RIO PRIMERS

[Stan Hillis]

It amazes me how many people who reload are so concerned about component substitution (and rightly so), but only so far as it affects pressures. What kills birds and breaks clays reliably isn't proper pressure levels (although they are very important), it's good patterns. Component substitution can and will change patterns. I wish everyone was as concerned with their patterns as they are the pressures. But, they aren't.

I don't mean to sound like I'm preaching to the choir, but it seems to me that those of us who enjoy patterning are few and far between.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Stan Hillis

It amazes me how many people who reload are so concerned about component substitution (and rightly so), but only so far as it affects pressures. What kills birds and breaks clays reliably isn't proper pressure levels (although they are very important), it's good patterns. Component substitution can and will change patterns. I wish everyone was as concerned with their patterns as they are the pressures. But, they aren't.

I don't mean to sound like I'm preaching to the choir, but it seems to me that those of us who enjoy patterning are few and far between.

Yeah, except patterns don't blow you front hand off, pressure does.

[Stan Hillis]

Originally Posted by Andrew Sacco

Yeah, except patterns don't blow you front hand off, pressure does.

Agreed completely, but note that I didn't say pressures should be ignored, just that the effects on patterns, of switching primers, shouldn't be ignored.

Said another way, while low pressures are beneficial to the life of a vintage gun, they don't guarantee fine patterns. Only pattern testing determines that.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Pattern testing will only give an indicator of point of impact. A 2D pattern does not give a true representation of a shot string in flight. It is fine for testing if you are shooting at a static target, such as a turkey head.