I'm new to this. Just tried an undertaker choke and my pattern is going very low. I'm using 3" Winchester copper plated #5'surkey loads. The pattern is about 6" low. My buddy says I'n not flinching or dropping the barrel when I squeeze the trigger. I seem to need to ain above the target to get the pattern in the head and neck. I came home undid the choke and put a mini mag light in the barrel shined it on the wall and my ain is good? any ideas?

Some guns just don't pattern dead center. It's really noticable with a tight choke. You may have to put on adjustable sights to compensate or have a gunsmith adjust the barrel. My buddy's gun shot low. His gunsmith actually bent the magazine tube to adjust the point of impact. Another buddy sent his 870 back to Remington to have it adjusted.

I would do two things.

1. Borrow or buy some more chokes and see if that corrects the problem. In other words, find out if it is the choke or the barrel.

2. If it is the barrel I would get rid of it. I would never trust it again.

I agree with the first one. But, don't with the 2nd. You would be VERY surprised at the number of guns that come from the factory with the POA being off. Call the company and ask them if they will take the gun back and change the barrel. I know that Browning and Mossberg will.

Try another load and choke before you do all of that though.

I may have found the answer. My friend checked with an "expert" who immediatly asked if the gun (Mossberg 500) was a field gun. Apparently the comb of the stock is to blame. If you try to aim a field gun like a rifle with your cheek on the stock you will shoot low, especially with a x-full choke. There's some kind of an add-on pad to correct this. Does this sound right?

StrutnBPS

I respect your opinion but I'm afraid we are are going to have to agree to disagree. :-)

I'm aware of the fact that the POI for some shotguns is off. If it can be corrected by a bead adjustment or aftermarket sights then great. If the barrel doesn't shoot straight, however,then I would see if the factory would replace it and, if not, I would sell it. We're talking about a relatively inexpensive gun here unless it's some sort of family heirloom. I would never have the confidence to hunt with that gun again. That's just me - others may feel differently.

As to the comb height, I've never had that problem but I can understand how someone else might. When taking aim I first look straight down the rib until I see the bead and no rib, then place my cheek against the stock in that position (we're talking about turking hunting, so I have plenty of time. Wing shooting is different). That assures I am taking ahead and and cheekposition consistent with proper aim. If one does this in the reverse order and takes an incorrect head position I can see how they could be improperly aimed.

maybe if you just installed a back bead, so that you could line the two up when aiming. I believe this is what I am going to do, put an orange or other florecant colored bead in the front and a black in the back, i believe this would help your problem if i'm understanding correctly

If I sent the gun back and then it still shot off. Then yeah, I would sale it.

A normal 12 gauge barrel measures about .724 thousands of an inch. By comparison, a factory full choke squeezes down the muzzle to about .700 of an inch. The normal way to get tighter patterns is to reduce the choke size even more. For example, many popular turkey guns come equipped with chokes that measure .665, and shoot turkey loads of No. 5 or 6 shot extremely tight.
National Wild Turkey Federation Special Events Coordinator Rhett Simmons, who runs the NWTF's annual Turkey Shoot and Outdoor Connection Inc., World Wild Turkey Still Target Championship—one of the biggest sporting clays and still-target competitions in the country—knows how important a proper choke can be. "Be careful not to throw too much choke on your gun. Too much constriction can create ragged patterns that can leave large voids between pellets. Voids in the pattern can lead to shots that miss the vitals."
A good place to start with a standard size 12-gauge barrel is with a .660 tube. Back-bored barrels usually do well with chokes that measure around .680 thousands of an inch. If you are interested in a particular choke, call the manufacturer or speak to your local gunsmith about their recommendations before making a purchase (NWTF's Turkey Shoppe at www.nwtf.org or 800-THE-NWTF offers a selection of choke tubes to fit most any shotgun). Then go out and use the choke tube with a variety of load sizes and even brands of shells. Odds are you will find one that makes a good combination for your gun.