I bought a new SX3 and IC .675 choke for turkey season. I am shooting Hevi-13 3.5/2.25/6 at a large cardboard square with a ten inch circle drawn in the middle set at a measured 40 yards. I am setting on the ground and shooting freehand to simulate my actual hunting setup and I am averaging 135 spread evenly across the circle with the majority in the upper part of the cirle and about 50-60 pellets hitting just outside the top of the circle.
Will using a bench increase my numbers significantly or should I be getting more shooting freehand?
Quote from: Ocoee Ridge Runner on March 15, 2012, 07:41:35 PM
I bought a new SX3 and IC .675 choke for turkey season. I am shooting Hevi-13 3.5/2.25/6 at a large cardboard square with a ten inch circle drawn in the middle set at a measured 40 yards. I am setting on the ground and shooting freehand to simulate my actual hunting setup and I am averaging 135 spread evenly across the circle with the majority in the upper part of the cirle and about 50-60 pellets hitting just outside the top of the circle.
Will using a bench increase my numbers significantly or should I be getting more shooting freehand?
I shoot both ways but always find that I have a different POI when I shoot from a seated (turkey hunting position) than when I'm shooting from the bench.
Thanks,
Clark
Myself, I do both, I'll start out on a bench with a solid rest till I'm getting what I want or close to it, then I go free hand to dail it in to where I'm comfortable with the pattern.
I usually use shooting sticks.
Either shoot from a lead sled if i am going to be shooting alot of tests patterns or if its just a few shots sometimes i'll just shoot from my little turkey lounger.
Zero it on the bench.
Check it from a hunting position afterwards.
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on March 15, 2012, 09:01:18 PM
Zero it on the bench.
Check it from a hunting position afterwards.
Always!!
Also, don't draw your circle until AFTER you shoot. Sounds like you might be off a little
Test off a bench rest to test the gun..freehand to test the shooter..
I dont own a shooting bench, would a shooting stick suffice?
I don't either, just sand bags on the tail gait of my truck. You just want a good, solid rest so you don't wave around. Then if you have to adjust your sites, a rest that will hold your gun so you can adjust them without the gun moving.
What full set up are you shooting, i.e. barrel length, sites, etc. Also, if you can post up pics of your pattern we can help you out a little better.
Im shooting just a single bead on a 26' barrel. I am going to shoot some 4x4 paper tomorrow aiming for the center and will circle where the pattern seems to be hitting and post some pics. I talked with IC today and they said I should be getting around 170.
Quote from: Ocoee Ridge Runner on March 15, 2012, 09:48:15 PM
Im shooting just a single bead on a 26' barrel. I am going to shoot some 4x4 paper tomorrow aiming for the center and will circle where the pattern seems to be hitting and post some pics. I talked with IC today and they said I should be getting around 170.
You've got it! I think you'll be surprised.
LEAD SLED !!!!
I'm old and have been pounded on enough ...
Quote from: sugarray on March 15, 2012, 09:06:01 PM
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on March 15, 2012, 09:01:18 PM
Zero it on the bench.
Check it from a hunting position afterwards.
Always!!
Also, don't draw your circle until AFTER you shoot. Sounds like you might be off a little
Why draw your circle after you shoot? When I am sighting in I use a 10" rimfire target and aim at the center of the target so that I can siimulate aiming at a turkeys head. It also lets me know that my POA and POI are the same. Am I doing this wrong?
I use a bench with sand bags. I then shoot from a sitting hunting posotion to make sure everything looks good.
Quote from: sharxfan on March 15, 2012, 10:03:25 PM
Quote from: sugarray on March 15, 2012, 09:06:01 PM
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on March 15, 2012, 09:01:18 PM
Zero it on the bench.
Check it from a hunting position afterwards.
Always!!
Also, don't draw your circle until AFTER you shoot. Sounds like you might be off a little
Why draw your circle after you shoot? When I am sighting in I use a 10" rimfire target and aim at the center of the target so that I can siimulate aiming at a turkeys head. It also lets me know that my POA and POI are the same. Am I doing this wrong?
If your gun doesn't shoot to POA, then you will miss the densest part of your pattern. Also, if you pull off you miss the most dense part. This is to help count pellets in the most dense part of the pattern. If you are already lined in then you don't have to do this, but if you pull off then your 10" counts will be less and not truly representative of what you gun/choke/load will really do.
I Pattern my shotgun the same way i Turkey hunt with it,I use a V-pod for a few shots and also freehand a few,to make sure im hitting where i want and thats it,Im Patterned.
I sit in a Cabela's Gobbler Lounger and rest my left forearm on my knee.
Freehand, while seated.
A bench and sandbags to get the gun sighted in. Turkey hunting position to get me sighted in.
Every pattern I have posted was shot sitting on my butt, gun on the knee as if I were actually hunting.
I try to simulate the true shot I'll get in the field every time.
I line up my gun on a bench then i shoot it like i hunt setting beside a tree with gun on my knee :funnyturkey:
Yep, get some good gobbler targets, start at 10 to 15 yards, sit down like you would be in the woods, put your knee up, rest your gun and let er' fly. I like to keep moving back or the target out to about 40 max. I like to get em as close as 20 yards and kill em' but I've killed them at 60. When the Benelli barks, it's all over. I like a clear scope with a circle and crosshairs. I've been very successful with my rig.
Good luck, be careful and have fun.
I use a bench and a towel under my shirt . I have heard using a lead sled can damage scopes because it shortens the distance the energy is absorbed..that was with magnum rifles so I think the same might hold true for us here. But they are nice accessories for punishing guns.