Steps for patterning a shotgun

To pattern your shotgun, you will need:

• a 35 metre target
• 1 metre x 1 metre butchers paper and a supporting frame
• a black marker.

Follow these steps to pattern your shotgun:

1. Attach the paper target to a frame at 35 metres.
2. Mark a 5 centimetre black circle at the centre of the paper target.
3. Fire one shot at the centre of the target.
4. Draw a 75 centimetre circle around the greatest density of holes in the target.
5. Count how many pellet holes are within the 75 centimetre circle. You can mark each hole so that you don’t lose count.
6. Divide the number of holes counted in the 75 centimetre circle by the number of pellets in an unfired cartridge.
7. Repeat this process a minimum of three times and calculate your average.

The percentage of pellets that hit inside the 75 centimetre circle will vary depending upon the choke you are using in your shotgun. The chart below shows the general acceptable pattern percentages.

Full choke	70% or higher
Modified	55%–60%
Improved cylinder	45%
Cylinder	35%–40%