Thank you Frank. What continues to confuse me is do you pull up and shoot like you would instinctively with clays/birds, or do you AIM and align the bead(s) rib? In the former it's more of a gun FIT patterning. In the latter it's more of a "is my gun shooting to point of aim and are my barrels properly regulated." Right? In the latter case those folks recommend using a rest to stabilize the gun. If I were to rest the gun and line up the beads like I would a rifle, that takes away completely the dynamic nature of how we mount and shoot. But for me it's a moot point because I've yet to develop a consistent mount.

There are different opinions on that, Andy. Here's mine, and I'm certainly not speaking for my friend Frank. His opinions may differ, and I respect them highly.

I don't like shooting patterns off of a rest. I try to pattern my shotguns as near to the same way I'll be using them as possible. For me, that means shooting offhand when I'm doing pattern testing, and from a sitting position (but not using a rest) when I'm testing for regulation. A rest can and will alter the placement of the patterns, as compared to where the patterns will be when using the gun in the field or on the range. Rests tend to make a gun shoot high, IMO.

Three shot composites, offhand, are pretty good indicators of pattern placement. Placement doesn't matter so much when you're doing pattern percentage testing, because you can pinpoint the center of the pattern before drawing the 30" circle.

I agree 100% with my friend Stan that pattern testing must be done when firing offhand. That's the technique I learned from the late Kenny Eyster, the noted barrel and choke gunsmith. Pick up and mount/cheek the shotgun as when a shot is presented while hunting, take a split second to align the bead(s) with the aiming point, and fire without dwelling on the bead alignment. Kenny was also adament that shooting off a rest would alter the placement, i.e., center point of impact.

Thank you both! I am looking forward to seeing where my guns shoot.

I would only add that a good trigger makes it all so much easier, and the results more trustworthy. Having good triggers on shotguns is often overlooked, IMO. I have a Parker's triggers being tended to right now. They were entirely too hard/heavy for good shooting.

Stan

Well this article I just found helps me understand part of it better, and reflects what Mister Mountain said that we're generally loading well below max pressure anyways when it comes to primers.

https://shootingsportsman.com/high-vs-low-pressure/