doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The Square Load

Many years ago I bought a book at garage sale entitled Shotgunning The Art & the Science. If one has lots of time on their hands there is section in there where one person drives automobile dragging target behind it and second one shooting at the target later examining effect of shot stringing. Not bad place to start if one wants to learn about common topics in shotgunning.

I believe you're refering to Bob Brister's book, it does make a good read. I can't imagine my wife driving a family station wagon as I shot at targets. That had to be one dedicated wife.
Karl

In that article I blundered upon and quoted, that both interviewee and interviewer would agree that the long shot fall stripe observed when shooting at the ground at a shallow angle is caused by 'shot string' is a perfect example how complete nonsense gets propagated generation to generation.

Just last year at the local club I heard the whopper about Damascus barrels unwinding like a cardboard tube. That guy 'witnessed it'.

A late season dove shoot will provide all three of those criteria very easily, and often. With a small target to boot.

SRH

And you better ignore/forget about it. If you doubt your equipment or skill level, you'll miss.

Confidence is a big part of shooting well.

As my old 'friend' Joe told everyone within earshot, "If you're in front you have a chance. If you're behind, you have no chance".

Which is pretty good advise from a liar and a cheat. It may be the only true thing he ever said.

Yes, that is the book. Not a bad book for shotgun shooter to read. Lots of good info in there.

Stan;
Yes some of those shots at late season doves could for sure exceed the three criteria.
I am though of the personal opinion that shot stringing has been blown way out of proportion to its actual affect on efficient shooting. As I recall figures show that at least 75% of the shot are in the front half of the string. Assume you start with a shot string 12 feet long at 40 yards & with some of the shot sleeves and/or buffers you reduce it to 10 feet. This is a reduction in length of more than 16%. This however in no way means you have a 16% more effective load. That last two feet of the string likely contained no more than 5% of the charge. They were the badly deformed laggards & flarers which were ineffective. These shot have been brought forward into the pattern but that important front half of the string has likely not been increased by any significant amount, but a string reduction of 16% does indeed make good advertizing.
When those three conditions are exceeded about all we can really do is "Use Enough Gun". This is why under those late season conditions you leave your beloved .410's at home & take more gun.

Figure out how long a time it takes for a 25' shot string to pass a single point at say 1000fps. Then calc how far a 40mph target travels in that same time.

then tell me again how that affects your shooting results

Maybe, a long shot string can not pass through a single, or similar, point. Maybe it's stringing because the stragglers are traveling slower. If a low angle shot is taken at a cripple on the water, does it look like a string on the water because all the shot in the string continues to the same point of impact, or is slower shot falling out of the back end of the string sooner than the lead shot in a string.

Some here seem to prefer ridicule over pertinent information. The dynamics of smoothbore shot is not a new topic. To believe that only modern information or personal experience is valid, proves the height of arrogance. Our ancestors exerted much more diligent study of the topic than is currently being employed... and they were quite educated.

Benjamin Robins wrote the "New Principles of Gunnery" in 1742.
He was a MATHEMATICIAN who revolutionized our understanding of ballistics. His work was based on Newton's principles, pendulum testing, and gunnery fire. His most important contribution was proof that a BALANCED load exceeded all others. He also addressed the FLUID nature of burning gunpowder moving a solid,
and the relationship of the MASS of a load to the bore.

There is much to be learned from old gunning treatises, including the fact that a load longer than the width of the barrel "Flew like a brick," which they knew, because they actually shot bar loads.

The square load is a point of reference, much like the center of a circle or the value of zero. Here is a link for anyone interested in studying testing which infers a principle.

The rest of you can find the same thing by shooting various lengths of cigarette filter with a rubber band. Wonko get someone to help you measure.


http://arc.id.au/RobinsOnBallistics.html