What is a good pattern with a ML shotgun

[roundball]

.54cal(28ga) Early Virginia smoothbore, straight cylinder bore
#4 / #5 / #6 chilled lead shot.

Realized a typo too late to edit the original:
Should read: #5 / #6 / #7.5...as printed on the cans

 

[Dave K]

No matter how you slice it. Great pattern and crushing penetration equals one down turkey.

 

[Britsmoothy]

You can regulate the barrels some by removing a little metal at the muzzle. If your POI is left of what you want, open the left side of the barrel just a little and try again. The escaping gas on the left side of the barrel will move the shot column to the right. It is not unusual at all to see original SXSs that the muzzles are not square. This is because the barrels were regulated to shoot the same POI as the other barrel. You can see there are 2 ways to do this regulating. One is trim the inside of the barrel, the other is to alter the angle of the muzzle to make the escaping gases move the pattern over. Works well for me.

I have done this to two Pedersoli's and a Greener double. I however do not enter the muzzle. I only file the end of the barrel.
If a right barrel shoots right turn the safe gun towards yourself, now the right barrel muzzle is looking at you and is on the left. If that muzzle was a clock file just between 7&11 o'clock.
Just a little at a time and test.
This will shift the point of impact left.

B

 

[RayJ]

I'm not sure that I would want to take a file to the outside of my gun.What does it look like after filing?Also,how would filing on the outside affect the POI at all?

 

[Wes/Tex]

Remember he's only speaking of the muzzle face and it can be retouched with a little bluing if your gun as blued muzzle ends. We're not talking about a great deal of metal either. Just enough so the gas pressure can make a minor change to the shot pattern trajectory.

 

[RayJ]

How does filing on the "outside" of the barrel affect the gas pressure on the inside of the barrel?

 

[Wes/Tex]

The filing draws back that side just enough so that as the shot leaves the muzzle the gas escapes micro-seconds quicker on that filed back side and exerts pressure quicker against the shot. The pressure difference only has to exert enough influence to change the pattern trajectory a couple degrees to make several inches difference at 25 to 35 yards. As Brit said, do a little bit and check...usually doesn't take much. :thumbsup:

 

[RayJ]

Thanks for info on filing.I will study it more.It would sure hurt my feelings to put a file to my barrel but if it truly will move the impact,I may do it.My right barrel seems dead on and left barrel seems to shoot a little left.It's not a lot so that's why I'm hesitant about filing.I need to shout much more on the pattern board to make sure of POI..I've only really shot seriously a few times with this gun.When I say seriously,I mean for the purpose of patterning and finding a workable load.

 

[bpd303]

You are not filing the "outside" per say, but the end of the muzzle.

 

[Dave K]

Exactly.

 

[Britsmoothy]

It is difficult to describe but imagine the shot and wad colume just emerging from the muzz' .....some talk of the gasses doing it but I am not so sure....the relief on one side of the colume as it leaves although very slight tips it the opposite way.
A bit like an arrow with the wrong spine or a poor set rest can shift the arrow on shooting etc.

B.

 

[RayJ]

I'm going to shoot some tomorrow,God willing,and I'm going to try to see exactly how far off the left barrel is.I'm pretty sure that my right barrel is good. if the left side is only off "a little"m,I may leave it alone.
I plan to start at 25 yards and may go to 35 if time permits.I'm going to start with my Pedersi Modified and extra full chokes that came with the gun.Last time I used Pro Factor Mod and full that I bought at Academy for 14.95 a piece. The pedersoli chokes seem to be better "well made" than the Pro Factor.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Don't forget that if the difference is slight, you can always Kentucky-windage the other barrel on sight alone. You can adjust the sight picture instantly and practice will make it an automatic process. Just shoot some patterns and see what you're actually dealing with first! :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

Heck, that's good news if it's got removable chokes for a couple reasons:

1) If you do decide to try a minor alteration it'll be on the exit edge of the choke tube which could be replaced, and no permanent alteration to the gun barrel itself;

2) There might (possibly) be enough difference in manufacturing tolerances that a different choke would shoot to POA better;

Also, I wonder if wrapping the threads of the suspect choke would make it screw in and stop in a slightly different position to see if the POI shifted any.

Another simple test would be to temporarily swap chokes from one barrel to the other and see what happens to the POI.

 

[Patocazador]

Since you are not thrilled with the cheaper choke tubes anyway, experiment with them and if the modifications don't satisfy you, your originals are still unaltered.

Mine have no choke tubes so I'm going to play with loads and distances more before I attempt a modification.

 

[RayJ]

Very good.I woke up to read the obvious which is "I don't have to file my gun,just the choke tube.I'm not sure why I didn't realize that yesterday.That's no problem.The Pro Factor Choke tubes are cheap anyway.I threw one away the other day.It kept shooting a terrible pattern and after a few shots,I figured out it was the choke and not the gun or load.I only have EF,Mod,and IC in the Pedersoli chokes but will try the EF to see if POI is still left with that choke in the left barrel.

 

[roundball]

Also, I wonder if wrapping the threads of the suspect choke would make it screw in and stop in a slightly different position to see if the POI shifted any.

left out the words: ...with Teflon tape...

 

[THBailey]

It certainly would look far from traditional, but you can get aftermarket extended choke tubes for the gun. Mossberg 500 Accu-choke, Winchester Win-choke and Weatherby Multi-choke tubes are all interchangeable and that pattern fits the Pedersoli, or at least they screw into mine. I think I'd practice the file and move POI on an extended choke tube. And I don't know never having done it before, but I'm wondering if the method works the same on a screw in flush mount choke gun.

 

[roundball]

To me, it seems that it would be exactly the same as filing on a barrel wall itself...for all practical purposes, the screw in choke "is" the barrel as far as a shot charge is concerned

 

[RayJ]

Have you actually patterned your gun with the extended choke tubes?If so,how were the patterns compared to the regular choke tubes and do you hunt with them?Honestly,I'm not too concerned with being "traditional".I shoot a traditional recurve bow but use carbon arrows.I have chokes on a ML shotgun.I want confidence when I go into the woods to hunt.Can you tell me exactly what chokes will fit?I may have to get several for duck hunting.