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SHOT STRING OR PATTERN

5K views 34 replies 20 participants last post by  Post-2 
#1 ·
What is more important shot string or pattern? For learning to shoot a new gun.
 
#2 ·
In my opinion, shot string is completely irrelevant, and you shouldn't even think about it.

As far as pattern goes, its important enough, but there are other things more important to consider.

Like gun fit.
 
#3 ·
They both work in conjunction. Your pattern does not get there all at once, I believe in shotstring and pattern, shotstring grinds up the target in my opinion, if you get the front of the shot string on the target the shot string comes into it and causes the smoke. My gun with full choke tube has a 19 inch pattern at 42 paces, I love it.


Gary Bryant
Dr.longshot
 
#6 ·
A new shooter can use shot string to advantage. If you shoot in front of the target you may still get a break as the clay enters the string. If you are behind the target it will be lost. Start with plenty of lead, perhaps twice what you think, and work your way back until you are maximizing your breaks. Remember lead is one area where a little to much is better than to little. Due to shot string. Next comes elevation.
 
#8 ·
Both are important. I don't think you can shoot 7 1/2's or smaller and not have shot string. I have never pattern my shotgun and personally believe it's the kiss of death (only an opinion). After shooting for over 30 years I can tell whether the gun shoots where I look by shooting a round with it. That's all the science I need. BT-100dc
 
#10 ·
sub-jr25, you can completely forget about shot string for ATA trap. They are all going away targets. The biggest angle you will shoot is about 25 degrees right or left, so it really is inconsequential.

Pattern is not. There is a wealth of evidence out there that shows you get your best results with a Pattern Efficiency of approximately 80% at target distance.

So if you hit your singles targets at 32 yards, on average, use the choke that puts 80% of the pellets into a 30" diameter circle at that distance. The more even it is, especially in the inner 20" circle, the better.
 
#11 ·
As the shot leaves the muzzle and wad does each pellet take off in a cone pattern? If so would the pellets that hit the outer edges of the pattern board be hitting it later because they have traveled further than the pellets that hit closer to the center? So is the answer to how long the shot string is a mathamatical problem that could be solved? How is this going to help me hit more targets?
 
#14 ·
Math is cool. You can prove any point with it from 'steady state' to 'big bang'. So try shooting behind the targets and then try shooting in front. See what works for you and go from there. You can change your pattern simply by changing the choke. So experiment and find the one that seems to work best for you. Shot string is a little more difficult for most of us to measure. Usually you are stuck with what you get,so why not make the most of it? Mathematics aside that is. Yes I know choke will also affect string. I just have no way to accurately measure the effect. (suppose I could compute it though. Hmmmm..new project)
 
#15 ·
Infer, the fact that you have to shoot ahead of the target has nothing to do with shot string. Imagine you were shooting a .22 at the trap target. You would have to shoot in front of it because it takes time for the bullet to get to its target, and in that time interval the bird will have moved to a new position, ahead of the one where it is when the gun goes off. But there's obviously no shot string.

So the "test": shooting ahead or behind, is no proof of the existence of a shot string or its effect,.

Neil
 
#18 ·
Shot string is irrelevant to the average shooter, because he:

A) Can't measure it, and

B) Can't control it.

So that about covers it, I think.

As a rule - stick with stuff you can control.

...And if some blowhard horns in on you with some guff about how you actually can control shot string...ask him how, and to show you his measurements. (You'll find out he's full of sh!t straight away).
 
#19 ·
buzz-gun - Don't be so certain that shot string can't be measured. I am still playing with that problem. I have been able to record the sound of the shot string hitting a tin sheet at 40 yards. Converting the length of the sound on the tape to time is a problem. I just can't get a recorder that will accurately record fast and play back slow. Measuring 1/1000 of a second it not easy for me.

Pat Ireland
 
#20 ·
Pat, record a time code on one track and record on the other. You can use a variety of time code generators and readers for audio. Video time code will not be sufficient unless you are using a professional deck. You can also import the sound track into your computer and using the appropriate software, watch your recording on screen (with time code). That way you will not have to listen for each hit, you'll see each hit as a spike in the frequency plot on the screen. Way, way easier than fussing with analog playback. You can move forward with your mouse instead of a transport.
 
#21 ·
There are a multitude of ways to measure the length of a shot string. They're just not easy or convenient for regular folks who don't have a lot of sophisticated laboratory equipment available to them. I suspect high speed, high resolution, time-lapse photography would be the most likely candidate for getting the answer.

I applaud Pat's efforts in trying to chase this ghost, but in the end, other than just "because I wanted to know," what has it told you?

It can't buy you a target, in my opinion. Those who say it can get you one if the target flies into the side of the pattern? I think that's wishful thinking, or lack of a grasp on the facts.

In answer to the original post, gun fit is far more important than either shot string or pattern, though pattern is an important factor. But as hmb said, shot string and pattern are both irrelevant if the gun doesn't shoot where you are looking. And that's the bottom line.

And I tend to agree with what Neil said, that a short shot string is better than along one. But how do you know? Well, you don't. And how do you test it? Well, that's not easy. And in the end, what is it worth? Not much.

Mathematically, at an angle of incidence of 25° (assuming zzt's geometry is correct, between the trajectory of the target and the trajectory of the shot, but I think its even less than that angle), even if we assume the target is still traveling 42 fps (it won't be, it'll be moving much slower than that) and we assume the shot has slowed down to 900 fps, and we assume a 12 foot shot string (which, frankly, is anybody's guess) between the time the very first pellet in the pattern passes the target and the very last pellet passes the target, the target moves only about 4" towards the pattern. If you didn't hit it with the front of the pattern, and it only moves 4" into the pattern, you aren't going to hit it with the back of the pattern.
 
#26 ·
As Phil's video on youtube shows, for all intents and purposes, the shot string get's there all at once. Think about how little time it takes between you pulling the trigger and the target breaking. Seems instantanous. So the time (and space) between the beginning of the shot string and the end of it is going to be very, very small.

~Michael
 
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