One of the most important things you need to do when waterfowl hunting is to pattern your shotgun. Knowing how you shotgun patterns not only leads to more successful shots in the field, it will limit the chances of having a wounded or crippled bird get away. With those of us that have limited time in the field, the more we are familiar with our shotgun pattern, the more successful we will be.
The pattern of your shotgun is a combination of choke size and shot size and how the pellets hit a target at a specific distance. Getting to know what choke size and shot size works best with your favorite duck hunting shotgun is quite simple. You will need a few things to get started. You will need different size choke tubes you are going to use, a selection of shotgun shells in a variety of shot sizes, backboard to place your paper target on, pen and paper, and eye and ear protection.
First set up your backboard and paper target in a safe area. You can use poster board or some old cardboard boxes for you target. The backboard is simply something to hold your targets up. If you can, set up several of these. It will save you some time walking back and forth down range. On you paper targets, draw a 30” circle by placing a thumb tack near the center with a 15” piece of string connected to thumb tack on one end and a pen or pencil on the other. You can also find waterfowl pattern targets if you prefer to us those.
Next, mark off several different distances from your target. Distances are dependent on how far you will be taking shots on waterfowl. Open water ducks in rice fields or lakes you will probably get a 40 yard shot. Wooded area ducks or marsh ducks, 20 to 30 yard shots. Be willing to use several different distances to have a better understanding of your shotguns pattern at each distance.
Now that everything is setup, let’s get started. Take your shotgun and start with one of the choke tubes. Now lay out you shotgun shells out according to size you have selected. Let say you started with #2 shot size. Fire a shot with the #2 shot size at the center of the circle from each distance you marked out. Use a fresh target for each shot at each distance. For reference mark each target with the choke tube and shot size used. Now document the shot density within the circle by counting or averaging the amount of pellets that hit within the circle. Do this for each choke tube, shot size, and distance. By the time you have shot each shot size through each choke tube at each distance, you will have a very good picture of your shotguns pattern. You will also have a better idea of which choke tube works best with a particular shot size at a specific distance. Hopefully this will help make you a more successful waterfowl hunter.
With the increasing price of shotguns, shells, and fuel to get to duck blind you want to make sure you have the greatest chance of success each time out. For tips and products you can visit, www.waterfowlgearpro.com for your duck hunting needs.
The pattern of your shotgun is a combination of choke size and shot size and how the pellets hit a target at a specific distance. Getting to know what choke size and shot size works best with your favorite duck hunting shotgun is quite simple. You will need a few things to get started. You will need different size choke tubes you are going to use, a selection of shotgun shells in a variety of shot sizes, backboard to place your paper target on, pen and paper, and eye and ear protection.
First set up your backboard and paper target in a safe area. You can use poster board or some old cardboard boxes for you target. The backboard is simply something to hold your targets up. If you can, set up several of these. It will save you some time walking back and forth down range. On you paper targets, draw a 30” circle by placing a thumb tack near the center with a 15” piece of string connected to thumb tack on one end and a pen or pencil on the other. You can also find waterfowl pattern targets if you prefer to us those.
Next, mark off several different distances from your target. Distances are dependent on how far you will be taking shots on waterfowl. Open water ducks in rice fields or lakes you will probably get a 40 yard shot. Wooded area ducks or marsh ducks, 20 to 30 yard shots. Be willing to use several different distances to have a better understanding of your shotguns pattern at each distance.
Now that everything is setup, let’s get started. Take your shotgun and start with one of the choke tubes. Now lay out you shotgun shells out according to size you have selected. Let say you started with #2 shot size. Fire a shot with the #2 shot size at the center of the circle from each distance you marked out. Use a fresh target for each shot at each distance. For reference mark each target with the choke tube and shot size used. Now document the shot density within the circle by counting or averaging the amount of pellets that hit within the circle. Do this for each choke tube, shot size, and distance. By the time you have shot each shot size through each choke tube at each distance, you will have a very good picture of your shotguns pattern. You will also have a better idea of which choke tube works best with a particular shot size at a specific distance. Hopefully this will help make you a more successful waterfowl hunter.
With the increasing price of shotguns, shells, and fuel to get to duck blind you want to make sure you have the greatest chance of success each time out. For tips and products you can visit, www.waterfowlgearpro.com for your duck hunting needs.
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