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Additional Text for the 10/28/04 Alumni Sandstorm 
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>>From: George "Pappy" Swan ('59)

PAPPY’S PARTING SHOTS
By Pappy aka George Swan
PATTERNING SHOTGUNS FOR WING SHOOTING

Many years ago, after my Dad (RIP) retired, we took up
reloading. We bought a shotgun press and the components.
He had cataracts and could not read well. I asked him to
wait until I returned from an out of town job. However, he
got bored and began reloading shotgun shells and never
quit. When I returned, I was surprised when Dad proudly
presented me with boxes and boxes of 12-gauge reloads.

Cousin Buck and I went duck hunting to try out the
reloads. Two greenheads dropped in over the decoys about
35 yards out. We fired. “Poot, Poof” were the only sounds
we heard except for a heavy sigh next to me. The shot
landed in the water with a “pleep, ploop, and plip…” about
12-15 yards in front of us. The heavy sigh was my yellow
Lab, Buff, voicing his amazement as he watched the
mallards fly away. That dog was a great waterfowl
retriever but he had an annoying habit of doing the heavy
sigh routine whenever Cousin Buck or myself missed a shot,
especially the ones that would have been easy retrieves.
We kept trying the reloads until Buff shamed us into
admitting defeat and finally forgave us. That came only
after I walked out to the pickup and to get some factory
loads and we finally started knocking ducks down. Pappy’s
Postulate No. 3: If your dog is smarter than you and
flaunts it, put mule blinders and earmuffs on him until
you finally hit something for him to retrieve.

Later, we discovered that Dad had his wad pressure set way
out of whack, when he indeed used the correct wad. We
patterned some of those shells and they averaged about one
or two per cent of the shot in a 30-inch circle at 20
yards but should have been around 75-90 percent. Had we
test fired or patterned some of Dad's loads early on we
would have discovered the problem. Either way, patterning
a shotgun with a variety of chokes, loads, and shot sizes
or any new reload recipes will enable you to match up the
best combination for wingshooting and should aid in
increasing the weight of your game pouch.

A “pattern” is the distribution of shot pellets discharged
from a shotgun into a 30-inch circle. For example, a full
choke charge fired from a 12-gauge shotgun is supposed to
throw a pattern of at least 70 per cent of the shot into a
30-inch circle at 40 yards. “Choke” is the constriction
bored into the end of a shotgun barrel (mostly screw-in
tubes nowadays) by which the spread of the shot pattern is
controlled. To pattern shotguns you will need a location
where it is legal, safe, and practical. The Rose-Iris
Range works well and there is a patterning board at the
shotgun range. PLEASE TAKE PAPER AND CARDBOARD HOME AND
DISPOSE OF IT UNLESS BURNING IN THE RO SHACK STOVE IS
SEASONABLY PRACTICAL. My four-foot square targets made
from taping together strips of butcher paper are taped to
a large stiff piece of cardboard. I tape the target to the
support. I make a solid 3-inch spot with a marker pen in
the center of the paper with a 30-inch circle around it. I
calculate how many combinations of shot size, loads, and
how many repetitions, etc. that I want to test and make up
enough targets ahead of time. I like to start at 40 yards,
pretty much the outer limits of my shooting range for
ducks or upland birds and I usually take additional shots
at 20 and 30 yards. 

I scribe vertical and horizontal lines (like cross hairs)
from the edges of the circle through the spot giving four
quarters. With the marker pen, I count as I mark each shot
hole and write the tally in each quarter. Then, I can add
up the hits in all four quarters for the total, and
determine the overall percentage of my shot pattern for
each set of conditions that I was testing. I can total the
hits in each of the top and bottom halves, and I can tally
both the right and left halves and finally determine if my
shotgun tends to throw its pattern high, low, left, or
right. 

The average number of shot pellets per ounce in the
various sizes (for both lead and steel shot) can be found
on the Winchester Arms website at www.winchester.com in
the Shotshell Guide. Calculate the number of shot pellets
(the larger the pellet -- the smaller the number) in the
load that you are testing. For example: there are
approximately 225 pellets per ounce of No. 6 lead shot,
thus a 1 ¼ oz. load of No. 6 shot contains about 281
pellets. Total pellet hits within the 30-inch circle
divided by the total number of pellets in the load equals
the percentage of pattern for that set of conditions.

The real value of patterning a shotgun comes from knowing
that game birds are killed by a combination of the
velocity of the shot charge, the balance and density of
the shot pattern, and the penetration of the pellets. It
is generally accepted that about four or five pellets of
the proper size striking vital areas of a bird are
required to make a clean kill. The greater the surface
area of the bird, the larger the shot that can be used and
still get the required minimum of four pellets into the
body. Thus, the larger the bird is the greater the need
for the energy and deep penetration of heavier shot. The
larger and therefore the heavier the shot size, the better
it retains its velocity and the harder it hits. On the
other hand, the smaller the shot size the denser the
pattern. So, the proper choice of shot must be a
compromise between pellet energy and pattern density.

Most upland birds are flushed close and killed at less
than 30 yards, obviously a good situation to spread the
shot out a bit with an improved cylinder choke. However, a
modified choke is the most useful, all-around choice for
any gauge. Most gunners will do far better with a modified
over a full choke. The full choke is a one-purpose choke,
originally intended for pass shooting at ducks and doves
with lead shot. It still works well for doves where lead
shot is legal.

-George "Pappy" Swan ('59)
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