Patterning

[Ted Murphy]

I was getting the POA straightened out with my shotgun saturday. Afterwards I started patterning the gun with various chokes. My friend Matt was with me and we patterned our guns with IC and LM chokes at 25 (max range for the club) and 14 yards.

IC and LM were just about the same at 25 yards, roughly 26"

At 14 yards, my LM pattern (Bottom right) was under 18", the IC pattern was around 22"

I noticed the LM pattern was about the same size of a lot of the steel we shoot at that distance. Matt's patterns are on the left of the picture, IIRC LM on top, IC on bottom.

What do you guys consider a good 3 gun pattern for steel at those distances?

Edited April 16, 2013 by Ted Murphy

[ambluemax]

There are so many variables that its hard to hive a straight answer- what kind of steel, do I just need to knock it over or do I need to hit it with authority, is there double potential, ect ect

The difference between ic and lm are very slight. If I had to pic just one I'd go lm for sure.

I can also tell you that if I have steel at 25 yards, I'm choking tighter than LM for sure.

[P.E. Kelley]

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/d8baafea?page=38&nocache=1366400395317

Hopefully this will get you the info you want.

[goat68]

Great article Pat.

I don't know how may folks try to spin the MGM double spinner with a turkey load only to flinch so bad that they miss the target. Then to top it all off, their shotgun jams becasue it's not really set up anymore to handle turkey loads.

For some reason the great ideas seem to work in practice but in a match, the wheels fall of the bus.

[P.E. Kelley]

As to the evil spinners...I proved my point on one at the Rockcastle Benelli match with Fiocchi ONE OUNCE loads at 1170fps. Over in two with IM choke.

Shot ON Target is the key, not payload thrown nor fps.

Edited April 20, 2013 by P.E. Kelley

[Bentsight]

I get to shoot a spinner tomorrow for the first time. Any advantage hitting the bottom or top target first?

[P.E. Kelley]

Top bottom....gotta HIT!

[3gungeezer]

Top bottom....gotta HIT!

Pat, it is GOOD to have you around, Thanks for your time

[jobob]

A few years ago I switched to #9 shot, because I had shot a match (in CdA) where a bunch of the targets were charcoal briquettes. I could swear that I centered at least a couple of those in my pattern of 7.5's without a pellet touching the dang briquette! I figured the higher pellet count with 9's would help me out with those silly little targets.

Anyway, I found out that the 3 dram loads of 9 shot seemed to take down the steel just as well as larger shot. Confirming, to me at least, that Pat is right about the fact that it is the amount of shot on the target, not the size of the shot, or it's velocity, that takes down steel. The dense pattern of 9's also dusts clays rather satisfyingly!

[McGlock]

Thanks pat! Great info!