How and Why You Should Pattern Your Shotgun
Flossing. Dusting off the top of the refrigerator. Stretching before bed. Sharpening the lawn mower blades. Patterning our shotguns. Without the common theme of “things that should be done, but never are,” all of these activities would be a hodgepodge list of nonsense. But that theme exists, so let’s tackle it.
I’m not much help with the first four activities on this list, but patterning your shotgun before your next opportunity to launch lead at a bird is something I can assist you with. As eager to help as I may seem, you might still be wanting to know what patterning a shotgun is all about.
Shotguns are probably the most recognized type of firearm. Movies love to show hardcore action heros sling a break action, double barrel of the the sawed-off variety into the locked and loaded position. Or you’ve undoubtedly seen a few dozen Hollywood dramatizations of a protagonist operating the slide on a pump action shotgun when things really get serious. Because of this cinematic prevalence, most people have an idea of what a shotgun is, but the name shotgun isn’t quite as descriptive as its nickname- the scattergun. Shotguns are most typically used to launch many small projectiles in one shot. This makes them quite effective for short range applications as the chance of hitting our target is much greater with multiple projectiles flying at the target. Although many would bring up the usefulness of the .22 rifle when discussing small game hunting, the shotgun is the real king of that domain.
Squirrels, turkeys, doves, rabbits, pheasants, waterfowl, quail, chukar, and grouse are just the first handful of species that come to mind when considering what implementation the shotgun is the most suitable tool for. But here’s the rub: there is no question that the shotgun is a lethal weapon for hunting all of these species, but most hunters are only hypothesizing about the manner in which their particular scattergun sprinkles its pellets. We get a decent idea when we shatter clays, or crumple a flushing rooster, but what about all the times we miss? Do we just need more practice? Or is it possible that we may be shooting at targets that our gun will never hit with the particular shells and choke tube we are using at the time? This is why hunters need to take the time to evaluate how our shotguns spread pellets from different types of shells, and fitted with different choke tubes, at a killable distance from the desired target.
The best application for this is by patterning our shotguns on a large target that will “catch” most of our pellets, and provide us with the evidence that reveals how our pellets are scattering. Large cardboard boxes are perfect for this. Next we need to affix a target that either depicts the game we are patterning our shotguns for, or is the relative size of the vital regions of the animal. Because I like to save money, I typically use things like spray paint, permanent markers and painter’s tape to create my own outline of the vital area for my game species I am either sighting in for, or patterning my shotgun for.
Once we have our target ready to go, we need to use a rangefinder to establish a reasonable killable distance for our shotguns. Of course this is a best-fit distance so when we are actually hunting we will have scenarios that require us to shoot from both closer and farther distances, but I recommend using 20 yards as a starting point. Most pheasant, turkeys, dove, quail, rabbits and squirrels will be taken within this distance (waterfowl and migratory species will probably require distances closer to 30-35 yards).
Now that our range and target is set, we can begin to look for answers to our shotgun patterning questions. There are many important lessons we can learn from patterning our shotguns, but here are few that I think we all need to learn from this practice.
1. Which shells pattern best with my gun?
This will not be the same for everyone. Some shells will perform better in different guns, and there are a myriad of excellent ammunition manufacturers to choose from. The best way to conduct this test without becoming financially unstable is to begin by scouring the internet for some preliminary research that will reveal what other hunters have found to work with our particular models of shotguns (remember to seek shells that match the species we are going to hunt). Once we have established a short list (3-4 options) of manufacturers that seem like solid options for us to consider, we should begin asking our hunting buddies if they have any of the shells we have identified in our research that we can use in our test (we will only need 1 or 2 shells per brand). If they don’t have them, we will need to buy the smallest sized boxes of shells from each manufacturer- chances are our tests will reveal a clear favorite so leftover shells will most likely go unused. Although scientific tests are most effective when nearly all variables can be eliminated this practice may not be needed in our shotgun patterning tests. The research we conduct may suggest that different sized shells perform better in our particular shotguns. For instance research may tell us shotgun shell brand A may be best in a 2 ¾” length, whereas shotgun shell brand B may perform best in a 3” length. This means our experiment will have the additional variable of shell size, but if we are simply wanting to find which shell is most accurate in our own shotguns, then it is fine to have this additional variable in our test.
2. Do I need a different choke tube?
Nearly all shotguns have some kind of choke tube that is included in the end of the barrel. These choke tubes help funnel the pellets into a desired pattern. The longer the choke, the longer the pellet pattern will hold tightly together, creating the most dense patterning of pellets on our target. Most shotguns are equipped with a very minimal sized choke tube known as a “modified choke tube.” When turkey hunting, or waterfowl hunting you will always need to hunt with a longer choke tube, typically a “full choke tube.” This is due to the fact that these game species are rather large and can also require a long range shot. There are a lot of differing opinions about whether or not pheasants, quail and doves require anything more than the standard issue modified choke, so that’s typically what we will be trying to find out with the choke tube test. However, we can also use this test to determine if the full choke we are using for turkeys and waterfowl is the best for our gun and ammunition. If the latter situation is our goal, we once again will need to ask our hunting buddies to lend us a choke tube to try out for comparison sake. If we are unable to borrow a choke tube, and do end up needing to buy a new choke, we will again need to narrow our options through research as there are plenty of exceptional choke tube manufacturers to choose from. We should start this narrowing process by researching which manufacturers make choke tubes designed to fit our particular makes and models of shotguns.
3. How’s my accuracy with this thing anyway?
Most shotgun owners have spent time shattering clay pigeons, and through doing so have developed a serviceable proficiency with accurately firing their shotgun. But is cracking over 50% of the clays we shoot at a reliable test of our accuracy? Maybe to some extent, but not totally. When a clay breaks we aren’t entirely sure how many of our pellets have hit our target. Shattered, or “crushed” clays obviously represent a shot where many pellets have hit the target, but a cracked, or broken clay may have only been hit by a few outer pellets. This is a good starting point for diagnosing our accuracy, but it certainly doesn’t paint a complete picture. Our cardboard target at 20 yards will reveal a more complete diagnostic for us. When we go to check how densely our pellets are spraying the target (be sure to check your target after every shot) we should also assess how well we are doing with accurately hitting our target. This is no different from when we are target practicing with a rifle.
Some general guidelines that must be followed while conducting shotgun patterning tests:
Safety first! Never leave a loaded gun unattended, or carried down range. Shoot your test shell and then double/triple check that the gun is clear of shells. You also should make sure that everything between you and your target, and beyond your target is safe from being hit by pellets. Don’t forget hearing protection for yourself, and anyone else at the range with you. You only get your sense of hearing once. Don’t ruin that gift.
Wingshooting species (pheasants, quail, doves, chukar, grouse, woodcock) do not require as tight of a pattern of pellets as do large waterfowl/migratory species (geese, cranes), or turkeys. In fact, too dense of a pellet pattern could make the meat inedible in these smaller species. For a pheasant I would prefer a slight majority (around 51-60%) of the pellets to hit the bird. For small wingshooting species such as doves, woodcock and quail a much smaller percentage of pellets (5-15%) will be plenty to get the job done. For larger species like the waterfowl and migratory species I mentioned, or wild turkeys, you will want as dense of a pattern of pellets as possible to bring down these heavy birds as quickly and lethally as possible.
Use common sense when you are conducting your patterning test. Flip your cardboard around between tests to be sure you can actually identify which pellets were most recently fired from your shotgun. You also should replace, or repair your target in between shots to be certain which pellet marks represent each shell in your test.
As with most aspects of hunting, better preparation leads to better chances of filling the game pouch. Patterning our shotguns is a simple part of the preparation process that can help us shoot better and eat better this fall.
*My apologies for the wind noise in the video!