What is the best distance to shoot from when patterning your gun? I'm shooting a Mossberg 835.
40 yards. There are a BUNCH of threads on here dedicated soley to patterning your shotgun. Do a bit of searching and you'll find em. :icon_thumright:
I pattern my guns depending on what type of area i will be hunting, most of my shots are over decoys and no more than 30 yards in the spring, so 30 yards is what i have patterned my gun for this year. Now in the fall when i am walking logging roads and fields i will stretch it out and will pattern the gun for 40+ unless i am walking solid timber. But no matter what i always shoot them out to 40 just to see what my maximum effective killing range is.
Pattern @ 40 yards. It will separate the good from not so good loads. A lot can happen between 30 and 40. Look for a good 10" pattern with an even 20" pattern. If you have a good 20" you will be fine at closer distances as long as your POA and POI are the same.
Most people shoot at 40 yards at a 10 inch circle.