Is your shotgun effective to 60 yards?

[J.B. Books]

Only if it can produce a 90% + pattern at 40 yards.

I came across this article today on Shotgun Sports regarding patterning shotguns. I had not seen the tables from Oberfell & Thompson before this. They show patterns deteriorate on average 10% for every 5 yards beyond 40 yards. With a 50% pattern needed for success on target it means a gun has to shoot at last 90% at 40 yards to do it.

A gun that shoots 80% is good for 55 yards and a gun that can shoot 70% is good for 50 and so on. It's not a precise science, simply a rule of thumb.

Here's the article:

http://www.shotgunsportsmagazine.com...story0313.html