7 pellet holes in it, enough to kill. The seven “asteroids” have no more than three pellet holes in each, but there are quite a few places in this pattern where a bird would have been killed. Pattern density is 57.5%, circle diameter is 37.5 inches which is standard pattern size for 50 yards. You may, by now, be getting an unwanted feeling, but an under- standing, that your chances of a clean kill at 40-50 yards on a fl ying bird with a shotgun are not always good, and that a shotgun’s effectiveness is limited by its own ballistic ineffi ciency. Image No. Ten (there is no image
No. Nine) was shot with full choke, 60 yards, 1¼ ounces No. 7½ shot, 1,220 fps, a new factory shell, with a circle diam- eter of 45 inches. The silhouette has only one pellet in it! The result, of course, is a wounded bird. There are about six to eight places in this large pattern where our one-pound bird would have been killed. That leaves a lot of space for cleanly missed, or wounded, birds. I believe that there is no place in
hunting, and I think that it is unaccept- able, and unethical, to shoot at small birds, even ducks and geese, at 60 yards. Yep, occasionally you will score a kill at this range, but the probability of a clean kill is immensely against you, and the probability of wounding the game is very high, and the wounded bird dies of plumbism. The temptation to shoot game over 50 yards away, or farther, can be overcome by practicing your hunting skills, getting closer to your game, and understanding the limited effectiveness of a shotgun. Even then, we will wound many birds, instead of gleefully watch- ing the target fall rapidly out of the sky, and then patting ourselves on the back for what a good shot we are. Image No. Twelve (there is no
pattern was shot with 1.5 oz. No. 7½ hard shot, (520 pellets), 50 yards, 0.665" extra full choke, muzzle velocity of 1,260 fps. The silhouette of the bird has
Page 88 Spring 2012
image No. Eleven) illustrates how your shotgun may not shoot where you aim it. I shot at the orange spot on the pattern, but the center of the shot pattern is 12 inches below my point of aim. This clearly illustrates why you should always pattern your shotgun with each choke and shell you plan to hunt with. Patterning your shotgun is just as important to success in the fi eld as sighting in your rifl e before going hunting with it. Fundamentally, energy kills the
game, and energy is delivered to the target by the shot.
There are shot selection charts
available from ammo manufacturers to help you choose the right shot size for your game, if you need help in selecting the right size.
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