Anyone pattern a Stoeger coach gun?

[upnorthbacon]

Has anyone patterned a stoeger coach gun to see what your getting with 7 1/2 or 8 shot for grouse and woodcock?  I'm considering one for a second shotgun and wondering how far I can reasonably take a grouse?

[Graybeard]

I don't pattern shotguns as it has no real bearing on the actual results when used for wingshooting. It only gives you a false sense of what the gun does on game. What is the choke in the barrels? I'd expect them to pattern about like any other gun of same choke. I've owned a few of the Stoeger guns and they seem to work well but I've not had a coach gun.

I take a shotgun to the skeet range and see how it works breaking targets. I can tell by my shooting on a given day if I'm on or off and if I'm on then by judging where the hits impact on the clays I can tell if the gun and me are working well together. I generally expect to center most targets breaking them fairly evenly. If I consistently hit high, lower, ahead or behind then I can safely assume that's where the gun is impacting.

You don't say what gauge your gun is but any 12 or 20 gauge even with cylinder bore is good for taking game to 30-35 yards with the standard 7/8 to 1-1/8 oz loads of shot. In fact you'll likely kill far more game with such open chokes than a tighter choke.

[upnorthbacon]

I decided not to go the coach gun route for a back up gun after all.  I should have been more specific, I was curious about the 12 ga which comes with Mod and IC chokes.  I usually pattern my shotguns like I would a turkey gun.  I keep moving the target back until I feel the pattern is not dense enough to take a bird and it at least gives me an idea of what type of spread I'm dealing with.  I do also shoot clays with the gun to make sure I can hit a bird with it as well

[hillbill]

for what its worth, i had a stoeger coach gun years ago when yu could still find quail around here. never patterned it but had good luk on quail out to about 30 yrds. one of the few shotguns i wish i had back. traded it in on a model 7 rem which i still have and got a huge amount of use out of.but im like GB, whatever yu git, shoot a few clays with it, even a gun that patterns well may not "fit" yu.

[corbanzo]

Do they make them with removeable chokes?  Not that I know of.  The coach gun is most of a CAS type of gun, with the short barrels, and the barrels coming down to an improved cylinder...  if that.  They do work on small-medium birds out to 25 yards or so, I wouldn't try and use them on a pheasant or duck hunt.