how do I use a pattern plate

[Frisp]

amigos

 

I have had a lovely adjustable comb fitted to my old winchester. Its all to bo with me being a weird non standard sort of shape.

I have been trying to use a pattern plate but its all a bit inconsistent.

 

I have been

20 yds out front foot pointing at the plate. mount the gun at normal shooting speed drop the muzzle to the bottom of the plate. focus on the aim point and point and shoot.

 

Is this right / wrong/ indifferent?

 

any help will be apreciated

[henry d]

A pattern plate is generally used to tell how a gun choke/cartridge works together.The gun is fired at either 30 or 40 yds and a wire circle of 30" placed in the most central position.

Then you count the hits and you can tell how tight your gun/cartridge combo is(or isn`t)You will see at a glance if there are any glaring gaps or if the shot is balling.

If you are using it as an indication of how your gun is fitting then I`m sorry I can`t help you because I was told,some years ago,how it works and I had difficulty understanding it then and now it will be stored somewhere in the dusty,or is that rusty,recesses of my mind :blink:

Hope it was of some use.

[Dunkield]

It's normally a big slab of steel or similar, that is washed down with a weak solution of white emulsion, you fire your shot and then you can inspect the plate to see where each pellet went.

 

A pattern plate can be used as Henry said to check choking and the pattern (hence the name!) of your shot.

 

It can also be used to confirm gun fit, if you aim a point on the plate and shoot high consistantly, for instance, then there is something up that needs fixing.

In a way it is better than getting some one to llok down the barrel at your eye/rib alignment as it is dynamic, or more like the way you are actually going to use the gun.

 

I had a gun fitting with a try gun at West London Shooting School, once the gun was adjusted I shot it against a pattern plate to confirm all was well, and guess what.....

 

I missed it! :blink:

 

Only joking, but it must have happened!

 

Hope that makes sense.

[Dunkield]

I have been

20 yds out front foot pointing at the plate. mount the gun at normal shooting speed drop the muzzle to the bottom of the plate. focus on the aim point and point and shoot.

 

Is this right / wrong/ indifferent?

Would help if read your question before answering!

 

You should mount the gun in the normal way and fire at a point on the plate, they normally have a cross in the middle to help see where you are going.

 

I don't understand why you are dropping the muzzle before taking the shot, that sounds like the problem to me.

[Highlander]

amigos

 

I have had a lovely adjustable comb fitted to my old winchester. Its all to bo with me being a weird non standard sort of shape.

is that your shape or your hair? or are you a character from Star Wars? :blink:

[the last engineer]

Frisp ,lets try and make this simple , stand 15-20 yds back from plate, having marked plate with point of aim dot in centre and 30" circle around it , put in tightest choke, take shot and now look at pattern over marked area ,check for eccentricity of shot ,EG is it centered or off left and high of 30" circle or low and right (examples only you will see yourself) record shot and repeat 5-10 times until your comfortable with the result , "DO NOT MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS YOURSELF ,KEEP SHOOTING THE SAME WAY" , your looking for consistancy remember all shots should be in the same place ,,,,hopefuly if your doing it right.

 

Now you have a record of where the gun shoots in your shoulder mounted,

this will allow you to make any adjustments nessasary to bring the muzzles in .

 

After that

Repeat the operation with a gun down stance , this will tell wether you mount the gun consistantly for point of aim ,you may find a differance in point of impact ,this is the differance between having time to place the gun in your shoulder and "TAKE A SHOT" , and having to mount the gun quick and "MAKE A SHOT" ,there may be a little fine tuning to do to your stock to bring this in ,but it will in the end , try it out ,let me know the results ,any questions give me a shout :blink:

 

Martin