{"id":4875,"date":"2018-07-31T18:09:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-31T18:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rangetoreel.com\/?p=4875"},"modified":"2018-07-31T18:09:34","modified_gmt":"2018-07-31T18:09:34","slug":"patterning-a-shotgun-and-finding-the-best-shotgun-choke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rangetoreel.com\/patterning-a-shotgun-and-finding-the-best-shotgun-choke\/","title":{"rendered":"Patterning a Shotgun and Finding The Best Shotgun Choke"},"content":{"rendered":"
Patterning is the shotgunners equivalent to sighting in your rifle. Without a good shotgun pattern you won’t hit a clay pigeon and definitely won’t get some of the faster game birds. Patterning a shotgun is surprisingly easy if you know what you’re doing and only requires a few basic adjustments. The following guide should point you in the right direction and bring you more birds this hunting season.<\/p>\n
When you pattern a shotgun you are measuring the percentage of shot that strikes your target at your preferred shooting range. Most of the time I’ll pattern my Browning Citori at 40 yards using a 30 inch circle target. If you typically shoot at closer targets bring it closer and vice versa. All you’re really trying to do is determine the general percentage of shot that hits at a certain distance.<\/p>\n
When you’re testing hunting guns and loads you really don’t need to bother measuring the exact percentage in a pattern. All you really need is to know whether or not it looks like it will take down a bird. Where you really need to focus on exact percentages is getting into competition.\u00a0 According to industry standards a full choke should print at 70% of pellets hitting the target at 40 yards with a 30 inch circle, Modified chokes are 60% and Improved Cylinder 50%.<\/p>\n
As a general rule you’re going to want to pattern your gun wherever you plan to shoot. If you spend a lot of time shooting at clays you’ll probably want to pattern it at 40 yards. However if you target mostly geese at long-range you’ll probably want a bigger target at a longer distance. It really isn’t difficult to make adjustments. Simply take a big sheet of paper out to your shooting distance and see how it hits. Make sure you use a proper shooting rest to guarantee consistent shots. If you don’t have a traditional shooting rest like the Caldwell lead sled<\/a>\u00a0you can use any cheap sandbag shooting rest just to stabilize your shotgun.<\/a>\u00a0 Remember your patterning a shotgun it doesn’t have to be perfect.<\/p>\n When you start to analyze your patterns you should try and look for similarities. First you’re going to want to look for the point of impact relative to your aiming mark.\u00a0 Remember that if you’re using a shooting rest fit and human error won’t play into this at all. If you are aiming center of target and always seem to be high into the right that tells you something about your shotgun. The densest part of the pattern should be centered right in the middle of your aiming mark. If your gun shoots far to the left, right or really high you need to see a gunsmith.<\/p>\n When I’m talking about patterning high I don’t mean a few inches above the target. Hitting a few inches above the target is actually beneficial to a lot of upland bird hunters. If your shotgun shoots a little bit high you won’t have to cover the bird with your barrel when tracking it. It might take a little getting used to but it will definitely help you track over 30-40 yards.<\/p>\n After bench testing your gun you’re going to want to test it on your shoulder. To do this draw an X on a large target and quickly bring up your shotgun and shoot at it like you are aiming at a bird. Without aiming simply mount the gun and shoot as it touches your shoulder (like you would in the field.) Repeat a few times and see if the densest concentration of pellets is centered on the X. If it’s off-center there’s something wrong with your shooting style or shotguns fit.<\/p>\nJudging Impact and Fit<\/h3>\n
Shotgun Shoots a Little High<\/h5>\n
Testing Your Shotguns Fit<\/h3>\n
Judging Shotgun Pattern Effectiveness<\/h3>\n