Pattern that shotgun!

[Old School 611]

Well just came in from patterning my Franchi 12ga 3" mag auto with 3" Remington 00 buck 15 pellets.

Surprizing!!!

 

13 of 15 pellets in a 30" circle, concetration of 8 pellets in an 18" circle. This all happened at 50 yds.

 

Was shooting at a 5" bullseye with a 6 o'clock hold.

 

Never would have thought the concentration of the pattern was 6" low.

 

So now I know to shoot 6" high.

 

Just interesting.

[Old School 611]

BTW 32" full choke

[Malsua 1,422]

Where did you pattern it?

[67gtonut 847]

Trap guns should be patterned around 30yds...

[kenw 293]

If that's the gun he brought out to Sparta, trust me, it's not a trap gun.

[Jon 264]

Trap guns should be patterned around 30yds...

 

Well just came in from patterning my Franchi 12ga 3" mag auto with 3" Remington 00 buck 15 pellets.

Surprizing!!!

 

[67gtonut 847]

 

 

yeah yeah..... saw that.... was just giving info to let people know the difference ....

[Pew Pew Plates 358]

40 yards is actually what you use to determine choke. Im writing an article on this soon

[Parker 213]

Well just came in from patterning my Franchi 12ga 3" mag auto with 3" Remington 00 buck 15 pellets.

Surprizing!!!

 

13 of 15 pellets in a 30" circle, concetration of 8 pellets in an 18" circle. This all happened at 50 yds.

 

Was shooting at a 5" bullseye with a 6 o'clock hold.

 

Never would have thought the concentration of the pattern was 6" low.

 

So now I know to shoot 6" high.

 

Just interesting.

 

No two similar guns pattern buckshot the same. Be it birdshot or buckshot, pattern density is determined by too many factors like hardness of shot, size of shot, size of the payload relative to the bore size, lubricity, buffering, size of bore relative to gauge standards, length of forcing cone, smoothness of bore, and choke. Patterning various loads and chokes at various distances sometimes produce results that are humbling if not surprising.

 

I added this thread in an earlier forum post regarding POA/POI. This simple test circumvents surprises at the 40 yard mark, the determination criteria for choke measuring percentages.

 

To determine POI/POA, try this trapshooter's trick to see where your gun's POI is in relation to your POA. While this method is preferable for finding the POI for the ideal trap gun, you can also use this as a guide for field/hunting guns or SD shotguns:

 

1) take a 2' or 3' square white paper target and draw a small 3" aiming dot in the center

2) pace off 13 yards and post the target at eye level

3) using a full choke tube, shoot for the center of the aiming dot with an ordinary birdshot load

4) the majority of your pattern at this range should be 2"-3" wide.

 

You should see any deviation of the core of the pattern left or right at this range. If the majority of your pattern is 1" above the aiming dot, your gun is printing a 60%/40% pattern at about 40 yards; meaning slightly high. This is preferable for some trapguns and what some trapshooters prefer, but for a hunting gun used for turkeys you should be dead-on, or 50%/50%. High/low deviation is sometimes easier for the shooter to compensate for in a shotgun than when confronted with a left/right deviation.

 

While this exercise won't determine how your buckshot load will pattern, it aids in determining where your shotgun will generally impact all loads. A smaller front bead might aid in raising your POI.

 

Buttstock fit is also important in determing where your shotgun impacts. The DAH measurement determines most how much of the bead and barrel you see once the gun is mounted. Buttstock pitch does to a minor degree, but is more critical for proper fit into the shoulder. Trap guns all have high combs/heels (1"-2" drop from boreline), field guns usually have lower combs to accomodate the average (2.25"-2.5") shooter. European shotguns all seem to have higher combs and some cast in the buttstock vs. American shotguns.

[djg0770 481]

This thread is WORTHLESS without pics.

[Old School 611]

Where did you pattern it?

 

In the woods next to my house.

[Old School 611]

If that's the gun he brought out to Sparta, trust me, it's not a trap gun.

 

Other that the height of the comb what makes it NOT a trap gun?

[Malsua 1,422]

In the woods next to my house.

 

Cool, Frank's patterning range.

[Pew Pew Plates 358]

Other that the height of the comb what makes it NOT a trap gun?

 

 

%60/40 pattern is ideal for trap guns, %50/50 for all others

[Old School 611]

OK here's the pic

[Jon 264]

That looks great Frank! Well done.

[Parker 213]

There is a school of thought among upland birdgunners who desire a shotgun that produces a 55%/45% pattern. The thought process being that many shots are taken at rising gamebirds that are flushed and having a "built-in lead" is an advantage. This is perceived to be more of an advantage than a disadvantage when birdhunting. Particularly on O/U's, it's not uncommon to find the lower barrel (usually the first barrel fired) to have a POI slightly higher than the upper barrel with the same POA. The upper barrel is usually targetted to print dead-on. Getting two barrels to orient properly and shoot to the same point of aim is one of the more costlier operations in building a double. For anyone with an O/U, try patterning both barrels and see.