Hello all, I came up with a T/C New Englander 12GA. a few months back and after some poor luck on clay birds I decided to pattern some loads. I was surprised to find very large holes or crescent shaped patterns. I was using 80gr.FF .125 overpowder cards .500 cushions 1 1/8oz. #8 shot .030overshot cards. After playing with different powder to shot ratios and different amounts of cushion and shot sizes, the problem was still there. Then one day, more as a gag with a friend, I stuffed a wad of soybean leaves in between the shot and powder with a couple of leaves over the shot and to our surprise we had a lovely pattern that would make a modern shotgunner envious. So that lead to leaving out the over powder card and the patterns were wonderful! So how could something so standard in the load chain cause so much trouble and what direction should I go from here?
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Poor Patterns
- Thread starter Sissy
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Did you leave out the cushion as well? I do know, if I leave out the cushion and just use an over powder card, I get good patterns. Also, is you over shot card real thin,so it is destroyed at the firing of the gun and doesn't disturb the pattern? I use a fiber cushion that is about 1/4" thick. I use the over powder card to keep the lube from the cushion, from contaminating the powder. I use a cushion so that it can hold lube, so I get less baked on foulng. I have even used 1/8" cushion with lube and got very good patterns. They just don't hold enough lube though for all afternoon trap shooting or dove hunting.
The shot more than likely punched through the over-shot leaves and didn't get deflected, plus there is natural oils in the leaves, this will allow the shot column to not drag as much...
The leaves are a softer material then both wads, I also suspect the 1/2 inch fiber wad is causing the blow out pattern...
Try a few leaves between the fiber wad and the shot, as a cushion, by the way, do you lube your fiber wads?
Lubing the 1/2 inch fiber wads will reduce drag and improve patterns...
Here is a simple way to lube them:
The leaves are a softer material then both wads, I also suspect the 1/2 inch fiber wad is causing the blow out pattern...
Try a few leaves between the fiber wad and the shot, as a cushion, by the way, do you lube your fiber wads?
Lubing the 1/2 inch fiber wads will reduce drag and improve patterns...
Here is a simple way to lube them:
Try using 2 or 3 thin overshot wads over the powder,(you might smear a little lube between them), and 1 over the shot and see if that helps. Also try the thick over powder wad with just half a lubed cushion wad. It seems that the thick cushion wad blows holes in patterns.
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this may not work for you but this info I got from the Forum and helped me , as follows . Shooting a 20ga. smothbore and was getting the same donut patterns . Nothing in the middle . Lubed the fiber wad a bit more and cut down my powder , worked for me.
Shooting 70 gr. 2F Goex and 1 1/4 oz. of shot. As I say :results:
good luck :thumbsup:
Shooting 70 gr. 2F Goex and 1 1/4 oz. of shot. As I say :results:
good luck :thumbsup:
Yes I have tried leaving the cushions out and tearing them in half to make 1/4"
I suspected the .030 overshot cards so I substituted bean leaves for them with no avail.
All the cushions have been lubed with cooking oil.
The problem disappers when loaded with cushion but no hard card. (which would comtaminat the powder in the field)
It seems like if the hard card blows into the pattern why doesn't the cushion.
Maybe the next day out I will try dry cushion under a lube one.
I suspected the .030 overshot cards so I substituted bean leaves for them with no avail.
All the cushions have been lubed with cooking oil.
The problem disappers when loaded with cushion but no hard card. (which would comtaminat the powder in the field)
It seems like if the hard card blows into the pattern why doesn't the cushion.
Maybe the next day out I will try dry cushion under a lube one.
Where you at Ohio? I just came in from shooting my 14ga. SxS. If you are close, maybe you could give me another good excuse to shoot more clay. As if I needed one! I am just Southwest of Wapakoneta about 11 miles. You are not alone in trying to figure it out. I struggled badly at first. Then it seems I hit on it and I have had good success with more than a few shotguns(10ga.,12ga.,14ga.,another 14ga., and a 20ga.) using the same ideas.
Glad to hear it helped. That is the old VM Starr method, so i can't take credit for inventing the idea. Good luck with the patterns.
