What load do you use?

[Choclab]

Just use your factory chokes and save some money. I kill more birds than most and all I use are my factory chokes. When you pattern your gun, use a piece of cardboard with a 30" circle. Shoot the center 40 yards away with a Modified choke. Count the pellets and circle them. You should have an even distrobution of pellets through out the whole 30" circle. You shouldn't have more than a 70% pattern at that distance. Let me know how many pellets are in the circle.

[hevi/shot]

I tend to buy what's on sale. Usually size 3 or 4!

[boomcity]

3" #6 hevi shot for ducks , 3" #2 or bb's hevi shot for geese, 2 3/4" 7 1/2 for pheasants

[royalhntr]

My brothers and I took our shotguns out 2 years ago, 2 sp870s, 1 332 rem., 1 11-87sp, and 2 105 CTi's. We use imp.cyl, modified and full chokes. We shot Remington Nitro Steel in BB, Hevi-Shot 2's, and Hevisteel B's. One of the 870's had a Patternmaster and showed no real improvement at 20 40 or 60 yards over the factory mod. rem choke. What a disapointment that was !  Out of all of the rounds we used, the Nitro Mag bb's had the tightest most conformed patterns with NO holes at all 3 ranges in all 6 guns. The hevi shot was widely spaced but for the most part uniformed, and the hevisteel put up good if not better patterns than the hevi shot.  My rem. 332 put out the nicest no hole patterns out of all the guns with an improved cyl in the bottom and mod. in the top. all the way to 60 yards.  So with all this info, and watching what was left of the Hevisteel destroy geese in the 10 to 14 pound range out to 52 yards, we waited for the ammo to go on sale and I used my discount to by a case of it. I still have 8 boxes, and laughed when I saw how much the price has gone up since then.  We opted for them over the nitros simply because we can hear regular steel BB's bouncing of breast feathers of the northerns late in the season over the decoys, and the only way to bring'em down is a wing break with standard steel.  I have also seen 4 Hevi Shot #2's pellets go through a lesser and 45 paces.(post mortem analysis)

[addicted]

a pretty detailed account

[Choclab]

Like I have said before and before....Hevisteel B is the shiiiaat for Geese. I found it for 19 bucks a box

[tlbradford]

My number one reason for patterning is to see where my shot circle is hitting in relationship to my bead.  Is it a foot high at 30 yards?  Then you know to hold the bead a little low when shooting at your target.  Even if you don't think you are using your bead when on a moving target, you really are.  If your eye is not sighted down the center of that barrel and your cheek tight against the stock, you will not be consistent in hitting birds.  My second reasoning for patterning is to see and understand what loads are doing at certain ranges.  This will help me decide on what my limits are when shooting a certain load. 

[jackelope]

I kind of sort of agree with miles...but at the same time if i knew i had issues with holes in my pattern or something, i'd try different shells or maybe a different choke, otherwise i'd just compensate, maybe...but i never patterned my duck gun either. who the hell knows what i'd do. my turkey gun is patterned, because i'm aiming, not pointing.

[Choclab]

Every load will pattern different out of every gun. I have a Winchester SuperX2 that patterns Winchester Xpert 3" ok....but the pattern out of my pump didn't do to hot. I crippled more birds than I killed. Here is an example

Winchester Xperts out of my SX2. It's an ok pattern, but could be better

 

The same brand load out of a different gun



So.....see why we pattern guns? Do your self and the crippled birds a favor and pattern a few different loads.....

Here is Hevisteel.......far superior IMO

[tlbradford]

I agree with Miles on the part that after a lot of shooting you have an instinctual ability to point and shoot.  However, let me pose this question...Have you ever got a new shotgun and not been able to hit *censored* for the first few hundred rounds?  I bought my O/U and it took me a long time to get used to it after years of hunting with a semi-auto.  I had to learn to hold a little low on my targets and it took a while to figure that out and make it instinctual.  I could have probably saved a lot of frustration if I would have patterned it and had a starting point in getting used to it.  

Now if I had a shotgun that patterned to the left or right, I don't know what I would do, maybe sell it   ?  If it was only off a slight amount I could live with that.  Maybe if it was doing that, it meant my dominant eye wasn't centered on the barrel and I could adjust the cast of the stock?  If it was stricitly the gun, I wouldn't want to have to learn to adjust my lead depending on if I am swinging left or right on a bird.

[addicted]

ok heres my first patter. the paper is 24 inches wide kent fasteel from 40 yards. to me( a clueless newbie) it looks like its kinda gappy

[jackelope]

what choke??
you might try a tighter choke if you can change them IMO.

Now if I had a shotgun that patterned to the left or right, I don't know what I would do, maybe sell it   ?  If it was only off a slight amount I could live with that.  Maybe if it was doing that, it meant my dominant eye wasn't centered on the barrel and I could adjust the cast of the stock?  If it was stricitly the gun, I wouldn't want to have to learn to adjust my lead depending on if I am swinging left or right on a bird.

my turkey gun shoots right. i'd like to add some sights that are windage adjustable, but for now i just aim left.

[addicted]

improved cyl

[arrowflinger]

Use your Modified choke

[jackelope]

what he said.
you'll see vast improvements.