Pattern plate

[Mr. Lot]

Good morning claymates, I would have loved to have posted this in the new shooters forum to save my embarrassment, but..... I had 4 lessons when I started with the shotgun on clays, two with the shoot schools Lanber and two with my own Beretta ( received my SGC ) in the middle of lessons, four years ago. I have not been over happy with the lessons I had, and was proved right when I set up a pattern plate at a small clay club I go to every other Sunday consisting of a wooden pallet with a 4 foot piece of stiff paper stapled on to it. The paper was marked with cross hairs and a standard clay, felt tipped in the centre as a bulls eye. When I shot at the latter from 30 yards only half a dozen, if that, pellets struck above the horizontal line, the rest struck below the bulls eye. Great I thought, now to put things right. I wrapped an old towel around the stock and shot again. This time pellets well above the horizontal line but off to the left which I new was the towel pushing the stock to the right of me ( I am a right handed shooter ). So off to Jim Spalding to find out my options. Two weeks latter, adjustable comb and adjustable but plate/pad. One very happy shooter  misser. Now before I go back to the pattern plate to adjust all my adjustables, would some kind soul tell me please,

1. is 30 yards O.K.

2. should I go gun up or down,

3. should I sit the clay bulls eye on the bead in my normal mount

4. should I through the gun away and take up knitting.

Any information on the above would be received with much gratitude, sorry if I have lagged it out, Mister Lot.

 

[Hamster]

1. if you're checking for POI then less distance is better, say 20 yards.

2. gun up

3. yes

 

[jwpzx9r]

1. if you're checking for POI then less distance is better, say 20 yards.

2. gun up

3. yes

I had heard that it was better not to aim as such but to shoulder the gun and move it from a lower point upwards and shoot the pattern just as the bead hits the centre of the target. The reason being that you would normally be moving the gun when shooting not static as in an aiming type situation at the pattern plate. Assuming you follow my description of what I am getting any truth in that or does it make no difference?

 

[Hamster]

Both ways work but if you're trying to precisely check POI then pre-mounted and aimed rifle like is best, the Americans do it seated and from a rest. Once that's established then you can fine tune the fit with instinctive un-mounted shoots on both pattern plate as well as going away birds. In truth if the gun doesn't throw straight on a plate it won't smoke much either.

 

[Mr. Lot]

Blimey guys that was quick, I can see both answers combined, is going to be my way forward. Thank you, M.l.

 

[Mr. Lot]

I have an Idle back chair with a rifle pod and lots of time, hence will try that as well. I think I am as keen on the ins and outs as well as the actual shooting. 

 

[Hamster]

I have an Idle back chair with a rifle pod and lots of time, hence will try that as well. I think I am as keen on the ins and outs as well as the actual shooting. 

Believe it or not it takes a fair bit of experience to be able to rifle shoot a shotgun, there's times when the POI variations will be to do with cast as well as times when it's not really the guns fault, occasionally the fault can lie with poorly struck barrels that simply throw badly off line relative to one another. 

 

[evoracer]

Believe it or not it takes a fair bit of experience to be able to rifle shoot a shotgun, there's times when the POI variations will be to do with cast as well as times when it's not really the guns fault, occasionally the fault can lie with poorly struck barrels that simply throw badly off line relative to one another. 

So true!!! I used to shoot rifle at national level, when shooting Greenfields a while back there was an orange clay stuck in the tree a bit of a distance but nothing special it was right on my eye line so i pointed it out to the trapper as i knew it would bug me he said shoot it to get rid of it as it wasn't the first time it had be pointed out could i hit the damn thing could I F@*K!! give me a 2.2 Lee Enfield from the prone position and no doubt it would have been gone!

 

[Mr. Lot]

I'm not in any way blaming my gun for low shot pattern, I do believe it is myself to blame and so will pattern in a gun down, slow mount, and fire. But as you have bought this up I am interested to know just how the gun itself patterns as regards 60/40. and will try to rifle it.

 

[Hamster]

So true!!! I used to shoot rifle at national level, when shooting Greenfields a while back there was an orange clay stuck in the tree a bit of a distance but nothing special it was right on my eye line so i pointed it out to the trapper as i knew it would bug me he said shoot it to get rid of it as it wasn't the first time it had be pointed out could i hit the damn thing could I F@*K!! give me a 2.2 Lee Enfield from the prone position and no doubt it would have been gone!

Actually that little episode could have had a great deal to do with the distance, static clays are near impossible to break once beyond a certain threshold. The reason is quite well understood and is essentially due to lack of any centrifugal force aiding the clay to tear itself apart. In other words you are relying entirely on the kinetic energy (and not clays spin) of tiny pellets to break the clay.

If you place clays on the ground and then walk away and shoot in stages you will soon enough fail to break them at distances that may well shock you because you will be able to pulverize the same clay when presented flying. 

 

[Skeet UK]

So true!!! I used to shoot rifle at national level, when shooting Greenfields a while back there was an orange clay stuck in the tree a bit of a distance but nothing special it was right on my eye line so i pointed it out to the trapper as i knew it would bug me he said shoot it to get rid of it as it wasn't the first time it had be pointed out could i hit the damn thing could I F@*K!! give me a 2.2 Lee Enfield from the prone position and no doubt it would have been gone!

You couldn't break it, because it wasn't spinning. You probably hit it a few times.

I used to shoot rifles too!

 

[Mr. Lot]

It's been a mine of information, many thanks guys, M.L.

 

[PhilS]

It usually is on here. That's why folks like it

 

[evoracer]

Actually that little episode could have had a great deal to do with the distance, static clays are near impossible to break once beyond a certain threshold. The reason is quite well understood and is essentially due to lack of any centrifugal force aiding the clay to tear itself apart. In other words you are relying entirely on the kinetic energy (and not clays spin) of tiny pellets to break the clay.

If you place clays on the ground and then walk away and shoot in stages you will soon enough fail to break them at distances that may well shock you because you will be able to pulverize the same clay when presented flying. 

You couldn't break it, because it wasn't spinning. You probably hit it a few times.

I used to shoot rifles too!

Arghhh bless you's, your both trying to make me feel better 

Fecking bloody clay!

 

[westley]

I was always taught that to ascertain where a shotgun was shooting, put in a tight choke or use the choke barrel at 16 yards from the plate. This will, or should,  give a tight pattern which enables you to determine where the gun is shooting. To check for pattern density, use your normal choking and cartridges from 30 yards, this should enable you to check the patterning of your choke/cartridge combination.

 

[ips]

Pattern plate. Work of the devil.

Just saying

 

[jake.keeling]

You have got to be careful not to get too close as the POI will come down, I like using average target distance 20-30m gives the pattern chance to rise up above line of sight.


tiroVesti seamless performance clothing.

 

[Rosso]

So true!!! I used to shoot rifle at national level, when shooting Greenfields a while back there was an orange clay stuck in the tree a bit of a distance but nothing special it was right on my eye line so i pointed it out to the trapper as i knew it would bug me he said shoot it to get rid of it as it wasn't the first time it had be pointed out could i hit the damn thing could I F@*K!! give me a 2.2 Lee Enfield from the prone position and no doubt it would have been gone!

The orange clays are harder to break, they have something like a force field round them spinning or not. You need special cartridge with the golden pellet in it to break them.

May be have a go at a black one next time.

Hope this helps.

R.

 

[westley]

So loosely speaking, one needs golden balls to break orange clays ? Now that answers a lot of questions, time I swapped to White Gold then.