What do you consider to be a perfect all-around Lead pattern?

[3" 870 Shell Shucker]

Whatever distance you prefer to pattern at, and whatever gauge or shot size, what do you believe is ideal for day-to-day hunting setups?

I'm becoming more and more interested in getting even coverage of @ 10-12 inches at 30 Yards, @ 15 inches at 35 Yards, and @ 18-20 inches at 40 Yards Max.  I know I really like Lead 5's.  I consistently get really nice even patterns with 5's out to 35 Yards, no problem, out of my 870 or BPS.   I think I'll give some 6's a try sometime soon.  

[knightrider]

good even coverage in the 20 at 40

[S.C.C]

1 hits per square inch at 35 or 40 evenly spaced with a MV of no less than 1300fps is ideal with lead
6's or even 7.5's,the velocity is the most crucial part when shootin lead shot,if you don't have it small lead shot wont kill turkeys at 40 consistently.....

[goblr77]

good even coverage in the 20 at 40

That's what I'm after as well.

[R AJ]

There is no perfect pattern with me but several very acceptable patterns. Using lead I want enough velocity with a minimum of recoil to have at least 1-1.5 pellets per square inch at a given distance out to 40 yards but one that certainly has the energy to penetrate bone at that distance.

Hey, if he's too far then I'll be back and enjoy another chase. You can make turkey preparation and equipment as simple or complicated as you wish. I wish you could make it as economical as well.

[dawei]

There is no perfect pattern with me but several very acceptable patterns. Using lead I want enough velocity with a minimum of recoil to have at least 1-1.5 pellets per square inch at a given distance out to 40 yards but one that certainly has the energy to penetrate bone at that distance.

Hey, if he's too far then I'll be back and enjoy another chase. You can make turkey preparation and equipment as simple or complicated as you wish. I wish you could make it as economical as well.

The area of a circle = (pi)(radius squared); radius = 1/2 the diameter. Therefore, this circle has an area of (pi)(52) = 79 square inches, to the justified number of significant digits. So..............

Area of a Circle = (Pi) (d^2)/4
= (Pi) (10^2)/4
= (Pi) 100/4
= 25 (Pi)
= (25)(3.1415927)
= 78.539816 sq. ins.

A ten inch circle means a circle of ten inches diameter. Thus there is approximately 79 sq in in a 10" circle............... If I can put 80 Pb pellets, evenly distributed; in a 10" circle I am a happy boy, the turkey however, er... not so much.

[mnbirdbuster]

i like a pattern thats consistent with no holes, at least nothing golf ball size or bigger! Ive taken a liking to my new knight TK 2000 lately! The way i load it(no shotcups), i get what i call a good even "Hunting Patern" from 20-45yds its great! Good even coverage with my duplex and triplex loads, probably anywhere from 130-200 in 10"-12" circle depending on yardage with 30-40 pellets in kill zone of a popular turkey target! Its not so tight at closer ranges that i could see myself missing a bird inside 20yds if id flinch or have bad form, but it seems to maintain its integrity at longer ranges without blowin itself out of proportion either!

[Longshanks]

Thought I would bring this one out of the archive and see what folks are looking for these days.

Set ups I use for Pb:

120's-160's  in a 10 @ 40. Pb 6's Win XX 3/2/6's  Win 3/ 1 7/8/6's

160+ in a 10 @ 40. Pb 5's Win LB XR 3/ 1 3/4/5's

210+ in a 10 @ 40. Pb 6's Win LB XR 3/ 1 3/4/ 6's

*these are the patterns I'm turning out of my lead set ups.
*interesting how things have changed a bit with technology.
*only downside with LB's is super tight up close. (Red dots)

[trkehunr93]

Not a numbers guy, I look for evenness in the pattern in a 20-30" circle at 40.  I want to know what will that turkey run into if he turns left/right after I squeeze the trigger.  I look at 20 yards as well, again what does that 20" circle tell me if he moves when I shoot.  I always think about the what ifs, my Win. HV and XX 5's I shoot out of both of my guns give me between 95-100 in a 10 at 40, but I look beyond that and am confident they will kill at that range.  My 

[Longshanks]

Not a numbers guy, I look for evenness in the pattern in a 20-30" circle at 40.  I want to know what will that turkey run into if he turns left/right after I squeeze the trigger.  I look at 20 yards as well, again what does that 20" circle tell me if he moves when I shoot.  I always think about the what ifs, my Win. HV and XX 5's I shoot out of both of my guns give me between 95-100 in a 10 at 40, but I look beyond that and am confident they will kill at that range.  My 

Interesting, that would be ideal to get a good 20" at 20yds and 40yds. For me to get a good hunting pattern at 40yds my patterns at 20yds are much tighter. They shoot almost the entire pattern in a 10". I have a setup that turns 100 in a 10" at 40yds with 3" HV 5's and the entire pattern is in a 12" at 20yds. I had to give up one to get the other.

[trkehunr93]

Not a numbers guy, I look for evenness in the pattern in a 20-30" circle at 40.  I want to know what will that turkey run into if he turns left/right after I squeeze the trigger.  I look at 20 yards as well, again what does that 20" circle tell me if he moves when I shoot.  I always think about the what ifs, my Win. HV and XX 5's I shoot out of both of my guns give me between 95-100 in a 10 at 40, but I look beyond that and am confident they will kill at that range.  My 

Interesting, that would be ideal to get a good 20" at 20yds and 40yds. For me to get a good hunting pattern at 40yds my patterns at 20yds are much tighter. They shoot almost the entire pattern in a 10". I have a setup that turns 100 in a 10" at 40yds with 3" HV 5's and the entire pattern is in a 12" at 20yds. I had to give up one to get the other.

Mine are tight too, but not every bit of shot is going into that 10" mark.  I shot at one this spring inside 15 yards and missed the first shot, but once he hit 20-25 when I shot again he dropped like a box of rocks.  He was on a dead run away from me. 

[d.winsor]

Not a numbers guy, I look for evenness in the pattern in a 20-30" circle at 40.  I want to know what will that turkey run into if he turns left/right after I squeeze the trigger.  I look at 20 yards as well, again what does that 20" circle tell me if he moves when I shoot.  I always think about the what ifs, my Win. HV and XX 5's I shoot out of both of my guns give me between 95-100 in a 10 at 40, but I look beyond that and am confident they will kill at that range.  My 

Interesting, that would be ideal to get a good 20" at 20yds and 40yds. For me to get a good hunting pattern at 40yds my patterns at 20yds are much tighter. They shoot almost the entire pattern in a 10". I have a setup that turns 100 in a 10" at 40yds with 3" HV 5's and the entire pattern is in a 12" at 20yds. I had to give up one to get the other.

Thats where a Red dot comes in, for those close shots.  I shoot HV and patterned longbeards this past year, for me to shoot them, even with a red dot, I would have to purchase a more open choke, didn't want to go there right now, so I'm still shooting Winchester HV

[trkehunr93]

Not a numbers guy, I look for evenness in the pattern in a 20-30" circle at 40.  I want to know what will that turkey run into if he turns left/right after I squeeze the trigger.  I look at 20 yards as well, again what does that 20" circle tell me if he moves when I shoot.  I always think about the what ifs, my Win. HV and XX 5's I shoot out of both of my guns give me between 95-100 in a 10 at 40, but I look beyond that and am confident they will kill at that range.  My 

Interesting, that would be ideal to get a good 20" at 20yds and 40yds. For me to get a good hunting pattern at 40yds my patterns at 20yds are much tighter. They shoot almost the entire pattern in a 10". I have a setup that turns 100 in a 10" at 40yds with 3" HV 5's and the entire pattern is in a 12" at 20yds. I had to give up one to get the other.

Thats where a Red dot comes in, for those close shots.  I shoot HV and patterned longbeards this past year, for me to shoot them, even with a red dot, I would have to purchase a more open choke, didn't want to go there right now, so I'm still shooting Winchester HV

My 835 sports a Simmons pro diamond, but you still miss from time to time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Longshanks]

Yup, I put my red dots back on my 870's. 21" bbl with a kicks .655 and a 28"bbl with kicks .660. (Aimpoint and Bushnell Trophy) Patterns are inside a 10" @ 20 with XX and inside an 8" @ 20 with LB XR's. Either shell the red dots are a must inside 20. Killed a turkey at ten yds with the LB's at the beginning of the season and it looked like I shot him with a slug. 21" bbl shoots 214 in 10" @ 40 Win LB XR 3" 6's.

[BandedSpur]

One pellet/sq in if evenly spaced will kill a turkey all day long. The 10" is no problem with only 78.5 sq inches. The problem is the 10-20" annular ring, which contains 235.5 sq in. The best I can do with my 1187, IC .665, and 3" shells (Winch gray box 6s) at 40 yds is 165 or so in that 10-20, well short of the 235 needed for 1 pellet/ sq in. LBs just make it worse. Yeah, it's great to have 200/10, but those patterns often only have 100 or so in the 10-20" circle. LBs are optimized for 40-55 yds, and are definitely sub optimal at normal ranges (under 40) if your goal is filling out a 20" circle.