I agree.
borden811, pullit, and Rug3 are saying similar things. Might we say that a pattern is developing here?
We might also give a few hints on what has worked for us patterning our guns.
Here is what has worked for this old man:
After years of banging at various commercially printed turkey head targetsI bought a roll of construction paper at Lowes 3'wide and cut off 3'squares that I staple to a square frame made from some discarded lumber. I found that opening up a cardboard box and stapling it to the frame for a backer is really helpful. Black 3/4" electrical tape is my favorite target. For the first shot I put a small piece of it at the center of the 3" square and set it up at about 25yds. (30 steps, paced off, exact measurements are unnecessary here).
Shoot one round at the center of the target and then read I will find a section of the pattern that tends to be more dense then the rest. Draw a circle around this area. I carry an old black crayon in my pocket for this. Should be about 8" in diameter. Sight my gun to the center of that circle.
I then make my "turkey target" which consists a new sheet of the construction paper, a vertical 5" strip of that tape to represent the turkey neck, a piece about 1 1/2" at a 45 degree angle on the top representing the head. Move my target out to 30 yards and shoot one.
Read the target.
1. Where's the density of the pattern? Circle it. About a 10" circle. Don"t re-sight the gun yet.
2. How many pellets poked through that tape? That's my "kill pattern." Dozen or more? If so I move out 10 yards and shoot again at new target.
I want 8-10 in the kill pattern but will settle on 6 if they are there on all subsequent confirming shots. The farther out I go the less dense the kill pattern. I no longer pattern beyond 40yds. It's counterproductive for me. If I can't call him inside 40 then he wins, I grin and work on calling, sitting still, and camo skills.
When I find the maximum distance the shotgun patterns well I re-sight the gun if needed and always shoot at least 3 confirming shots at new individual "turkey targets and circle them." It's habit now to circle all "kill patterns." Read the targets again.
My turkey shooting, real or target, is from a sitting position off shooting sticks. The sticks help me stay still when that Tom takes his time doing all his tricks showing off on his way into the 40yd shooting zone. The sticks also help me hold the gun up for that length of time. These 76yr old arthritic shoulders and arms are just not as strong as steady as they once were. Besides the sticks work well as a walking stick. (cane)
Get box Winchesters
Roll construction paper
Make 3"square frame
Shoot
Jim
