Imagine that your son or daughter has shown enough interest in hunting for deer this coming fall that they have completed the required hunter education program and have shown interest in going to the range with you to really learn how to safely handle a firearm. You take the time to spend several weekends doing just that — teaching the safe and proper handling of a firearm with your old reliable .22 bolt action rifle. Now, imaging that deer season is only a week away. You have picked out one of your favorite deer rifles for them to use and tell them that everything is set. You don’t need to return to the range with the deer rifle because you have shot it over the years and know that it hits where you aim it!
Wrong! Of course, you are going to take the new hunter to the range with the deer rifle they will be using and make sure of two things. One, that the rifle and its scope are still properly aligned, and it really still does shoot where you aim it and, equally important, that the shooter is completely knowledgeable about operating the gun and is also very comfortable in shooting it!
Now, imagine the scenario where you have been dreaming for years of heading west with your best hunting buddies to hunt for elk. You have been saving your money wisely; you have attended several hunting seminars and talked with numerous outfitters about your dream. Suddenly, you get a phone call from one of your buddies whose best friend described an outstanding elk hunt where all 4 hunters tagged out on nice bulls on their 5-day hunt last fall! They highly recommend the outfitter and your buddy has already contacted the outfitter and secured a hunting date for your group next month! With limited time to prepare, you decide to order online one of those magnum caliber rifles that are advertised as dead accurate out of the box. You also order a high dollar 4-12 power variable scope for the setup but know you will have to wait until you arrive in camp to sight it in!
Wrong! There is simply no way anyone would be silly enough to set out on a hunt of a lifetime without proper preparation! No matter what the advertisements say, you would never go on a trip like this without spending time at the range getting used to and becoming proficient with your rifle — whether it was an old favorite or a new setup for this specific trip!
Well, guess what? Spring gobbler season is just around the corner, and I will bet that 95% of today’s turkey hunters will not take a few shots with their scattergun to verify that the sights are still properly set. In fact, I would bet that the majority of turkey hunters have never even considered patterning their turkey shotgun, even though they would definitely do so with a rifle. After all, some believe “It is a scatter gun. It throws a wide pattern of shot, so you really don’t have to be that accurate!” “That’s why they have all of those pellets in a shotgun shell!” Well, not really.
Whether you are shooting the least expensive single barrel shotgun you can buy, or one of the high dollar all-engraved over and under sporting clays shotguns, any shotgun will vary in how it patterns on a patterning board, depending on factors such as ammunition, choke selection and gun fit. You simply cannot assume that any shotgun will hit dead center where you are aiming every time regardless of what ammunition you use or choke you select.
Today, there are dozens of different choke manufacturers, many of whom specialize in chokes designed specifically for turkey hunting. Believe it or not, most of these specialized chokes will vary in the pattern they produce from gun to gun. What patterns well in one brand of shotgun, may not be the best patterning choke in another make of shotgun. And the patterning variation is much greater from one brand of ammunition to the next.
So, you see, it is just as critical to pattern a shotgun as it is to sight in a rifle. After all, if you truly respect the game you are pursuing, it is imperative that you are completely comfortable with your equipment and that you have taken the time to ensure that your shotgun in patterning properly.
