some 00 patterns

[Gunsnrovers]

Got the chance to play a bit today and just got back my 1897 from the smith so I decided to take some sample patterns with my three shotguns.

The guns and ammo were:

1940 Stevens 620A Riot 20" cylinder bore
1937 Winchester 1897 (full choke 30" barrel cut down to 20" and forcing cone lengthened)
1975 Ithaca DSPS 18"

Winchester Ranger LEO 9 pellet 00
Federal Tactical LEO marked 9 pellet 00

I shot 10 rounds of each through each gun at 15 yards and 25 yards.

The results below are the longest measurements on the target from my POA and are not an average.

Stevens 620A
Ammo 15 Yards 25 Yards
Wincester 10" 25"
Federal 9" 22"


Winchester 1897
Ammo 15 Yards 25 Yards
Wincester 11" 23 1/2"
Federal 8 1/2" 18"


Ithaca DSPS
Ammo 15 Yards 25 Yards
Wincester 7" 28"
Federal 11" 23"

I was VERY pleasently surprised that the cut down 1897 performed as well as it did. The lengthened forcing cone also made it the most pleasent of the three to shoot in terms of recoil.

The Stevens performed flawlessly. The Winchester was a bit lazy on ejection. No bobbles or hangups, but the shells seemed to roll out more then kick out. As usual, the Ithaca practically threw the shells at my feet. Shooter beware with open toe shoes!

I really like the Federal over the Winchester. Felt recoil seemed lower. Spread at 25 yards was also better.

All in all, I am pleased to have three nice riot shotguns to choose from. All three have a POI that is POA. Sure makes things easy on me. Just do may part and they will all do the job.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Definitely three good guns to choose from in your collection, and some useful patterns there as well. Thanks for sharing.

Is your M97 a takedown, or solid frame?

lpl/nc

 

[Gunsnrovers]

E model take down. I just had it serviced and refinished. The old finish was 100% gone. It was about 30% when I got it in 1992 an 3 years of CAS and other stuff wore the rest off. Had it bead blasted blue with bright blue pins and screws. Also had the furniture refinished. Looks very sharp.

Having the forcing cone lengthened made a noticable difference in recoil.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Then you should be one happy shooter. The old cornshucker is still a good working design, and a solid dependable takedown model is as good as they get. Sounds as if you have done well by it. Some judicious forcing cone work is IMHO the single most reliable improvement to patterning that can be made to most shotguns with conventional internal barrel geometry.

Old e-acquiantance and primo shotgun sensei Randy Cain used to favor a Model 97 takedown as his 'on the road again' shotgun since it would pack into a suitcase. I've been looking for a good solid Model 12 takedown for the same purpose for a while, myownself.

Enjoy,

lpl/nc