My effective range?

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fairchaser

fairchaser

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Just got back from the pattern board and got these three targets. The numbers represent the pellets hits for each section of the target with the total at the bottom. My question is; what should be my max effective range?
 

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Have you patterned it on a big 3'x3' sheet of paper? Reason I ask is it looks like you pattern is straying to the left on the 30 yd target. You need to make sure your point of aim and point of impact are the same. After that, a good rule of thumb is 100 pellets in a 10" diameter circle. Back up until you no longer can consistently put 100 in the 10" circle. The pellets hit randomly within the pattern so I don't put much stock in the turkey head target, but the 100 in 10" gives you a very high probability that enough pellets will hit in lethal places. My 11-87 will do 250 in 10" at 40 with 3" 6 shot LBs. I don't intend to shoot past that, as lead loses energy much past that.
 
30 and 40 are definitely dead birds but as Mick states, the core of the pattern doesn't seem to be centered so you might want to check POA/POI. While the 50 is may be a dead bird, a good many more pellets in bone would insure an ethical kill. I'd say you have a really solid 40 yard combo.
 
Thanks Mike. I drew 10 inch circles on those targets and re counted the pellets and got 50 at 50 yds, 84 at 40 yds and 175 at 30 yds. Based on your criteria, my effective range is around 35-40 yards.
 
Like Mick said, always shoot large paper so you can tell what the whole pattern looks like. When forcing lots of shot through a tight choke at high velocity, point of aim and point of impact aren't usually the same. That's when adjustable sights are imperative.

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As others have said get a big piece of paper to see entire pattern. Dump the turkey targets and put a center orange dot on the paper. You want your patten to be centered on that dot and spread out to what fits your comfort zone. I like a dinner plate at 25 yards with the center being the orange dot
 
My POA on the 30 yd target may have been human error or wind. I did not have a solid rest and was standing and on shooting sticks. I had a gusty crosswind to deal with too. My shotgun has a double bead sight but no adjustable sights. But, I do get your advice on shooting a large piece of paper to get a general pattern which I have done before but with different ammo. I wanted to see if the new ammo patterned as the old ammo. The 40 and 50 yard targets looked to be better balanced compared to the 30 yard target so I'm thinking it was probably me not the gun but I need to make sure. I wanted to know how many pellets were acceptable to kill a turkey primarily but I appreciate the other suggestions too.
 
You can also purchase white poster board sheets at Wal Mart for less than 40 cents a sheet. They make excellent patterning targets. :super:
 
I'd keep it inside 40 to allow for margin of error but that definitely is a dead bird at 50 too.


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For comparison, I am shooting 3.5" longbeards #4's and I'm getting 140 pellets in 10" @ 40 yards.

What choke/gun are you using?

Also, I use gift wrapping paper, the white, back side for patterning. It's cheap and my wife always has some around.


"So he cocked both his pistols, spit in the dirt, and walked out in to the street."
 
whiskey":3gnlwmm4 said:
For comparison, I am shooting 3.5" longbeards #4's and I'm getting 140 pellets in 10" @ 40 yards.

What choke/gun are you using?

Also, I use gift wrapping paper, the white, back side for patterning. It's cheap and my wife always has some around.


"So he cocked both his pistols, spit in the dirt, and walked out in to the street."
Click to expand...

Whiskey, I'm shooting a regular ulti full out of a Mossburg 12 gauge 835 ulti mag. It's nothing fancy.. I stopped shooting 3.5's because of bloody noses. I've patterned it before and it's POA = POI but with different ammo. Will different ammo pattern differently?
 
fairchaser":28g5shbi said:
whiskey":28g5shbi said:
For comparison, I am shooting 3.5" longbeards #4's and I'm getting 140 pellets in 10" @ 40 yards.

What choke/gun are you using?

Also, I use gift wrapping paper, the white, back side for patterning. It's cheap and my wife always has some around.


"So he cocked both his pistols, spit in the dirt, and walked out in to the street."
Click to expand...

Whiskey, I'm shooting a regular ulti full out of a Mossburg 12 gauge 835 ulti mag. It's nothing fancy.. I stopped shooting 3.5's because of bloody noses. I've patterned it before and it's POA = POI but with different ammo. Will different ammo pattern differently?
Click to expand...

Yes, but you should have a fine combo there. I'd clean the hell out of the barrel and shoot one more on a large sheet with a steady rest just to know what you have. Those Longbeards would still be my choice.


"So he cocked both his pistols, spit in the dirt, and walked out in to the street."
 
fairchaser":guxdohyf said:
I've patterned it before and it's POA = POI but with different ammo. Will different ammo pattern differently?
Click to expand...

Absolutely. I had my gun sighted in with Hevishot (Magblends and 6's shot the same) and patterned some of the old Winchester Xtended Range HTL and both the 5's and 6's shot low and left. I can't explain it. It's crazy.
 

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