I shot three chokes and distances yesterday at small pieces of paper with 3/4 oz. of #7 steel dove loads and found some things out but not everything.
If you're shooting birds at 20 yds. with any load with 300+ pellets, Imp.Cyl is too tight. Either try a Skeet tube, wait for more distance or use something with fewer pellets. 1 pellet per sq.in. ave. and a 76% pattern. I want them just dead in the air not quite sincerely dead in the air.
I shot Mod. at 30 yds but didn't center the paper, something I can rarely do shooting off hand with a gun designed to shoot high for rising birds. OK, I stink w/o a rest at a stationary target with a shotgun
I don't think I missed the center by much however as you can see from the picture with 1 pellet per 1.9 sq. in. and 35% of the pellets on the 14"X15" paper. If I adjust the four quadrants to the densest quadrant count making it more centered it gives a 53% pattern and a pellet per 1.25 sq.in.
I shot Full at 40 yds. again a little off and giving a 32% pattern and 1 pellet per 2.1 sq.in. Adjusted to a more centered pattern and it gives 1 pellet per 1.5 sq. in. and a 44% pattern.
There's something there about the pattern density going down with tighter chokes even though the distance increases. On larger steel shot I didn't find that to be true.
Not many data points but I believe information theory holds that when you know nothing about something the first piece of information provides the most information and what follows just fine tunes it. Since most of my shooting is 30 yds and out I'm using mod. and full in small steel shot for doves. I'll have Skeet1 and Imp.Cyl. tubes in my pocket if the distance changes. Sorry I couldn't get the photos up any other way.
This is the Imp.Cyl. tube at 20 yds.
View attachment 4625
This is the Mod. tube
View attachment 4626
This is the Full tube
View attachment 4627.
If you're shooting birds at 20 yds. with any load with 300+ pellets, Imp.Cyl is too tight. Either try a Skeet tube, wait for more distance or use something with fewer pellets. 1 pellet per sq.in. ave. and a 76% pattern. I want them just dead in the air not quite sincerely dead in the air.
I shot Mod. at 30 yds but didn't center the paper, something I can rarely do shooting off hand with a gun designed to shoot high for rising birds. OK, I stink w/o a rest at a stationary target with a shotgun
I don't think I missed the center by much however as you can see from the picture with 1 pellet per 1.9 sq. in. and 35% of the pellets on the 14"X15" paper. If I adjust the four quadrants to the densest quadrant count making it more centered it gives a 53% pattern and a pellet per 1.25 sq.in.
I shot Full at 40 yds. again a little off and giving a 32% pattern and 1 pellet per 2.1 sq.in. Adjusted to a more centered pattern and it gives 1 pellet per 1.5 sq. in. and a 44% pattern.
There's something there about the pattern density going down with tighter chokes even though the distance increases. On larger steel shot I didn't find that to be true.
Not many data points but I believe information theory holds that when you know nothing about something the first piece of information provides the most information and what follows just fine tunes it. Since most of my shooting is 30 yds and out I'm using mod. and full in small steel shot for doves. I'll have Skeet1 and Imp.Cyl. tubes in my pocket if the distance changes. Sorry I couldn't get the photos up any other way.
This is the Imp.Cyl. tube at 20 yds.
View attachment 4625
This is the Mod. tube
View attachment 4626
This is the Full tube
View attachment 4627.
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