my mossberg 500 won' t pattern worth a poop!!
 

man i am so frustrated, i took my mossberg 500 with the undertaker choke out yesterday to shoot up some turkey targets and it turned in to a miserable day. here' s my problem. from 15 to maybe 20 yards i can literaly shoot the turkey head off the paper with one shot. but as soon as i move to 25-30 yards it is all i can do to get 5 - 10 shots in the kill zone. What am i doing wrong?? i tried some remington #4, federal #6, and winch. #6 in 2 3/4 and 3 in. . i really couldn' t tell a difference in the 2 3/4 and the 3in. ---- it seemed like the pattern was so tight that the shots where maybe bouncing off each other and spreading out? i dont know? i am sure others have had this problem so what did you do?? what are some other loads that might help me out. sumbody help me!!!

RE: my mossberg 500 won' t pattern worth a poop!!
 

I went out yesterday with my 500 and tried 6 new loads. I found that my best load is the same load I' ve been using for several years. Federal premium 3" in #5 shot. I tried three differn' t types of High Velocity loads, two Winchester Supremes and Federal Grand Slam and either my choke or my gun hates them. I' m using the Star Dot extended/ported turkey choke and had several nice comments on the range by people using kicks, remington, & other choke makes. They couldn' t belive I was using a $19.99 wally world special :D Hey I tried three differn' t chokes when I bought this gun and it works the best. As for your problem, I' m not much help. It might be your choke/load combo. My gun goes to pot after 35 yards which doesn' t bother me much, I' m a 25 yard man myself and my gun is pretty deadly at 25-30 yards.

RE: my mossberg 500 won' t pattern worth a poop!!
 

Click , I bet you were shooting Hi-Velocity loads, try some standard Velocity loads I bet it will help. I have had some guns that won' t shoot a Hi-Velocity shell.

RE: my mossberg 500 won' t pattern worth a poop!!
 

There are only 2 things I can think of that may be wrong. First, your gun may be over choked as in too tight, and is blowing your pattern. Or your gun is not shooting to point of aim and I suspect this is the problem. Shoot at 35 yards with a large piece of card( at least 3 ft. x 3 ft. or tape 2 pieces of newspaper together ) and put your turkey target in the middle of this and see where the center of the pattern is hitting. What kind of sights do you have on your gun? And have you patterned the gun with the standard full choke that came with the gun? You may find that the standard full choke is good enough. ;)

RE: my mossberg 500 won' t pattern worth a poop!!
 

This can be a frustrating job for sure, but it is essential to find the right shell/choke combo for your gun. If possible, see if you can borrow someone elses choke that fits your gun to see how it patterns out of yours!!

Hooks, has a good point. My gun never shot to the point of aim either, that' s why I had to scope it. Is the reciever of your gun already drilled and tapped for scope mounts? Is so, your in business!! Another thing is to make sure that your barrel is MIRROR clean!!! This goes a long way to improving the center of your pattern!!;)

RE: my mossberg 500 won' t pattern worth a poop!!
 

I shoot the mossberg 500 short barrell turkey gun with the factory x-full turkey choke. Mine Patterns #4 & 5 federals very good to 35 yards and acceptable at 40yd. Actually the number 4' s do better at 40 yards.Good advice was given about shooting at a 30x30 target to see where your point of aim is placed. I have to aim a couple of inches above and too the left to keep the pattern in the kill zone.
It takes some experimenting sometimes to find the right combo that works. You might try the factory x-full choke or just a standard full choke.

RE: my mossberg 500 won' t pattern worth a poop!!
 

i was shooting at a piece of panaling that would allow me to see my pattern. my pattern is pretty true, at 30 yards i hold the bead head level but a little off the right and that is when i get my best results. however, that does not help much because the pattern itself is so spread out that even in the center of the pattern i am lucky to get a group of 7 - 8 pellets in the zone. as far as the shell selection the on hv' s that i shot where some 3" winchest. #6' s. should the rest were just normal loads. i also compared the pattern with the standard full choke and could see a difference in the tightness of the pattern up close (15 yards) but at 30 yards they were about the same 5 - 9 pellets. someone suggested that maybe the shots where flatening out as they where being pushed through the choke making them fly like saucers instead of balls. do you think if i tried one of the heavy shots if that would make any difference. i have heard good and bad about those, so i dont know.

RE: my mossberg 500 won' t pattern worth a poop!!
 

Time to go out and buy another early b-day/xmas present. I say if it dont shoot worth a poop. Throw it on the poop pile and invest in something a little more user friendly.[>:]

RE: my mossberg 500 won' t pattern worth a poop!!
 

i would if i didn' t just buy a new bow, so i have to use what i' ve got for this year. but i may end up using the bow instead. shoot, i could do better with blo gun

RE: my mossberg 500 won' t pattern worth a poop!!
 

I' d be willing to bet that your gun isn' t shooting to point of aim. I have NEVER had a gun that did and i have shot them all; Benelli, Winchester, Mossberg, Remington, and i know a friend with a Browning BPS that had to buy adjustable sights. The only way you are going to know exactly what your gun is doing is to do the following. Purchase yourself a roll of wrapping paper. Staple up a 30x30 sheet with some type of bullseye in the center to a pallet or piece of plywood. If possible shoot your gun like you would a rifle; from a seated rest using sand bags. I' ve even entertained the idea of purchasing a Lohman Site Vice for this task. Shoot ONE shell at it. Next, take a paper plate or some type of template that will allow you to place a 10" circle over the densest part of the pattern. Now you will know where your densest shot column lies and you can adjust accordingly. For that you will have to choose from a miriad of adjustable sights, scopes, and red dot sighting devices. You have to start with a clean barrel. It should look like a mirror. If you want the most accurate results, you' ll run a patch down the barrel after each shot. I go one further and actually cut open a shell I intend to shoot and get a pellet count. I will then count the number of hits i have in the 10" circle to find the actual percentage of shot landing in the circle. I have decided on a shell/choke combo this year that will do the job. However, i have an extensive patterning regiment planned out for the offseason with several brands of shells and a couple more chokes.