Waterfowl Shotgun Pattern

[ShortMountain91]

So got a new gun and did a couple pattern shots. I've got an opinion but curious what the Rokslide consensus is. This was at 40 yards, #4 shot, 30 inch circle. 3 different chokes. Which one are y'all hunting with?

 

[Hnthrdr]

From that, test it would appear full by the numbers, but I use any Imp Cylinder or Mod. My reason being I love to hunt small tight water& I only shoot decoying birds so 90% of my shots are 20 yards or less. So depending on your hunting style/ shot ranges, adjust your choke to fit. Good on your for actually patterning your gun. Seems like only a few folks do it for turkeys hunting hardly any for waterfowl.

 

[ShortMountain91]

From that, test it would appear full by the numbers, but I use any Imp Cylinder or Mod. My reason being I love to hunt small tight water& I only shoot decoying birds so 90% of my shots are 20 yards or less. So depending on your hunting style/ shot ranges, adjust your choke to fit. Good on your for actually patterning your gun. Seems like only a few folks do it for turkeys hunting hardly any for waterfowl.

I know it was just one shot but I thought the full was a little spotty on pattern

 

[Hnthrdr]

Which were you thinking?

 

[MallardSX2]

IM

I guess. But I would shoot all three again at 50 yards and see what the results were.

 

[ShortMountain91]

Which were you thinking?

I was leaning toward IM myself since it seemed a little more well distributed and still leaving plenty of pellets in the circle

 

[dtrkyman]

Mod. looks the most even, I shoot decoying birds and would roll with that. Most fellas can't judge or hit anything at 40yds anyway!

I remember a shooting coach from back in the day talking about steel shot and making it really simple, most of it outperforms the shooter!

I generally shoot a 4 on the first shot followed by 2 3s. If the birds are decoying well it would be two 4s followed by a 3, most times an IC choke.

 

[ShortMountain91]

Mod. looks the most even, I shoot decoying birds and would roll with that. Most fellas can't judge or hit anything at 40yds anyway!

I remember a shooting coach from back in the day talking about steel shot and making it really simple, most of it outperforms the shooter!

I generally shoot a 4 on the first shot followed by 2 3s. If the birds are decoying well it would be two 4s followed by a 3, most times an IC choke.

Did hunt with this combo once before patterning running the modified. Only shot at 1 gadwall but did stone it at about 40. Primarily hunting open water though so leaning towards choking down to IM.

 

[KurtR]

Shot a few and the pattern master code black with 2 shot black cloud and 3 shot hevi hammer pattern best for me. That’s what I shoot at every thing including geese. All over decoys but it will dump them at 50 no problem.

 

[spur60]

I'd probably go towards the mod or IM if you shoot a lot of 4's. I'd also be patterning at 20 and 30 though to see what you're getting at decoying distances. I switched to 6's a few years ago for the majority of my water hunts because I like the patterns better at decoying ranges and I'm getting more head/neck strikes on the birds I'm shooting. Burned up all my 4's on the really dumb snow geese we had this fall.

 

[Fowl Play]

Good on you for patterning, as most guys don't. Assuming you are trying to find a good setup I'll give some feedback. To be honest, none of them are what I would call an ideal even pattern. MOD would be my choice for those ranges and seems to be throwing the most even pattern. Still plenty of duck head/neck sized holes in those patterns though. What gun and shot are you shooting?

These patterns look about how winchester superX patterns out of my shotguns and it patterns by far the worst for me.

 

[Rich M]

The bottom 2.

We hunt w full most of the time. More dead right there birds.

 

[Macintosh]

I wouldnt base an opinion on spottiness on one pattern, thats the shotgun equivalent of zeroing a rifle off a one shot “group”.

Id take a oval about the size of the smallest plucked duck you shoot, and lay it on the patterns to see how many pellets youre hitting it with. The mod looks maybe a bit open for small ducks at that range but probably better at closer range.

 

[Bearwhisky]

You probably already know this, but make sure your full choke is ok to use with steel shot.


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[ShortMountain91]

Good on you for patterning, as most guys don't. Assuming you are trying to find a good setup I'll give some feedback. To be honest, none of them are what I would call an ideal even pattern. MOD would be my choice for those ranges and seems to be throwing the most even pattern. Still plenty of duck head/neck sized holes in those patterns though. What gun and shot are you shooting?

These patterns look about how winchester superX patterns out of my shotguns and it patterns by far the worst for me.

Agreed none are ideal. Also just one shot. Would give a better idea with an average of a few shots. It's a Beretta A400 with Boss #4

 

[Fowl Play]

Agreed none are ideal. Also just one shot. Would give a better idea with an average of a few shots. It's a Beretta A400 with Boss #4

I don’t have personal experience with Boss, but for the price you’re paying for those I’d prob pattern a few more different shell types. You’ll kill ducks no question with what you got. But different shotgun/choke combos can be just as finicky as rifles for what they like best. Be curious to see what some Kent FastSteel or Hevi-metal would do out of your gun. My A300 patterns best with the Hevi-metal. 70% of the round is steel, 30% Hevi shot one shot size smaller. Not sure why it patterns so well as the Hevi shot looks like crap (uneven, oblong, etc). But it’s worked well for me and throws a very even pattern.