I was wondering if the folks on this board would be willing to try something this year when they head out to pattern their favorite turkey gun and shell/choke tube combo...

If we would all agree to shoot at a measured 40 yards at a regular 8.5" x 11" piece of paper we would have a lot of information collected in a consistent fashion to help us all put into perspective our shotgun's performance. Total hits in the paper is more objective to evaluate vs. the subjective "head and neck" hits we hear discussed so often.

To get even more precise with this information, we could have a 3.5" circle drawn on the paper to count hits within the circle. Once again, total hits within the circle are more objective to evaluate vs. the subjective "head and neck" hits.

what do ya'll think?


this time IT IS all about the numbers...

jeff I never use 8.5"x11" ..I always use a quakerboy turkey target......BUT.. I will stable a sheet of notebook paper on top (if I can see thru it) or under the quakerboy so we can compare notes.......!

Sounds good to me, I'll try the paper this year. Have been using the Quaker Boy targets and the Remington targets also.

Jeff that sounds like an excelent idea. I will do that when I go to the range.

Just for informational purposes, would you post your sore-shoulder results from that hevi-shot /lead shot experiment you did acouple of years ago..it is the best information I ever saw on the subject of comparing chokes, shot etc...my recollection is that it is in a chart form with notes. I cannot recall because my copy is in a safe locked up at home....;>)

sure...i'll ask freddy to help me put the graph on here again.
here's the brief overview posted last year

Posted on Friday, November 12, 2004 - 3:52 pm:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
guys on this board know i've spent a lot of time at the range collecting objective data about hevi shot to determine the optimal shell/tube combo. here's the results of my most recent data collected before the 2004 spring gobbler season.

if you want to shoot hevi shot 6's (3", 1 5/8oz) look for a .665 tube and on average at 40 yards, expect to put 12 pellets into a 3.5" circle and around 100 pellets into an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper. (i shoot a primos .665 jelly head tube made especially for hevi shot 3" 6's).

if you want to shoot 4's or 5's (3", 1 5/8oz) look for a .674 tube and on average at 40 yards, expect to put 10 pellets into a 3.5" circle and around 80 pellets into an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper. (consider the remington super full hevi shot tube)

regardless of the tube you end up selecting, be sure to spend the time on the range shooting at 40 yards shooting at an 8.5" piece of paper with a 3.5" circle drawn in the center of it.

look for an even pattern covering the paper top to bottom and left to right with no gaping holes in it. gaping holes suggest too tight of a choke tube. beyond this, if you're shooting 12ga 3" 6's, look for the combo that puts greater than 10 pellets in the circle and greater than 75 pellets in the paper at 40 yards. if you're shooting 12ga 3" 4's, look for the combo that puts greater than 7 pellets in the circle and greater than 65 pellets in the paper at 40 yards. performance beyond this is icing on the cake because you can only kill a gobbler so dead...

You like the pure hevi-shot brand, right(from Macon Georgia)...better than the remington branded version of hevi-shot, right? Didn't you also do something on 20 guage tubes for Hunter etc?

Count me in on the 8 1/2 X 11 paper testing. My shoulder is already hurting and I've not even been to the range! Can't wait for the pain.

Do you think it would be easier at 50 yards? I only shoot at a range and its 25, 50, 100, 200 yards... So I really cant do 40 yards.

I'm shooting a Mossberg 835. It maims at one end and kills on the other. I'm not sure I'm getting the ends correct because after a dozen shots my shoulder was killing me!!! I killed my first bird with Remington Heavy Shot 31/2" #5's. He had a few holes in his head! I'm still with you Jeff on the 8.5 X 11 paper. Which way do you turn it? Up and down or ladscape sise to side?

GN
yep - like the pure hevi-shot brand better than the remington for turkeys. for me remington HS works great on ducks and geese...greater muzzle velocity.

Hunter's 20 gauge with kick's .565 (i think - will need to check) shooting 3" 6's hevishot would run with my 12 ga...i was really surprised about that.

HS is supposed to be coming out with an even newer and improved load this year...stay tuned!

Neal -
to include your data it would need to be at 40 yards...a lot can happen to a pattern between 40 and 50....but send us whatever you can so long as it's on the 8.5" paper.

Ron,
the paper should be verticle...i used to shoot an 835 a long time ago...try putting a pad on the cheek piece of the stock and a small sandbag between the butt of your gun and your shoulder...it's a little cumbersome, but when shooting that beast at paper it helps a whole lot.

Glad you got this on the board early! There was a wealth of info on here last year and this will standardize it. One other thing I feel is important is to be sure to sight in your gun before patterning diff. loads to be sure its the load. This can be done with a large board to make sure you are centering the pattern on the circle first. Off center patterns will be false results. Great Idea Diablo!

Will Do! Will keep you informed.

Max had a good Idea, for those of you that like to shoot a different target just place the paper behind it inthe center. This should give god enough results to measure what Daiblo wants.
Great idea Diablo

the grapsh above need revised as they show hits in the head/neck region of an official NWTF still target turkey head. i'll update the graphs for hits in the 8.5" paper and 3.5" circle as soon as feasible.