A Shot Pattern Question

[jhgreasemonkey]

:confused: HELLO. I RECENTLY PURCHASED A BAIKAL IZH94 SHOTGUN/RIFLE COMBO. 12 GUAGE ON TOP 7.62MM BOTTOM OVER/UNDER. I LOVE THE GUN IT IS A LOT OF FUN BUT DONT HAVE A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE ON SHOTGUNS. THE RIFLE BARREL IS ACURATE AS HELL AND I WAS SURPRISED THE FIRST TIME I USED IT. I HAVE A 4X SCOPE AND SET A CONSISTENT PATTERN IN THE CENTER OF THE TARGET AT 100 YDS. BUT I TRYED THE SHOTGUN W BOTH 3" AND 2 3/4" BUCKSHOT LOADS WITH A FULL CHOKE AND WAS A LITTLE DISAPOINTED. AT 40YDS ONLY 3 00 BUCK MADE IT INTO THE TARGET. AT 25YDS ALL OF THE #1 BUCK HIT THE TARGET. IT HAS A 24" BARREL. IS THIS NORMAL? I AM USED TO MY MOSSBERG 500 W/28" BARREL WHICH WOULD BLOW A SOLID HOLE IN THE TARGET AT THAT RANGE WITH A MODIFIED CHOKE. I AM NOT TOO HAPPY WITH THE SCATTER AFFECT AND WOULD LIKE A TIGHTER PATTERN UNLESS THIS IS NORMAL. ANY INPUT WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED :D THANKS.

[dfaugh]

40 yrds is a long way for ANY shotgun to pattern 100%...Suspect it has a pretty open choke (Cyl or Imp Cyl). try different Ammo, it'll make a difference, but I doubt you find buckshot that patterns less than 18" or so beyond 40 ft or so. My HD Mossberg (20" Cyl choke, 15 pellet S&B 3" magnum, no shot cup) patterns 24"+ at about 40 ft. which I consider ideal for HD.

[jhgreasemonkey]

Cool I Appreciate The Info. That Was With A Full Choke But I Will Try Some Different Ammo Next Time I Go Shooting. I Have Seen The "extended Range" Buckshot. Is That A Load Of Crap Or The Real Deal? Thanks.

[jkhunting]

Since you are stuck with a full choke, I suggest that you try some # 3 or # 4 buckshot. Large pellets do not do well in full choke barrels. Besides, the smaller buckshot will give you a better pellet count inside a reasonable 25 yard range for buckshot, if hunting deer. Try shooting at a 30 inch target with a 12 inch circle drawn on it, to see what your pellet counts would be with both loads. 30 yards is about the max range to be lethal on a deer, 12 inch wide hits of 15 pellets in the lungs will bring it down. Be advised that you will not have much, if any, blood trail to follow. At 30 yards most buckshot will not exit. Buckshot is not and never has been a long range load. A 50 pound draw weight bow has a greater range, and the arrow will exit.
The gun you have was made to hunt lepoards.
No joke, that is what it was made for.

[jhgreasemonkey]

COOL I DIDNT KNOW THAT. LEAPORDS!? :eek: ANYONE GOT A LEAPORD I CAN PRACTICE ON? :) NO BUT THANKS THATS GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT THE SMALLER SHOT FOR THE FULL CHOKE. I ALSO HAVE MODIFIED AND IMPROVED CYLENDER CHOKES I CAN TRY. BUT I WILL DEFINETLY TRY SMALLER SHOT AND SEE HOW THAT DOES. I APPRECIATE THE INFO. AND WHERE DID YOU GET THE INFO ON MY GUN? I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW MORE.

[jkhunting]

I worked with a man from England many years ago and he had a " lepard gun".
It was a side by side 12 gauge and had a 7mm rifle barrel under them.
The gun had rifle sights on the top. He said that wounded lepards often do charge, so they would shoot it with the rifle bullet and have buckshot in the shotgun barrels in case of a charge. He said that the cats are so fast that all you can see is a blurr when they charge. No time to aim, point and shoot. He claimed that they were shot when treed to a bait and the range was mostly inside 25 meters. Claimed that they liked dense cover with very little light coming to the ground.

[Pointer]

#4 buckshot :)

It acts like a slug at close range... under 15 feet

Better than 00 at medium range... under 30 feet

Covers more area evenly at long range... over 30 feet


Like hitting with 20+ .22LR's at the same time... :eek:

[jhgreasemonkey]

Hey Thanks For The Info Guys! :)

[Death from Afar]

You might improve your pattern a bit by trying different loads- granulated filler will tighten up your pattern a tad- but at that range, its slug time!