Hello I patterned my SX3 with an Indian Creek .675 at 40 yards using Hevi 13 3" #6 and I am only getting around 150 in the ten ring. 3" #7 I have around 180 in the ten. You can see from the 15 yard pic (1st pic) my pattern is a little high and needs to come down but not sure if that will make a big difference. Any suggestions on what I can try next? Great shooting gun but I would like to get a little better pattern. Thanks in advance.
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Are you shooting at pre drawn circles? If you move the circle up on the 6's you should get higher numbers.
It looks like killing patterns that would be fine to 40yards with some room for yardage underestimation. I do think if you could swap the .675 for .665 you can tighten up those patterns if ya want some hotter cores and 10" numbers.
Yes I am shooting at pre drawn circles here. I will have to play with the pattern during the off season and try a .665. Short on time I started at 40 yards and shot the patterns shown. Looking a little high I decided to try one at 15 and that is what I ended up with. So I will re-sight and try a .665 and go from there. Any recommendations of a choke brand? Thanks
I would stick with Indian Creek, I have shot a bunch of chokes and I think IC are the most consistent. If you adjust the sight a smidge you may like having the forgiveness of the more open pattern you are getting now.
Indian Creek .665 will bring those numbers up.
You are in the range you need to be looks like it is high. The IC or Our choke are two of the best you will find for that gun. I think you are fine with it just move the sight. That gun likes the Win XRs good also.
Quote from: SumToy on April 27, 2017, 10:15:21 AM
You are in the range you need to be looks like it is high. The IC or Our choke are two of the best you will find for that gun. I think you are fine with it just move the sight. That gun likes the Win XRs good also.
I agree William, Sumtoy and IC are as good as it gets IMHO.
I emailed IC to see if they have a choke swap program going so I can try the .665 when this season is over. I will look into the Sumtoy chokes too. Looks like they get great reviews and it's nice to see them responding to my post. Thanks for all the help.
If it was me I would use the factory choke and lead shot. Either the Winchester or the Browning tube will work great in that gun.
Quote from: Ihuntoldschool on April 27, 2017, 12:42:16 PM
If it was me I would use the factory choke and lead shot. Either the Winchester or the Browning tube will work great in that gun.
How do you think the factory will work with Hevi? I have killed birds with Hevi and I really like how it preforms. For some reason I never gave it a thought thinking that aftermarket chokes would be much better.
I have an SX2 and it doesn't shoot that well. Lower your pattern and call it a day. It's a Tom killer for sure. Good luck.
Quote from: Dr Juice on April 27, 2017, 01:32:45 PM
I have an SX2 and it doesn't shoot that well. Lower your pattern and call it a day. It's a Tom killer for sure. Good luck.
Just curious what combo do you use and what numbers you get. I always heard these guns pattern very well with the back bored barrels.
Quote from: lunghit on April 27, 2017, 04:45:31 PM
Quote from: Dr Juice on April 27, 2017, 01:32:45 PM
I have an SX2 and it doesn't shoot that well. Lower your pattern and call it a day. It's a Tom killer for sure. Good luck.
Just curious what combo do you use and what numbers you get. I always heard these guns pattern very well with the back bored barrels.
I had a browning gold (basically same gun as SX2) and it shot really good with a Rob Roberts .660 using Magblends and Longbeards
Rob Roberts .660 and hevi-13 the ticket for me. It shoots XR and hevi-13 #6 with excellent patterns. Both 200 plus. Plus that choke is much easier to clean than the IC.
I say bring the pattern down a little and go hunt. It is easy to get caught up in the numbers game but in reality what does it mean? All of those patterns are more than sufficient to kill a turkey at 40 yards plus give a little room for error if you pull the shot a little or the bird moves. Also with the hevi (especially the hevi #6) there is still enough pattern density there in case you mis-judge the yardage by a few yards and you should still be good to go at 45+ yards. I have several 12 ga guns that will consistently put up 180+ at 40 yards and an 870 that will put over 300 with hevi 7s. I set up a 20 ga. Mossberg for my son and get 130-140 with HW 7s and realized that I don't need huge numbers as much as I need consistent numbers and even patterns.
QuoteHello I patterned my SX3 with an Indian Creek .675 at 40 yards using Hevi 13 3" #6 and I am only getting around 150 in the ten ring. 3" #7 I have around 180 in the ten. You can see from the 15 yard pic (1st pic) my pattern is a little high and needs to come down but not sure if that will make a big difference. Any suggestions on what I can try next? Great shooting gun but I would like to get a little better pattern. Thanks in advance.
Your pattern is high, as you've noted and it also appears to have some gaps that may be larger than 2" but it's hard to tell from the pictures. You could just lower your point of aim of course but the pattern is quite wide. I suspect that you'd end up with a lot of shot in the breast of a turkey that you hit. Indian Creek may exchange that choke for a .665 which should get you a more dense pattern. I'd give Mike or Stuart a call directly and see if you could do that. It would certainly be the most cost effective way.
I've shot an SX3 for many years. The .742 bored barrel is one of the best in the industry. I would encourage you to "deep clean" that bore because it can help with all aspect of your patterns https://allaboutshooting.com/blogs/blog/98772615-deep-cleaning-a-shotgun-barrel You might even want to try that and then shoot your .675 choke again. You may be surprised at what you see.
Thanks,
Clark
I shoot Indian creek with mag blend 3" or 3 1/2 it the hevi 13 choke
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Ok so I just ordered a .665 through Midway and I am going to take my time with both chokes and go from there. I will zero with cheap loads and then confirm zero with a Hevi 6 shot. From there I will compare the two patterns at 40 and maybe sell the one I will not use. I appreciate all the help here and I can understand where people say "just go with it and hunt" but I want the best performance this gun is capable of. I have never killed a bird at 40 yards but having the option to do so is nice.
Quick question. If I zero my .675 choke is it safe to assume the .665 will also be the same zero or can they be different?
QuoteQuick question. If I zero my .675 choke is it safe to assume the .665 will also be the same zero or can they be different?
Nothing is ever certain with turkey chokes. You may find that they have a different point of impact.
Thanks,
Clark
Thanks Clark I will confirm with a close shot.
You may need to adjust the HW 7's pattern down a bit, but 180 in the 10" circle with a 20 gauge is excellent. Go hunt it!
Got myself a nice bird on NY's opener with this choke. Took him at 30 yards. Going to try the new .665 tomorrow.
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