bigt1754 Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Hi all, Went out on the pigeons this evening, there were a few about, ended up with 10 for 19 shots.... Anyhoo, I though I was shooting high for some time now so made a rough pattern plate and took it to the field of peas were i was shooting. I was about 20 yards away and there are 4 shots of 30g number 6 shot, and hare is the result.... I think the shot is high, but welcome opinions and advice ATB Bigt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poontang Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) That looks about right to me, assuming you're using a sporter type gun. They normally throw (roughly) a 60/40 pattern, so 60% of the shot should be above the line and 40% below, which it pretty much is by the look of it. Edited June 13, 2012 by poontang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedge Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) I can't see much wrong with that. Over and unders tend to shoot 2/3 of the pattern high and 1/3 low so that tends to agree with your pattern plate. You may find that when mounting the gun you are not getting your cheek fully onto the stock so shooting slightly `head up`. You may be able to see the top of the rib as well? This can cause 1) the stock to drop which causes 2) the barrels to rise and you shoot `high`. If you can try some clays and get someone who knows what they are doing to stand behind you to check 1) your gun mount and 2) see if you are shooting high. If you think you may be shooting high and your gun mount seems fine then try shooting at the targets `feet` (i.e a bit lower) and that will put most of your pattern on target. Try to find out what isn't quite right then tweak accordingly (not necessarily as easy as it sounds). Hard to do it on your own so try to get some help. Edited June 13, 2012 by hedge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigt1754 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Thanks guys, Shooting a silver pigeon 3 sporter. Although not very scientific, i found it quite interesting. I shot at the board pre-mounted, so that cant be a problem. I didn't know sporters did the 60/40 thing... Once again, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedge Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 The danger with shooting at a pattern plate pre-mounted (as you usually would) is that the gun is pre-mounted and you tend to get everything nice and snug, lined up and shoot the plate. In a pigeon shooting situation you are not pre-mounted and it's easy not to get your head down on the stock properly. Only a slightly high head/low stock can mean 2 or 3 foot higher at the target. If you are happy with your gun mount then try aiming a bit lower and see if that gets your pattern in the right place. For me Beratta's have a low action and can shoot high so I have to try really hard to get low on the stock or I also shoot too high. Aim at their feet! Let us know how you get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Thanks guys, I didn't know sporters did the 60/40 thing... They don't, it's a load of old squit. A gun will/can only shoot where, due to his/her technique and physical characteristics, the individual aiming it points it. There is, however, a train of thought that there is an advantage of having the gun fitted to that individual so that is where the pattern centres. If you shoot at the 'feet' of a pheasant for example, the pattern will centre on its body is the principle. There is no sense of scale to the picture but if you 'aimed' at the cross towards the bottom of the pattern, you're looking good - a slight cast problem perhaps to be pedantic. See what happens if you mount and shoot with, perhaps, a rough outline of a pigeon drawn on the 'plate'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougall Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 The best answer to this pattern thing is you got 10 for 19.....that says to me the gun works just fine. Pattern plates are something we've all done at some point and I really do not think they help too much,actual performance on actual 3 dimensional targets give more important information.At 20 yards it tells you more about where you have 'aimed' than anything else and in this context you look about right. atb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigt1754 Posted June 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 (edited) Very interesting, thanks. I think 'sitting' the target on the top of the barrel will do me fine. The plate is about 20 inches across, and i have 1/4 and 1/2 chokes by the way. Cheers ATB bigt Edited June 14, 2012 by bigt1754 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KFC Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 As said, the pattern looks right. The reason for the 60/40 is so that you can see the bird over the top of the barrels so putting the bead on the feet puts the main pattern on the body. As has also been mentioned about gun fit. I too was missing a lot of birds over the top. I put a rubber stock extension to lengthen the stock by 1" and this solved the problem. In having the stock too short meant I was sort of hunched over it which raised the barrels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 That looks fine, the only thing is do you pre-mount when you shoot? You might find that if your not pre-mounting when you shoot that these results won't be the same as you make changes as your lining the gun up. Your patterning should be done the same way you shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 The pattern looks fine, you probably shot high because you lifted your head or didn't allow for the swoop in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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