within 45 yds and had the pattern on them they were the dogs responsibility after that.

Your looking for nice even coverage in a 30" circle. If you have your bird inside the 30" circle it is usually a dead bird. I never was much of a shot counter, waste of time unless your into calculating percentages and like to make charts with numbers. Your eye's will tell you the good from the poor to the bad. Also pattern different sizes of shot in the same load as your barrel may noticeably prefer one size of shot over another. This whole experiment will also tell you if your gun is shooting where you point it. If it is not, two thing s come into play. Gun fit, which is how the stock fits your body dimensions and at times barrel straightness. At times barrels can be slightly bent which can throw your pattern off. I had a gun years ago that I kept missing birds with. She was patterning 2' right and 2' low. Gunsmith determined there was a ever so slight woop de do in the barrel he straightened it out so she patterned dead centre. Still have the gun works great. Hope this helps.
 
I took an excellent shotgun course last year with Agoge tactical regimen in SK. We used a poster size PPC target and started at 5 yards then 10 yards working our way out to 50 yards or stopped when the pattern got to big. Jody had us put a piece of masking tape on our stocks so we could write down the measurements at each distance. I think it would be easier to pattern each shell completely before moving onto the next. That way if you pick up say a number 4 you will have an easier time remembering what THAT shell did and not just a bunch of random "facts". For Turkey take a measurement at each 10 yard increment.
 
Spend your expense on the 40 yard range. This tells you what kind of pattern dencity your getting out at your max range. When you find the proper combo then move into closer ranges and understand your POA for the combo that you have in shorter distances.

The largest problem with turkey hunters is shooting at turkeys to far out so start there...
 
Don't mean to hijack but just a quick question. How does one zero a scope on a shotgun using shot? Seems to me the only way would be to buy a bore sighter.
 
Figured to do this. Guess it's true since it's not a rifle no need to get crazy with being exactly centered/zeroed.If a decent amount of shot is in the "kill zone" then it is good to go. Was just curious to see if anyone actually zeroes in a shotgun for use with shot.
 
jongun said:
Figured to do this. Guess it's true since it's not a rifle no need to get crazy with being exactly centered/zeroed.If a decent amount of shot is in the "kill zone" then it is good to go. Was just curious to see if anyone actually zeroes in a shotgun for use with shot.
Click to expand...

hard to zero a bead never met someone using a scope for shot other then the tactical guys

anyway i like the 36"x36" poster board you can buy at the dollar store draw a 30" circle on it (a tac in the center with a string going to the sharpie helps) i then tape a 12" target on the center i do this for 10 yards out to 40 yards. i like the 12" target for seeing what kind pattern im getting on small game and when doing buckshot to see the number on pellets in 12" its worked so farf when making loads
 
antiqueguy said:
hard to zero a bead never met someone using a scope for shot other then the tactical guys

anyway i like the 36"x36" poster board you can buy at the dollar store draw a 30" circle on it (a tac in the center with a string going to the sharpie helps) i then tape a 12" target on the center i do this for 10 yards out to 40 yards. i like the 12" target for seeing what kind pattern im getting on small game and when doing buckshot to see the number on pellets in 12" its worked so farf when making loads
Click to expand...

If your gun shoots a centred pattern, why even bother with the 30" circle???
 
I've used a scope on my shotgun for turkey hunting. When targeting Jakes the scope helps when looking for a small beard. Works quite well. Not so well for skeet however
 
I have done a "pant-load" of patterning over the years, primarily for POI/gun fit and for choke performance for Trap, Skeet and Sporting Clays. Typically most POI/gun fit patterning is done at 16 yards, 21 for Skeet and 34 for Trap ... choke performance can be at any distance you want ( to check effective pattern density), but definitively, most comparisons for choke are at 40 yards, with the exception being 410 at 25 yards. To get meaningful results, I shoot at least 5 shells, same coke/same load/same distance and average the result.
You will find some variation shell to shell and shot to shot. Tom Roster, one of today's acknowledged shotgun choke performance experts uses the same methodology at C.O.N.S.E.P. for independent 3rd party testing.
 
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