Patterning help

[mpgavin1987]

Which pattern would you pick? Both shot at 20 yards, from same gun and choke. I was aiming at middle of painted circle. White paper or card board?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[randy6471]

 Either will work, but if I had to choose one it would probably be the cardboard. Just looks a little more uniform.

  I realize that you're only patterning, but I noticed that your targets are great examples for newer hunters to show why you never want your aim point to be right on the head of a turkey. As you can see in both of your examples, the entire top half of your pattern is wasted shooting over the turkeys head and if by some chance the shot is high then it becomes a complete miss.  It's better to hold just under the head or even down around the waddles to insure that you will utilize a large percentage of the entire pattern.
 

[mpgavin1987]

Thank you Randy for your input, as soon as I finished shooting I had thought I should of aimed lower as if it was a turkey.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[coyote1]

I would go with the cardboard. I agree it's more uniform and forgiving.

[tomstopper]

I agree but would also like to see the 40yard pattern before saying one over the other 100%

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[Twowithone]

Cardboard all day long. More uniform gives you some wiggle room.   

[GobbleNut]

I would be satisfied with either at 20 yards.  It does appear that the pattern center is slightly high on both.  That obviously wouldn't make a difference at that range, but personally I would check the pattern at 10, 30, and 40 just to be sure of where the gun is shooting.  My biggest concern would be about shooting over a gobbler that was much closer based on that pattern center.

[Kylongspur88]

#2. 

[TRG3]

The patterns seem fine but are both a little high. I would suggest that you aim about 6-8" lower, probably at the base of the neck at that distance in order for the bulk of the pattern to hit in the neck/head area. In my opinion, a little high or low is much better that the pattern hitting right or left.

[nyhunter]

lets see both at 40 yds, then I'll make pick one

[mpgavin1987]

Thanks everyone for their help.
My go to ammo store won't have more shells till tomorrow but will post 40yd shots ASAP


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Marc]

lets see both at 40 yds, then I'll make pick one

Yep...

If I were shooting birds at 20 yards, I'd pick the second...  But it looks like that top pattern is considerably tighter, and it might look better at 30 or 40 yards compared to the second....

As another tip, when patterning on paper to see where the gun shoots and to find a hold point, use cheap, light-recoiling target loads.  You'll save money and flinch less.  Shoot at different ranges (10, 20, 30, 40 yards).  Shoot on inclines, declines, and flat areas.  I used to purchase butcher paper and trace out a turkey head/neck to size.  One year, when in college, I got some clay and found sticks about the size and diameter of a turkey CNS system to see how many hits I was getting (not sure how much it helped, but it was fun and interesting); if you paint the sticks, it is easier to see the pellet strikes.

Once you figure out where your gun is shooting (and where you need to hold), pull out the good stuff and pattern....  With the cost of these darn shells lately (required to shoot non-toxic), I generally put one at 40 yards, and one at 20 yards and if the patterns are acceptable, and they shoot where I want them, I stop there.  When I was shooting lead turkey loads, I shot at 20, 30, and 40 yards.