Just general question. I am not a pellet counter, i judge a pattern by the even distribution of the payload at whatever distance I am looking for. So for a 40 yard turkey pattern, what % of the pellets should be in a 15" circle? I am testing out 4 premium chokes and premium factory ammo in my new SBE 28 gauge and I cant get what I am seeing on youtube for patterns. Any info will be useful, except quit and play golf, thats a no go, lol. Thanks, Z
Morning Z. I'm not a pellet counter either. I have counted a few targets in the past, however like you I look for even distribution above and around the waddle, head and neck. I pattern all my guns at 35 yards. An even pattern with few "holes" is what I am looking for. Hope this helps, good luck.......
You'll get more info if you stick with the standard 10" and 20" circle pellet count. TSS percentages will be different than lead. I don't have 28 gauge experience but to give you an idea of acceptable percentages in a 20 gauge with tss,
With a 20ga. using tss #9's with 1 3/8 to 1 5/8oz loads for a good all around hunting pattern.--- 240 to 300 in the 10" with the bulk of the remaining pellets in the 20" would be considered acceptable. Tighter center cores with 330 and up in the 10" are possible.
So for example, if you take a 1.5oz load that gets 260-270 in the 10" circle (which should be a strong 15" circle) then figure up pellet count for 1.5 ounces of tss #9's, you can figure what percentage is in the 10".
1.5 ounce of TSS 9's is 543 pellets, 270 in the 10" circle would be a 50% pattern in the 10", the majority of the other 50% should be in the 20" circle.
lead pellets will be a smaller percentage patterning in the 10". about 27-30% in the 10" in a good patterning turkey gun.
You know, with golf it's just 1 pellet in a 4" circle. May be easier LOLLL
I will look back at my patterns and see what I was getting from my 28 gauge. I will post it soon.
Okay I just looked back and found a couple of patterns that I shot this year. I tested Foxtrot ammo 28 gauge 1.5 ounces of 9s. At 40 yards I averaged 350 in the 10 inch circle. The gun is a Charles Daly semi auto with a 25 inch barrel, factory full choke. I also killed a turkey with it. They absolutely work. During the season I acquired everything I needed to "roll my own". I have everything for all gauges. I learned that it's very addictive but it is also a lot of fun too.
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I think the minimum count is 100 in the 10, have not counted a pattern in 25 years, with TSS I just make sure it is going where I point it!
100 in the ten is pretty weak with modern ammo.
I counted for the first time ever, boredom and the search for the best hunting load pushed me to it. With 547 total pellets in the load I was shooting I got 293(54%) in a 15" circle at 40 yards with the best of the 4 chokes I tested. the #'s for me in my SBE 28 were IC(293)54%, Kicks(229)42%, Jebs 229(38%), Patternmaster 189(35%). I was using Salt Creek 1 1/4 0z of 9.5 TSS ammo. My 1.5 oz #9 handloads were the most even pattern through all 4 chokes but the rain ended ant pellet counting. The visual was pretty much the same as the Salt creek ammo. I am going to go with the IC in this particular set up. I would hunt any one of them, they were all good enough to have my confidence to make a clean kill. But I can only shoot one at a time. If I can unhose my phone, probably me, I will post the pics and the remaining chokes I have to recycle them. This is just my results, I am not a professional anything except an amateur everything, lol. Be safe and god bless. Z
Quote from: zelmo1 on October 06, 2023, 06:13:56 AM
I counted for the first time ever, boredom and the search for the best hunting load pushed me to it. With 547 total pellets in the load I was shooting I got 293(54%) in a 15" circle at 40 yards with the best of the 4 chokes I tested. the #'s for me in my SBE 28 were IC(293)54%, Kicks(229)42%, Jebs 229(38%), Patternmaster 189(35%). I was using Salt Creek 1 1/4 0z of 9.5 TSS ammo. My 1.5 oz #9 handloads were the most even pattern through all 4 chokes but the rain ended ant pellet counting. The visual was pretty much the same as the Salt creek ammo. I am going to go with the IC in this particular set up. I would hunt any one of them, they were all good enough to have my confidence to make a clean kill. But I can only shoot one at a time. If I can unhose my phone, probably me, I will post the pics and the remaining chokes I have to recycle them. This is just my results, I am not a professional anything except an amateur everything, lol. Be safe and god bless. Z
Were those averages from multiple shots through each choke or one shot through each? If the latter, you might be surprised at the lack of repeatability and just how much those numbers can vary from shot to shot through the same choke.
3 through each choke. Averages were not that different between shots. The biggest # of pellets was actually 17 on 2 of the chokes. 14 and 9 on the others. IC was the best in all data points
My biggest surprise while testing shot, chokes and ammo was the difference cleaning of the bore makes. Thats what probably makes an average fall off.
Clean guns shoot the best patterns for me. As long as the testing is consistent then it should give an accurate account of the testing. Z