Shotguns & Patterns

[Guest JohnGalway]

Evening folks,

 

I may, or may not, be changing my shotgun before the summer. Options would be either a three shot semi auto or a side by side. Over and Unders are not for me

 

There's a question nagging me.

 

What quality is it in any particular shotgun that makes them throw a tighter pattern than others? I won't be spending mega bucks, but I'd like to get something quality all the same. By quality I mean in practicality and throwing a good pattern, not engraving, fancy woodwork etc and so forth. It'll be a working gun so practical is good for me.

 

So what is it that would make one shotgun superior to another given the above criteria?

 

All help greatly appreciated,

 

All the best,

 

John

[Ratman2 2]

As far as I know it's all down to choke.

[Rolfe 2]

Evening folks,

 

I may, or may not, be changing my shotgun before the summer. Options would be either a three shot semi auto or a side by side. Over and Unders are not for me

 

There's a question nagging me.

 

What quality is it in any particular shotgun that makes them throw a tighter pattern than others? I won't be spending mega bucks, but I'd like to get something quality all the same. By quality I mean in practicality and throwing a good pattern, not engraving, fancy woodwork etc and so forth. It'll be a working gun so practical is good for me.

 

So what is it that would make one shotgun superior to another given the above criteria?

 

All help greatly appreciated,

 

All the best,

 

John

Hi John,

You don't say what you will be using the gun for mainly but it is all down to what choke as to what pattern any gun throws.

Most s/s game guns are choked 1/2 and full but i had mine bored out to 1/4 and 3/4 for pigeon shooting.

You can get multi-choke SPORTING guns but these are mainly over and unders.

 

Regards

 

Rolfe.

[Guest JohnGalway]

Yes, that was rather stupid of me to leave out it's use wasn't it. It'll be mostly for foxes, hoodies, magpies in that order of importance

[Rolfe 2]

Yes, that was rather stupid of me to leave out it's use wasn't it. It'll be mostly for foxes, hoodies, magpies in that order of importance

Well i would go for a tight choke and gun that takes a heavy load for fox control so something choked half and full would suit you i would think............you can always get them opened up at a later date.

 

Rolfe.

[SportingShooter 0]

choke is the determining factor of what pattern a gun throws as mentioned on here before. the best patterns are formed by long chokes. they distribute the shot as evenly as possible and therefore leading to a better pattern. most guns out there are still fixed choke so if foxing is the order of the day, fairly tight ones are called for. the problem with putting a lot of shot through a tight choke is that the pattern tends to 'blow' meaning that there are more fliers which as you know does not contribute to the pattern, so you need to find a good compromise. my first serious gun was a miroku mk38 gr1 trap which came with 3/4 and Full chokes. i then had these opened out by Teague to 5/8, 5/8. the difference in pattern with a heavy load is tremendous and still packs enough punch to drop a fox at 40 yrds even though it is only 2 3/4" chambered.

multi chokes are different again. the factory made ones throw a pattern but are not normally as good as those from custom chokes but this cannot be exected as they are mass produced.

most new semi's come with multichokes, but if you buy something like a beretta or benelli you can buy replacement chokes made by teague, these are usually better than factory chokes.

sorry for the long post but it may help(or just confuse you!)

thanks

ss06

[sounder 9]

hi john when it comes to chokes i do change mine in my o/u for clays but i use a semi-auto for everything else and thats a 1/2 choke .but my gun for clays shoots high as it is a sporter and throw the pattern high, most sporter do but my auto throws the pattern flat,so its 1/2 below the bead and 1/2 above where the o/u is 1/4 blow the bead and 3/4 above, but that down to gun fit.i would'nt worry to much about choke or pattern. i change the size of the shot before the choke to suite what i am shooting at .knowing where the pattern is all u need to know,then it down to the man behind it.

cheers sounder

[The Sporting Agent 0]

As many have said above; choke is the common factor in spread pattern, but not in "quality" of spread or density of pattern which I think you are getting at. The quality and density of the pattern is all down to the combination of gun and ammo.

 

By that I mean, not all ammo will pattern well in each gun; thats part of the reason we use a pattern plate. Sure tight choke heavy load on foxes etc, but there is no point using a load/ammo that patterns poorly in your gun.

 

My suggestion would be to chose a gun based on what you want, like and can afford and will suit the job, fixed or multi choke is up to you; then most importantly get a few boxes of differant ammo in say 6, 4 and BB (or whatever you use) and using a pattern plate find which one gives the most consistent density of pattern and stick with those.

 

You may find is an Express PS in size 6, a Hull in 4's and a Gamebore in BB's or whatever. But that will give you a better idea about how your gun patterns than choke consideration will.

 

Hope is helps.

[shottyscotty 3]

try a escort semi auto with 3 1/2 " chambers . there cheap new and second hand there peanuts