Here are pics and a description of the template I had made up in prep for my article "Too High Still" in Volume 28/Issue 3 of the Double Gun Journal. For those interested the article compared three long range duck guns to include a Super-Fox, Winchester 21 Duck, and a Winchester Model 12 Heavy Duck. All 3-inch chambered and tested with lead shot and a variety of non-tox shot. The template is made in two parts with transparent packing tape as a hinge for easier storage. Made of 1/8" transparent plastic and donut shaped; I don't know the type of plastic. The two pieces were laser cut by a friend in industry. Outer diameter is 30" and inner diameter is 20" to check the "hot core" of the patterns.
In use the pattern paper is put up on a backing at 40 yards and a sticky note, green leaf or similar is attached to its dead center as an aiming point. An aimed shot is fired and the template is put over the paper on a table and the actual point of impact (POI) is determined by eyeballing the template over the densest part of the pattern. Usually the POI doesn't coincide with the aiming point at center of the paper. Then the pellet counts inside the 30" and 20" circles are divided by the total pellets as were counted inside the shotshell to calculate the patterning efficiencies (percentage) within those circles.
Template is equally useful for checking actual POI and pattern percentage at closer range or at ranges beyond 40 yards. Spreaders will often have a hole in the center of the pattern and I highly recommend checking yours on paper at various yardages before heading out to hunt.
For info, the first pic posted here is a factory 3IN. Super-Fox with 1-3/8 ounces of Kent TM at 60 yards. Template is shown in the second pic.
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