reggiegun Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 What is the best way to pattern plate your sporting shotgun. Regards, Reggiegun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrapFiller Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Shoot at it You can get cards that have a 30 inch diameter from express cartridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landyboy Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 shoot some DTL, skeet and easy incomers and forget about a pattern plate. you will learn a lot more shooting for real than stood aiming at pattern plate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 shoot some DTL, skeet and easy incomers and forget about a pattern plate. you will learn a lot more shooting for real than stood aiming at pattern plate Ever heard a hare scream because your pattern wasn't what you thought it was? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azzurri Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Ever heard a hare scream because your pattern wasn't what you thought it was? Landyboy's bang on the money,you'll learn next to nothing from playing on the pattern plate... Great if you want to kill a few hours by counting pellet holes in a 30" circle and find your impact point,but the real learning is done on moving targets where you can read your breaks As for screaming hares,yes i've witnessed this,and it's usually caused by people using too little choke,too light a load,shooting at too longer range but mostly not giving the hare enough lead and shooting it up the ****....so practicing on moving targets is better than wasting time on the pattern plate Azzurri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chard Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Are pattern plates on the General Licence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 In answer to your question, it depends on what you want to achieve. Usually you'd just shoot it at a large piece of paper/cardboard at the distance(s) you normally shoot it at. If you're doing it to check what your chokes are you'd do it at a set distance (40 yards) and you'd measure the percentage of the shot in a 30" circle. I don't bother with it, but I can see that it may be useful to check that your cartridge/choke combination is OK, which might matter when shooting at small or distant targets where the wrong set-up might lead to the gaps in the shot going round the target and missing it, or pricking a bird. Other than that I don't see much need for it, that'll confirm that the reason for missing everything isn't the cartridge/choke and that it's the shooting at fault! Shooting at moving targets is probably the only way to be sure of where the shot is going, as it could be different when the gun is swinging compared to being aimed at a stationary target. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrapFiller Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 I find peoples obsession with chokes and the pattern plate quite interesting. One bloke comes down my shoot and I see on nearly every stand changing his chokes to no avale, anoter persons spends 30 minutes on the pattern plate and then shoots terribly on skeet. It baffles me what some people think but as was once said that ain't nothing as queer as folk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Landyboy's bang on the money,you'll learn next to nothing from playing on the pattern plate... Great if you want to kill a few hours by counting pellet holes in a 30" circle and find your impact point,but the real learning is done on moving targets where you can read your breaks As for screaming hares,yes i've witnessed this,and it's usually caused by people using too little choke,too light a load,shooting at too longer range but mostly not giving the hare enough lead and shooting it up the ****....so practicing on moving targets is better than wasting time on the pattern plate Azzurri How would you or these people know that they're using too little choke? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azzurri Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 By the number of Hares i've seen pricked !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 By the number of Hares i've seen pricked !! When you think about it, pattern testing for clay pigeon shooting for many shooters is of little interest and, it would seem, matters even less. However, live quarry shooting is an entirely different matter. All these hares that you heard scream didn't do so because they were "pricked". We use that word but we really ought to recognise that the only people we're fooling is ourselves. The hare screamed because we wounded it, possibly fatally to die painfully later. Don't take my word for it that we should know how our gun performs; have a shufti and see what BASC says in their codes of conduct and respect for quarry literature. Ignore it at your peril - the antis are watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landyboy Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 When you think about it, pattern testing for clay pigeon shooting for many shooters is of little interest and, it would seem, matters even less. However, live quarry shooting is an entirely different matter. All these hares that you heard scream didn't do so because they were "pricked". We use that word but we really ought to recognise that the only people we're fooling is ourselves. The hare screamed because we wounded it, possibly fatally to die painfully later. Don't take my word for it that we should know how our gun performs; have a shufti and see what BASC says in their codes of conduct and respect for quarry literature. Ignore it at your peril - the antis are watching. shooting DTL, SKEET and easy incomers will learn you where you or your gun is shooting by the breaks you are getting i don't understand where your coming from on this one ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Landyboy's bang on the money,you'll learn next to nothing from playing on the pattern plate... Great if you want to kill a few hours by counting pellet holes in a 30" circle and find your impact point,but the real learning is done on moving targets where you can read your breaks As for screaming hares,yes i've witnessed this,and it's usually caused by people using too little choke,too light a load,shooting at too longer range but mostly not giving the hare enough lead and shooting it up the ****....so practicing on moving targets is better than wasting time on the pattern plate Azzurri pattern plates are great, shows how the pattern is at distance. and find the poi from the poa. should only take a few shots. have only patterned some homeloads, to see how they are doing. this hare business really annoyes me, i`m all for buying the right cartridge for the job. 4s minimum or even 2s. alittle choke is needed too. there is a world of difference from "reading the breaks" and then going to shoot 4s or 2s at something that may or may not be at optimal range, and thats running very fast. you dont ever want to be in the situation where you are running about after game beyond where you can shoot. or have them screaming. thats what the shotsizes are for, more energy, more stopping power. i`ve been shooting rabbits over ferrets, and on multiple occassions the #6 failed to bring down game at range. my 4s and 2s cleaned up after clipped game. at the close range 6s were ok. but there is a split second between 10-25 yards and 40yards+ ok, stuff shot close with 36g #4s isnt ideal. i wouldnt give any such nonsence like "aim for the head", at 40mph you are not going to be distiguishing clearly what the head /thorax / back quarters area. its just a target. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Iv patterned a load of different fowling loads, past 30 yrds all, except the gamebore steel, had massive gaps in the pattern. Glad i spent the time doing it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landyboy Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 the OP was how to pattern a sporting shotgun, ie i was presuming sporting clay targets for 40 yard hares with no 4 and no2 is obviously a different matter ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kermit the frog Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Interesting conversation, Pattern plates have a use, they won't teach you how to shoot, but they do show where the pellets go in relation to where you think you are pointing the barrels, and how big a spread you get. I have even proved to myself once, that the barrels were not both pointing in the same direction, I took the gun back! Don't meline them, they are a simple tool which help you to learn. kermit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffo64 Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 When I have had shooting lessons the pattern plate has been used by the instructor to check gun fit and to make sure the gun is shooting where you are looking. In reply to the original post, you use say half choke at a distance of about 20yds, mark the centre of the plate with an aim point, mount the gun smoothly and fire at it, what your looking for is that the gun is shooting straight with about 60% of the pattern above the centre of the aim point. So in effect the gun is shooting straight and slightly high for sporting shooting. If you have an adjustable comb on your stock then you can fine tune it, if not your other option would be to have the stock bent by a gunsmith.hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 the OP was how to pattern a sporting shotgun, ie i was presuming sporting clay targets for 40 yard hares with no 4 and no2 is obviously a different matter ! the versatility of 12gauge is outstanding. its more tha fact that someone reading a broken clay, then thinking a #9 can take out any game. sporter for sporting is for clays and game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salopian Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 (edited) Have a look at this www.mn-trap.org / tech corner/neil winston If you really want to get into patterning this guy (neil winston ) has devoted about twenty years to it. But patterning is not everything to every man, you can love it or loathe it. What do you want to do? Check POA, CHECK POI, check cartridge patterns, choke constriction, correctly used a pattern can reveal so many things, but you MUST do it correctly. Edited April 25, 2012 by Salopian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Have a look at this www.mn-trap.org / tech corner/neil winston If you really want to get into patterning this guy (neil winston ) has devoted about twenty years to it. But patterning is not everything to every man, you can love it or loathe it. What do you want to do? Check POA, CHECK POI, check cartridge patterns, choke constriction, correctly used a pattern can reveal so many things, but you MUST do it correctly. yup it about sums it up. i did it to check poi, first then 4 cartridges to see the pattern. then to put it in perspective put a clay target near the pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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