Yesterday I patterned several loads out of my Versa Max, using the Carlson's Pro-Bore turkey .665 choke. I patterned long range loads, and then dropped back to what I call a standard range load of lead shot (Winchester Supereme 3.5 inch #6 shot, 2 oz., at 1,330 fps) at 30 yards. This pattern was the best I've ever seen, and this shell kicked more than any of the others (probably because it had more powder, being the fastest moving load). I had to try it at 50 yds, lol, and the pattern was destroyed at that range. Will 20 additional yards do that to a great pattern at 30?
Yep! Most patterns fall off dramatically after 40 yards.
Shoot, 10yds will destroy a pattern. My friend shot a 3" 870 with #5 lead and he always shot 30yds or so and his gun would throw around 170-180. I convinced him to back up to 40 and shoot and he never broke 90 with the same setup.
Quote from: runngun on March 18, 2012, 04:04:00 AM
Yep! Most patterns fall off dramatically after 40 yards.
And to better phrase that most patterns fall off dramtically at a true 40yds.
Some lead shooters here need to rethink their great patterns they are posting and buy a tape measure.
Moving from 20 to 50 yards makes a huge difference! With my 535 and shooting lead, just a difference in 10 yards makes a night and day difference. I can be in the 240's at 30 yards and drop below 100 at 40 yards.
Thats why it's vital to pattern test your loads and maintain a minimum of 100 pellets in a 10" circle for a clean kill.
Thanks, ya'll, I really appreciate it. My gun/choke doesn't like the hevi-l3's 3.5 magnum, but did like the 3" magnum blend. I may try the hevi-13 in 3" - I heard they pattern better.
Also, does the Federal, what's it called, Hevi-Weight or something like that - is it comparable to hevi-13? I saw a box in the store & thought about trying them but wanted to get some feedback first. I know each gun shoots differently but would like to have the benefit of some who've used said load.
5 yds. can make huge different when patterning any shoot gun load .
Whether I am using a 12 or 20, no matter the load or choke I strive for a shot of around 28-30 yards, enough for a decent pattern and sufficient pellet performance from lead to Fed HW loads.
All of my 20s look super at 30 with lead and some past 35 yards are acceptable but my 12s are the only lead shooters at 40 for me.
HTL in 12 or 20 covers the 40 nicely however.
Yeah, I've found it's pretty easy to get good patterns with practically any turkey choke and any turkey load at 30yd. Lead generally looks great at that range.
I still have a few Federal HW 3" 1.675oz #6s shells that will put virtually every pellet in the 20" at 30yd and the vast majority in 10" ring. However, at 40yd, the pattern is simply terrible. It's so bad it defies logic given it's quality at 30yd. I've chalked it up to the FC wad, but who knows.
I've generally found though that HTL patterns that look good at 40yd will hang together pretty well for another 10yd in case you misjudge the distance. I've found that the transition from 30yd to 40yd is the wildcard, but YMMV.
Quote from: hunter-b on March 18, 2012, 11:55:55 AM
5 yds. can make huge different when patterning any shoot gun load .
Agreed..especially with lead..35 to 40yds can be a huge drop off.