ORIGINAL: andrewjoseph
I was just shooting on the 18 X 18" targets from Bass Pro. This makes sence what you said, I think Ill try putting them on some bigger pieces of cardboard to see the bigger pattern.
Is 12-13 pellets in the spine and brain sufficient at 30 yds?
Thanks for the advice.
Absolutely. It only takes one in the right spot, but there is a bit of luck involved with that. Thats whyturkey hunters always try and find the optimum choke/load match that will put the odds in our favor.
Here is what I do when I pattern. This is just what works for me, and I think it lets me fairly evaluate each option that I have with regards to chokes and loads:
30 yards is my default starting range for most mag 3" and 3.5" loads with super/xtra full chokes. 40 is too far to start out with and 20/25 is too close to see any stringing. I use christmas wrapping paper about 3 feet by 3 feet square (the white side, not the santa clause side), and just draw a 3" diameter circle in the middle that I use as an aiming point. Then I'll shoot, and when I get back home I take a 12" diameter wire mesh wastepaper basket (paper plates or anything round work fine too, but i like the fact that I can see through the mesh) and I try to cover as many pellet hits as I can with that 12" circle. Often it is right in the middle of the paper, but if it is a little left or right, thats alright, all I am looking at is central density. I can adjust my point of impact later.
After I have that 12" circle drawn, I'll count the pellets inside of it. With my roman candle 3.5" loads at 30 yards, this is ususally between 175 and 300 pellets. I use a sharpie to mark each hit as I count it. Then, I will use a differnt color and count all the pellets outside of the circle. This makes your hits a little bit easier to see. I then open the target up and step back a few yards and just look at it. I look for holes in the pattern, strings of pellets or little clusters of pellets. If my densest part is right in the middle of the whole pattern, its good and even, and with no clusters, then I have a load that will shoot well, and I will keep it for further tests. This usually means another shot at 30 and two at 40. When I have one load that has shot the best, with regards to overall eveness, density retention, and no strings/clusters (not just pellet count) then I will shoot it at 20 yards (just for kicks) and there you have it. After that, if I need to I can adjust my POI in the scope to get the central super dense part of that pattern hitting where I want it to.
If you want to use the turkey targets, you can place them in the middle of a larger piece of paper or posterboard and use them as a point of aim. But what really matters is what the WHOLE pattern does, not just how many pellets luck into the head and neck. Shotguns are a game of percentages, and having the choke/load combo that produces the most overall dense even patterns swings those odds in our favor.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes!