What is a "good" pattern?

[kotengu]

I'm just curious, and I know this will vary quite a bit depending on what the gun is to be used for, but what is the "goal" you have in mind when setting up a load/choke combo and patterning?

Specifically I'm interested in 00 buck for "self-defense" - would you say all pellets in a 10" circle at 10yds? 20yds? Where is the trade off between tight/loose pattern?

I keep reading about tight patterns being good, but then why aren't all guns simply fitted with a full choke and we call it good?

On the same note - what's the goal for other shotgun uses - turkey, rabbit, squirrel (et al) hunting? Skeet? Trap?

How many pellets in what size circle, at what range????

 

[sm]

I'd start here...

From the Float at the top " Patterning 101"
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11817

Two quick things, and I HIGHLY recommmend the Brister Book.

Andrew, IMO, buck should pattern into 15" at the max distance it's employed for max effect and minimum endangerment of others. Measure your torso from side to side just below the armpits as to why 15".

Every shotgunner should have a copy of Bob Brister's book, "Shotgunning: The Art and the Science."

 

[Dave McCracken]

Ideal patterns vary a lot with the mission. For recreational shotgunning, we want a suitably sized pellet or more in every 2 sq in of the target area. We want to cover as much area as possible,which usually works out to a circle about 26-30" in diameter.

An ideal pattern for "Serious" use would be more like fist sized. Stray pellets can cause tragedies. Failing a fist sized pattern, we want to keep the pattern as tight as possible, hopefully the width of a human torso or less.

As to why, besides lowering the risk to bystanders, it's to keep all the energy of the round concentrated in a small area for max effect.THIS is why shotguns are so effective short range weaponry, not spread to compensate for bad shooting.

Screwing in a Full choke sounds good, until we look at real world data. Most Fulls pattern buck and large bird shot with some pellets way out. The contriction's too tight for all the pellets to exit the bore perfectly round. The break line seems to be someplace around 15-20 POC, or Light Mod to Mod country.

Some Southron deer hunters report great results from tight chokes and custom loaded ammo. I take these reports with a grain of salt. Some great patterns can be found using a tight choke, a long forcing cone, and a given factory or home made load. What you do not see is the more than occasional "Blown" pattern where everything didn't line up right.

In your shoes, I'd pattern with a variety of 00 and 1 buck loads and chokes from Cylinder to LM or Mod. Pick the tightest. Oft a R/R buck load patterns tighter than the standard stuff.

If this is a HD tool, MEASURE, not guesstimate, the longest possible shot opp in your domicile and take that into consideration as you test.

Having a good smith lengthen the forcing cone will reduce pattern size nicely. This is the simplest method of tightening patterns I know. Drops kick a trifle also.

HTH....

 

[kotengu]

"Having a good smith lengthen the forcing cone will reduce pattern size nicely. This is the simplest method of tightening patterns I know. Drops kick a trifle also."

You've already sold me on this idea, Dave - my 18" 870 barrel is at the 'smith as we speak having this done and the barrel threaded for chokes. In the excitement of waiting for it to come back, I got to wondering exactly WHAT I should be looking for. Thanks for the good advice!

Mostly I use this gun for 3-gun matches and the like (in which my cylinder bore #6 shot has failed me in the past), so I'm looking at buckshot as something I can switch to if/when that happens again, and I'm trying to come up with a good general pattern that would also match what I'd use in the "real world" (I don't believe in down-loading for competition - "train like you fight" and all).

Of course, I'm also hoping to use it to hunt rabbits and turkey soon, so I'll be patterning loads for that as well, and was curious as to what others more experienced go for in that respect.

Thanks for all the good advice - I'm going to have to look up that book......

 

[foghornl]

As I have personally verified this with 3 family owned shotguns....My Maverick 88 by Mossberg, Sis-in-laws OLD Mossy, and brothers 870....

EVERY shotgun barrel/choke/ammo combination is a law unto itself.

Buy a 5 or 10 round box of ALL readily available ammo, and pattern each till you find what works best in YOUR shotty. Then buy a bunch of THAT ammo.

 

[kotengu]

"EVERY shotgun barrel/choke/ammo combination is a law unto itself. "

I realize that, but I'm still not sure exactly WHAT I'm looking for in a load/choke combo. I'm trying to get a handle on how big a pattern, and at what range, for different applications.

IE: when you go rabbit hunting, what size shot, what size pattern, and at what distance? Same goes for turkey hunting....

 

[Dave McCracken]

I like 6s for rabbits, and chokes run open because shots run close. Figure 25 yards or less and modified or less.

Turkey setups use heavy loads of 4-6 shot and are usually patterned at 40 yards. Maybe someone with more experience at this will kick in.