Confused and bewildered

[wayne goerres]

Earlyer this year I bought this real nice little Parker P grade with twist steel barrels from brian. Come Augest I promptly to it squirle hunting useing RST lights in 16 ga with no6 shot. Couldnt kill a thing with it so I put it up and figured I would pattern it later. Yesterday I finnaly got it out and took it to the range and put it on paper. There isnt a bird living that could fly through this pattern at fourty measured yards without collecting five or six pellets. The gun patterner great so for Charlies benefit I fired two more rounds at the standard target of the PGCA (a Dr Pepper cans). Eight holes with the right barrel and twelve holes with the left barrel. So here is my question. The only difference between the squirle hunting and the patterning is, Iused RST lights in no 8s westerday and RST lights with no 6s for hunting. Is it possible my gun dosnt like no 6 shot. I wouldnt have thought it would make much difference.

[Double Lab]

Wayne, I think you answered your own question. Some barrels just "like" different loads. Personally I like and believe that 7 1/2's pattern the best out of every gun I've owned. Never liked 6's. With 7 1/2's you get pattern density and pellet energy enough to kill a bushytail or any bird that flies. IMHO.

[wayne goerres]

I am hot set up to load 16s so at the time I ordered these I had to take what they had (witch was'nt much). I origanally wanted 5s and 7 1/2s. I am surprised at the difference in patterns. I will have to try patterning the no 6s.

[Bruce Day]

There are all sorts of opinions but the only way you will really find out for yourself is to pattern the gun with different loads at different distances.

All of my Parker 16's pattern well with 6's and with full choke are effective between 40-60 yards provided I do my job. Usually when the target is missed the problem is at the rear of the gun.

For #5 shot in a 16, the pattern gets raggedy, so I favor 6's and 7 1/2's in a 16. #5 shot is better put through a larger bore gun when you need long distance penetration.

[B. Dudley]

Yeah, shot size can make a difference. Pattern some 6 shot and see what you get.

I personally like small game hunting with 6 shot. Seems to have more stopping power.

[Double Lab]

Just remember..... Misses are measured in feet, a difference in choke only gives you inches.

[wayne goerres]

I must have shot at seven or eight squirles over a couple of days an never killed a single one so I switched guns. Huinted with about five differnt guns and I never missed another squirle. When I patterned the gun today it shot right to point of aim. When I was trying to hunt with it you would have thought I was fireing blanks. Confuseing.

[Blue Collar]

To Bruce's point. I find gun mount and sight picture are the biggest culprits in missed shots. Chokes and shot size are seldom the problem. If you can hit what you aim at when something is stationery, make sure you have the same sight picture when your mount is quicker and not deliberate. Cheek weld can come into play when mount a shoot are not so deliberate. I borrowed a Parker (thanks Doc) for some grouse hunting this fall and it was my first Parker. I had to keep telling myself as I mounted the gun, "keep your head down, keep your head down," BANG!

[Bruce Day]

Originally Posted by wayne goerres

I must have shot at seven or eight squirles over a couple of days an never killed a single one so I switched guns. Huinted with about five differnt guns and I never missed another squirle. When I patterned the gun today it shot right to point of aim. When I was trying to hunt with it you would have thought I was fireing blanks. Confuseing.

Its the gun support member. Get that calibrated correctly and you'll hit.

PS, Russ is an NRA instructor and has taught hundreds of boys and girls to shoot shotguns in the Boy Scout program.

[Jerry Parise]

Wayne,
Just out of curiosity have you checked to see if the gun truly fits you? Aiming a gun versus quickly mounting a gun and firing at moving game are two totally different situations. When aiming at a stationary target you can pretty much make any gun hit it's target. Mount, swing, fire and hit your target requires a gun that fit you. Just a thought.