Noob questions regarding shotgun testing

DD78 · Mar 31, 2016

Hey everyone, just had a couple of quick questions.

I'm going to head out this weekend to pattern my shotgun that I'll use for 3 gun (a Stoeger 3000 that was worked over for 3 gun), and am planning on patterning a couple of different loads.

The birdshot is pretty self explanatory, but when it comes to buck and slugs, I'm running into some confusion.

For the slugs, which choke tubes do I want to test my zero at, and what distance? I have an IC, LM, and M. The distances I have at my range go from 50 foot - 25 yards - 50 yards - 100 yards. The person that I bought the shotgun from said that with Fiocchi 7/8 oz reduced recoil slugs, the shotgun will shoot POA. Do I want to test it out with all three chokes at 50 and 100 yards? Or just one or two of the chokes?

Same question for buckshot.

Anything else that you can think of that I should keep in mind while I'm out there is greatly appreciated. I always tend to forget a couple of things.

Thanks in advance!

jtischauser · Mar 31, 2016

The more information you know about your chokes and ammo the better. That said slugs and buck ain't cheap! I make sure my slugs and buck shoot good out of my favorite chokes. LM, IC, M
Someday you're gonna want to shoot a slug out of a full choke then you're gonna wish you'd have tried it before you got to the match.

DD78 · Mar 31, 2016

Jesse Tischauser said:
The more information you know about your chokes and ammo the better. That said slugs and buck ain't cheap! I make sure my slugs and buck shoot good out of my favorite chokes. LM, IC, M
Someday you're gonna want to shoot a slug out of a full Chinese you're gonna wish you'd have tried it before you got to the match.

Thanks Jesse! I definitely want to make sure I've tested as many scenarios as possible before getting out to my first match.

I kind of lucked out with this shotgun since the person I bought it from ran it in several matches so he told me which types of ammo to buy, but said to test everything myself so that I burn it into my mind.