In addition to training your dogs and painting your decoys, one of the toughest pre-season chores is patterning your shotgun. No two patterns are identical to each other. Some patterns will be off-center while others will have gaps in them.
Patterns have their fair share of oddities, quirks, and mysteries. Some of the factors affecting the pattern include the type of shot, the shot size, the shotshell brand, the gun’s choke, and the gun’s firing characteristics.
Patterning your shotgun is crucial in ensuring you hit the game and kill it cleanly. So, what is a sufficient percentage of lead pellets within a 30-inch range?
When patterning a shotgun, what is a sufficient percentage of pellets within a 30-inch circle
To guarantee a clean kill, pattern of pellets needs to be of an appropriate and even density within a 30-inch circle. The US hunters’ educations standards recommend that the pattern should be comprised of a sufficient percentage of the load within a 30-inch range.
In this regard, at least 55% to 60% of lead pellets should be concentrated in the center, with even distribution.
Is There Anything Like An “Even Pattern”?
No, there’s no such thing as an even pattern. All patterns contain holes and are denser in the center compared to the nature of their distribution on the edges (of course, until you start faking things using some spreader loads).
Although that could be perfect in the real world, an “even” pattern doesn’t imply that one pellet hits one square inch of a target. Simply put, the term means that the pattern contains few gaps and is properly distributed in the fringes to facilitate an easier and more accurate strike.
On the one hand, a pattern may be sparse on the edges and extra-dense in the center. This is typically caused by too much choke. On the other hand, too little choke causes transmission of patterns that appear to be patchy all over.
So, when patterning a shotgun what is a sufficient percentage of pellets to be considered the most effective patterns? Basically, patterns that shoot and place 70% to 80% of the pellets within a 30-inch circle – no matter the range you are patterning – are considered the most effective ones.
Generally, these patterns are not too dense in the center. With this pattern, you’ll be able to hit birds accurately even if you mispoint the gun slightly, because the pattern puts plenty of pellets in the external fringe of the circle.
What Should A Hunter Take Into Consideration When Patterning A Shotgun?
Shotgun patterning is an essential off-season chore that ensures your shotgun and load combo delivers adequate pellets on the right target to make a clean kill. Keep in mind that your loads have to adjust to your gun, and not the other way round.
The choke determines how the pellets are going to spread out. Normally, a broad pattern helps you intercept flying birds, such that you can shoot at a duck or goose accurately even with blind firing.
Below are a few considerations a hunter should take when patterning a shotgun:
- Wear shooting glasses at all time and do not use steel shot on a metal pattern plate owing to the likelihood of a rebound
- Set up your target in line with your height and fire your gun horizontally
- Draw a 6-inch dot in the middle of your pattern paper and a horizontal line across the circle indicating ‘bottom’ and ‘top’ on the target
- With extra caution and gentleness, line up with the 6-inch circle rested atop the front bead. Make sure to be extremely precise.
Final Thought
In a nutshell, a proper pattern is neither too dense in the center nor overly patchy. With a proper pattern, your choke-load combination should place sufficient shot on target to strike whatever game you’re targeting. Now, I believe you’re in a better position to answer the question: When patterning a shotgun, what is a sufficient percentage of pellets within a 30-inch circle?