Shotgun patterning and pellet count help needed please.

[JimG]

I've had a NEF Pardner 20 gauge with a fixed modified choke for awhile now and have just now started to get serious about shooting it. I decided awhile back to shoot at some flat pieces of cardboard with about a 7-8" circle drawn on them. I'm not sure about how to go about "pattering" a shotgun so I could be in error on the size of the target circle. At any rate here's what I got-

15 yards away with Win. Super X Game Loads 2.75" #7.5 shot I got 95 pellets in the 7-8" circle.

30 yards away with Win. Super X Game Loads 2.75" #7.5 shot I got 21 pellets in the 7-8" circle

40 yards away with Win. Super X Game Loads 2.75" #7.5 shot I got 11 pellets in the 7-8" circle

40 yards away with Estate Game and Target Loads 2.75" #6 shot I got 8 pellets in the same size circle.

At 50 yards away however with Win. Super X rifled deer slugs 3/4 oz 2.75" I can put 3 slugs in a 3.5" CTC group. Which I consider just fine for deer and hogs.

Am I totally off the mark on patterning shotguns with the 'birdshot' or did I do it close enough? Also there are some small 'holes' in the pattern of shot, nothing huge but there are some small 'voids'. I'm sure this is to be expected with a $90 shotgun and midrange quality ammo however. Is the number of pellets inside the circles normal or a little on the sparse side? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[Couger]

What birds or small game species are you trying to kill?

Anything inside of 25 yards is wtat I consider "close" and even a 20 gauge will chew them up bad, esp with a MOD choke.  Try backing off to 25 yards, then 30 yards, then 35 and 40 and 45 yards.

Using butcher paper (if you can get it cheap) or the ends of rolls of newsprint paper, make a frame from 2X4's large enough to staple a 3 or 3 1/2 foot square papper sheet.  Draw a 30" and 36" circle on that paper sheet with a 2 or 3 inch dot in the center.  Use that dot as your pattern center at the ranges you try your various loads and shooting conditions.

When I've shot a 20 gauge my shots 95-plus percent of the time are within 25 to 45 yards.  25 yards was "close" and 45 yards "far away."  Average is 30-40 yards.  I usually use #8's, #7 1/2's or #6's.  Anything bigger than #5's are starting to give you a really sparse pattern and in that light weight singleshotgun, anything over a hi-vel 1-ounce load will thump your shoulder good!

But what game are you shooting?  And at what ranges?

[JimG]

Mainly small game such as rabbits and squirrels, however it will be used for occasionally for pheasants, grouse, and the like. I don't see it being used for waterfowling but I won't rule that out.  A buddy does use a 20 gauge pump for ducks every year with great results. But small game at 20-35 yards to answer your question. That's why I went with the small (7-8") target circles. To see how many pellets would be put into a realistic "kill zone". To me it seems sparse at the 30 and 40 yard marks but my shotgunning expertise is limited. Of course the 15 yard shot was overkill and largely for grins and giggles.

[Brett]

Your patterns sound reasonable to me. After all just how much bird shot do you want to be picking out of your hasenpfeffer?  Do a search on burnishing shotgun barrels.  This can do a lot to even out the pattern on these inexpensive shotguns.

[hellacatcher]

Burnishing the barrel worked for me in a 10ga. It brought the pattern from off center to more of the point of aim. Do a search and you should find how to do it.

[JimG]

I did a search on burnishing the barrels and will give it a try.