Thread: Expected spread for a full choked 12 gauge @ 30 meters?

Checking where the shotgun is shooting is one of the times you actually aim at the target like a rifle. Put up a sheet of cardboard or similar up at 30-40m. Put an aiming mark in central point. Aim at the mark with mark sitting on top of bead and fire a shot. Make sure you’re sighting flat along the rib. Check wear the shot pattern hits in relation to aiming mark. Gun might be shooting 70/30 ie. 70% above mark 30% below mark. Might be shooting 50/50, 30/70 or completely below bead. Most Clay Target Clubs have a pattern plate for checking this. Go along to your local one and see if someone will help you out. Most will be happy to do so on the off chance you might take up the sport which is great fun by the way. Good i

How far did you miss by??? Well as I said unless it was a Jaffa packet,at least 600mm. And fifty yards is a VERY long shot on a possum. Why on earth didn't you get closer. For reference sake.very few willows grow more than 30 feet high.10 yards. A massive Lombardy poplar is no more than 90 feet,30 yards high. I wouldn't attempt possum at that height even though I've taken ducks from it often. Twenty yards is a sweet spot. Seriously,get some big bits of cardboard or paper and find out what going on...bit tip here,if eyes are screwed shut and trigger yanked in flinch,you will miss,I know as have done it more often than care to think about.

I agree with Micky Duck; 50 yards (or metres) is a helluva long shot on a possum with a typical gun/ammo combination. Possums are tough to kill and your pattern at 50+ yards will likely be too sparse to land enough pellets in vital brain-neck-chest area. And branches and foliage will further thin the pattern.

Originally Posted by woods223

Checking where the shotgun is shooting is one of the times you actually aim at the target like a rifle. Put up a sheet of cardboard or similar up at 30-40m. Put an aiming mark in central point. Aim at the mark with mark sitting on top of bead and fire a shot. Make sure you’re sighting flat along the rib. Check wear the shot pattern hits in relation to aiming mark. Gun might be shooting 70/30 ie. 70% above mark 30% below mark. Might be shooting 50/50, 30/70 or completely below bead. Most Clay Target Clubs have a pattern plate for checking this. Go along to your local one and see if someone will help you out. Most will be happy to do so on the off chance you might take up the sport which is great fun by the way. Good i

Yes that sounds like a good idea, I might be aiming wrong if ive been placing the bead over my target, could mean im shooting a bit high.
I know a fella in the local club, so might give him a call.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

How far did you miss by??? Well as I said unless it was a Jaffa packet,at least 600mm. And fifty yards is a VERY long shot on a possum. Why on earth didn't you get closer. For reference sake.very few willows grow more than 30 feet high.10 yards. A massive Lombardy poplar is no more than 90 feet,30 yards high. I wouldn't attempt possum at that height even though I've taken ducks from it often. Twenty yards is a sweet spot. Seriously,get some big bits of cardboard or paper and find out what going on...bit tip here,if eyes are screwed shut and trigger yanked in flinch,you will miss,I know as have done it more often than care to think about.

Yes I figured 50M was a bit far, I only attempt to shoot that far away if i feel the possum is going to run away or if its on a tree where access is difficult, I often find they run further up the tree out of sight when we get closer, or even run down to the ground and get away if they see us coming, i find they can hide quite well in pine trees, quite often I can hear a ton of noise up in those trees but cant spot any possums, but know they are up there.

The guy in our store reckons its easy enough and just told me to shoot a bit high to compensate, but i would say its a stretch, ive definitely been able to knock them off at least a couple of times from that range, but have more than likely fluked it.

Anyway, I found 20M was the maximum range with the old skeet barrel that had no choke at all, I was hoping it would have been somewhat better with a full choke barrel
As far as rabbits go, I find I cant get very close to the jolly things and 30M is about the closest I can get to them, even when I try my best to sneak up.
If i get a chance this weekend I will find some cardboard to shoot for sure.

What I did with mine was get one of those clay bird holders and set it up in front of a dirt bank. It doest shoot where you think its shooting. Mine shoots way low to where I aim it

Shoot high is a crock of shit bud....seriously a crock of big smelly Pooh's n wees. If your pattern is 30" round at say 30 yards it will be man sized at fifty.... So if you aimed to put centre of pattern at man sized targets ball bag region you would still have pellets at head and at feet regardless of any small drop of individual pellets!!!! Find a big puddle,mudflats,clay bank,sheet of paper or iron(NOT back of the long drop behind shearing shed,by the way #8s will go through corrugated iron at thirty yards) and see for yourself what's going on. Just like sighting in a rifle,patterning shotgun tells you what's going on.

So it doesnt shoot low? Must of been shooting standing on my head.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

Shoot high is a crock of shit bud....seriously a crock of big smelly Pooh's n wees. If your pattern is 30" round at say 30 yards it will be man sized at fifty.... So if you aimed to put centre of pattern at man sized targets ball bag region you would still have pellets at head and at feet regardless of any small drop of individual pellets!!!! Find a big puddle,mudflats,clay bank,sheet of paper or iron(NOT back of the long drop behind shearing shed,by the way #8s will go through corrugated iron at thirty yards) and see for yourself what's going on. Just like sighting in a rifle,patterning shotgun tells you what's going on.

Yeah i figured that would be the case, best thing is to check the pattern at various ranges im thinking.

No expert but I would of thought youd be looking for where the center of the pattern is? Is that not the case?

Well sort of...and sort of not. Your vitals on duck...or rabbit for that matter are about as big is your hitchhiking fist,thumb extended. Another way to look at it is you need five or so hits on that big of area to cleanly kill.in theory the centre of your three,four,five foot roundish pattern gives you best chance of doing that..a error or miss of the centre foot still gives bargain for error. Also in theory the tighter that pattern the less magain for error BUT if your aim is true the tighter pattern will deliver MORE pellets per given area,be it fist,Jaffa box,shoe box or TV box.