Where I hunt it is mostly run and gun and it is on conservation land. The birds are a little spooky and I mostly get shots between 30-45 yards.
I have a maverick 88 with a factory modified choke tube and am hitting really consistant around 30-35. I checked my pattern at 40 yards (using remington nitro 27 and gun club loads both in 7 1/2) The remington nitro 27's hit a lot better but it still seemed like on a around 2 foot square there were a few gaps around the edges and here and there where you could fit a cell phone and only maybe get one pellet. If I remember there were around 178 hits.
I tried a carlson improved modified sporting clays extended choke and it threw a super tight pattern at 20 yards, but at 40 it was worse than my factory modified. Just real sporadic groups off clumps of shot.
Sorry for the novel but I need some good advice on what to do, should I just stick with my factory choke tube and maybe work on my lead on longer birds or should i try and get a tighter patterning choke tube. With my factory tube I have yet to hit a bird past the 40 yard mark, and when I call in a group of birds I have to let a lot of them pass because only a few get within 35.
Maybe if someone could post a picture of their 40 yard pattern with a modified choke that they feel is sufficient to help give me an idea of what I should be looking for because I just dont have much experience with shotguns.
-- Edited by Matt in MO on Sunday 12th of December 2010 07:37:21 PM
I am in the same boat, plus the fact that I sometimes push the limits of my range. So when I started with other chokes in my Baikal, I ended up with a Kickers High Flyer. I bought a Steel Full , which is a Lead modified. Then when playing one day, I patterned mine on a Cheez-its box out at 50 yards with #6's. It rapped the box up. Now I had already taken birds with the High Flyer, but my uncles had asked me if I had patterned it. So we did. It worked rather nicely. When its on, its on. Most of the time, I am just off.
I also tried the black cloud mid range tube which is also same as lead mod (.710) still throws pretty open pattern with 7 1/2s but tightens up nicely withs 6s & really well with 4s
If you are a shooter just start tightening up with lead chokes, My partner is death with a mod choke but lethal only to 45 yds, I screwed in a extra full lead tky choke in his 870, and it is poof at 60 and 65. Now when he misses and that is not a whole lot he really misses, Same for me, if you are off the slightest bit the bird flies off healthy, but you always know what you did wrong, every time, there is not much guess work to it. I shoot a 1200 fps load with a primos Jellyhead 670 constriction. Once in a while I will get what I call a splatter and that is when the lead just wont pattern because of too much constriction. The second shot always dumps them tho I would try going from super tight to more open. If you have a tky choke (being from MO you will have) try it, put it on paper and then take it to the field and watch the majic, its awsome.
Update: I just got a carlson long range super steel full and went and patterned it. Very tight at 25 yards (little larger than a large steering wheel.) 40 yards still looked good. Spread out very evenly and not too many gaps.
I tried it out on a few spooky crows by the shooting range and knocked one down at a little over 45 yards, my farthest kill yet.
good to know carlsons will swap tubes til your satisfied, I used an imp/mod a few times last year & it shot quite well. Never patterned it, but it seemed like a nice compromise.
This is my shootin Stick the stock isnt really that fat its the way I took the pic and then I will up load these bad to the bone choakes I had made for me. Yeah you can get them made for you too ,http://indiancreekss.com Hes a buddy of mines buddy,,, yeah I dont know him other than talking to him over the phone but hes Nice and he is Very serious about his work.. I love`em and tried about everything on the market but for Duck hunting,,,, now I shoot up to 80 yards for turkey and geese if I choose too,,, now thats using 3 1/2 with a totaly diffrent load than you are talking about. I am just learning myself about the Crow Business and look how late it is.... I been doing my homework reading until my eyes bleed
This is my turkey choke /full/ duck gun is a mod .Camo done by my buddy
naw read his site if you like teck stuff.. they are for lead as well I use them for Bustin Clays... and would love for you to see the difference they make
Matt, when patterning a shotgun the main thing I look for is pattern consistancey...you need to fire a least 5 shots on 5 separate sheets of pattern paper and get an idea of how your shell choke selection is doing...my crow choke patterns were 187,188,188,195,199 pellet strikes in a 30 inch circle at 50 yards...a crow cannot fly through this pattern if you put it in the right place...I shoot the Nitro Sporting Clay#8....as you can see I am getting very good shot to shot consistacey...I shoot a Briley Choke...also if your shotgun does not have the forcing cone lenghtened...send it to Seminole and have it lengthened this will help improve shot to shot pattern consistency.....sounds like you are hunting some educated birds....spend some time and get out into some new areas...knock on doors and talk to folks...if you are honest and tell them all you want to do is hunt crows and nothing else...most of the time you can get permission...
Crow teck you sound like my buddy that will put 2 grand in http://angleport.com/Default.asp?C=306686 Angle Porting.... they know their business,,,,, but here is where I disagree... ITs a SHOTGUN.,.SHOT.....LMFAO.....I know the boys in Batesville well these angle porting operation,.. There is alot I dont say but one of them would be they are good very good.... But its a SHOTGUN for crying out LOUD/and NO red dots for me when turkey hunting,,, LMFAO>
I mean you NO disrecpect.. I just buy a gun and shoot it.,. I dont buy a
Zoli Ambassador
-- Edited by Ducks on Friday 24th of December 2010 02:49:25 PM
Ducks: I understand your points and I like the way you presented them. I know the folks at Angleport too.. fine folks..do a good job, etc.. IF you desire or need their services. Crowtec mentioned Seminole, a competitor of Angleport, that he has used to "tweak" his scattergun. Much has been said for years about the benefits or lack thereof, of forcing cones, back boring, customs chokes, porting, competition triggers, stock fitting...etc..and I will leave discussion about any and all of these to others. My point, there must be something to one or more of these "tweaks" as many of not all of the first line shotguns ( Remington, Beretta, Browning..etc ) encompass all or most all of these features in their gund today. I am guessing there must be a positive effect to performance as a result: better more consistant patterns, less felt recoil, whatever.
While one can almost endlessly tweak a rifle: true-up action, custom throats, bedding, match barrels, reloads, different barrel twists..to name just a few.. that can greatly improve the performance of a rilfe, I do not think shotgun "tweaks" will radically change it's performance, but I do think, in fact I know, it will improve it's performance. Whether any of them are worth the money is an individual decision. IF you are looking to add an additional 7-10-15+ yards to your killing zone with a gun not so equipped, then you probably have to consider spending a little cash. Conversely, if you have one of the newer models, I think these guns shoot about as well as one can expect a shotgun to shoot right out of the box. My 2-cents.
I love ya Skip you said it well...no matter what you have done .... its still 98% the shooter//// and shells/////Lord bless me in my wayward fashion,,,, I am NOT new to any of this thing we call wing shooting....Lock N load and watch your lane.....
Ducks.. I will gladly concede... the shooter is 98%... but I might lay awake at night.. after missing a crow.. that at least in my mind I thought I would have killed IF I had my gun tweaked!!! Hey, this 98% shooter has got to have confidence in his equipment..and I suspect that is 99% of what we are talking about here...
I love ya Skip your good peeps,,, I mean NO harm in all my statements... as I know nothing but what I know,,, as in a oxymoron..that be me... I had rather show,... Love and respect/Brother I am taking the wife out in the am to hunt crows with her over and under Ruger red lable.. first we shall set up for crows,,, as this day has shown she shoots before they are within range,,, NOT against the law,,, I laugh and tell her this day is a learning exp... in the am we shall hunt crows along with some wild hogs,,, I am carrying my side arm Glock 40 for a back up and bought her some High Brass # 6 shot... wish us the best,,,, we have her patterned,, it the shooter ... I tell her to sweep the gun and shoot for the head,,,, once again your a good man for understanding my madness,,, Bless it my Friend./
I shoot a Parker Bros. 10ga quite often, it was tweaked at the factory for exceptional long range performance, 118 years ago. Murders them as far as I can shoot, with 6's of course
-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Saturday 25th of December 2010 11:43:04 PM
She works good with Bismuth too. It's an old "standard" or "Short" 10ga, 2 7/8" chambers. I have to cut hulls down from 3.5" to 2 7/8" and then load for low pressures, 7000 psi and under.
"when I call in a group of birds I have to let a lot of them pass because only a few get within 35"
If most of the birds are staying outside of 35 yards there is something wrong. Most should come inside 35 yards. I suspect they are seeing something wrong, most likely they can see you. Camo up including face mask. Make sure you have a good blind using as much natural material as possible, don't move too much until you go to shoot.
I would try going from super tight to more open. If you have a tky choke (being from MO you will have) try it, put it on paper and then take it to the field and watch the majic, its awsome.
