setting up a new 20 gauge for 2013, recommendations?

[jtoliver43]

so all I need to do is adjust my red dot to the center of the most dense part of my pattern and by doing so my POA and POI will match?

[BrowningGuy88]

so all I need to do is adjust my red dot to the center of the most dense part of my pattern and by doing so my POA and POI will match?

Yes.

[arrowslanger]

I'm jealous.....well, I guess I have a new project now........I have the 20 gauge fever now.....

[FullChoke]

Getting the POI (Point of Impact or the center of the most dense part of your pattern) and your POA (point of aim which is usually the dot on the paper) to coincide is a rather easy 2 shot procedure with the help of 1 other person. Place or mark a clearly visible dot in the middle of a large sheet of paper, hang the paper up at your rifle range at a measured (not estimated) distance of 40 yards from the end of your gun barrel.  Get your gun and selected choke tube set up on a shooting bench with sand bags, site steady on the mark on the paper and take a shot using the same shells that you intend to hunt with. Go to the paper and leaving it in place, estimate the location of the center of the densest part of the pattern. Put a clearly visible dot in that center of the pattern.

Go back to the gun on the bench and with the gun steady and well supported, aim back at the dot that you originally aimed at. Now holding the gun perfectly still on target on the sand bags, have the other person gently adjust the windage and elevation of the sight so that the point of aim of the sight moves over to the dot that represents the densest center of your pattern. Tighten the sight back down. Your gun should now shoot where you aim it. It's that simply.

Put a new piece of paper with a new mark in the middle of it up on your target supports, take careful aim and shoot. Go verify that the densest part of the pattern is now centered on the aiming mark. You can then check to see what your pattern is doing at various yardages (30, 20 & 10).

You can use this same procedure when sighting a rifle.

Good luck.

FullChoke

[gobblergls]

I'm a little.... well a lot confused. when it comes to patterning and sighting in your gun. why is the red bulls-eye sticker not in the center of your ten inch circle? Ive noticed a lot of pictures here where people are showing there patterns and have the sticker on various parts of the target. shouldn't the bulls-eye be dead center and the POI/POA be centered on the bulls-eye as well. what are the offset stickers indicating? is that where you were aiming Gophert, to the top right of the 10" circle? I'm sure this is a dumb question and I am just misunderstanding the process. so forgive me in advance.

I can't speak for Gophert, but I don't post the zeroed photo.  I usually post the earlier shot before fully zeroed in.  As Fullchoke described, that's how I zero in after shooting for pattern. After shooting, I usually clamp my gun into a Workmate for adjusting windage and elevation.

[sevetts]

i set up an 870 youth w the 21" barrell last spring for my niece. i was pleasantly surprised to say the least with a tightwad choke and hevishot 7s. point of aim and impact were perfect, i know one turkey target had over 100 pellets in the head/neck area at 35. She actually missed the first time she shot at a big gobbler last youth season he was about 15yards and i would quess the pattern was maybe softball sized, but got a bunch of red holes in his head at 35 on the second shot! That was a good patterning lil shotgun.  i would hunt with that combo any day