Thread: 40 meter patterns-advice please

Hi
I have just last weekend done some patterning of my goose gun and had surprising results.
Chokes used-pm goose,std full,carlsons turkey and muller ufo.
shells-elegy alphamax no2 lead 3 inch.
At 40 meters im struggling to get more than 50% in the 30 inch circle-the best was the muller ufo.

I had hoped for more-am I expecting too much? is 50% a decent average at that distance.
I have no problems dropping Canadas at all-but can't help feeling that I need a tighter pattern.

Thanks in advance
Avoape

try a 1/4 choke......seriously give it a go. your really tight ones arent doing the job so POSSIBLY munting a good % of the shot,making it spread,a slightly more open choke MIGHT damage them less and allow better pattern.
if you killing honkers,all is good.see if you can find some winchester superX lead #2s they work very well on honkers.they are a 2 3/4" 1 1/4oz loading.
or try some #3s and or #BBs

basically Im saying think outside square and you will find answer you looking for.

Thanks for the advice. Will give it a go.

So you are getting a little under half the expected figure for a full choke.
I'm assuming you are using lead there there should be 85 to95 pellets per oz with no 2 a heavy charge of shot say 2oz may get mashed up and spread faster.
The idea of patterning with more open chokes is a good one. I find 3/4 gives me the best results bearing in mind that a lucky single pellet can do the business much further out.

Patterning is traditionally done at 40 yards/37 metres, shouldn't make too much difference tho.

BB, 1 and 2 shot can be tricky to get to perform. As others have said try a few different loads and shot sizes through your various chokes. I never had much joy with Alphamax lead magnums. Tried expensive Federal Premium 3" number 2's and they wouldn't hold a decent pattern through any choke in my Remington 11-87. Now I use 2 3/4" number 3 lead magnums from Falcon, Rio or Saga with good results.

Get a Patternmaster. Best invention ever for a shotgun. Put it on a Benelli and you are in heaven. I can fold swan easily with our 20g.

Try a few different types of ammo, when I did this a few years back I was amazed by the difference in pattern consistency and density between ammo types

awesome-thanks for the replies. im thinking I have to try different ammo. tried more open chokes-it was worse. also tried the mrs Fabarm H368 and got similar numbers. maybe the Eley isn't all I hoped it would be haha.
just for giggles I tried 2.75 bb-oooooh was that depressing.very few holes.
so once cinders lets us out to play again I will have to wander into town and try to get some different ammo.

my gut feel tells me that no2 lead is about as small as I want to go for Canadas-anything larger too few pellets, anything smaller not enough grunt further away?

As the above chaps have suggested. Often using a lower velocity shell will markedly improve pattern. And as Mr Duck suggested try smaller lead shot. I've dumped geese with 28ga #5's with half choke at 40yards often. #5's will drop them quick if you lead off the bill , not the body. Swans the same; smaller pellets in head and neck from denser pattern work well.

Kill geese with 1oz #4 in 20g with a full choke,lead the white cheek patch as your target like shooting a quail.get the pellets on head and neck the smaller pellets and denser pattern kill well.

The slower cartridges will pattern tighter which is why the winchester super x was so good in the bigger shot