Originally Posted By: phideaux2003
Ok I understand that no shotgun throws the same pattern twice (true), nor is the perfect pattern ever repeatable (neither achievable nor repeatable). What I'm saying is that there are no major holes in the pattern, nor any major clumping of pellets. AKA even pattern. For the sake of the question, let's assume that all 350 pellets in both the 12 and 20 gauge loads are inside the 30" circle. We would have to specify that both loads had the same choke effect and were captured at the same distance. Note that as we move radially away from the center of the pattern, pellet strikes per square inch vary according to a Rayleigh distribution. However, if we draw a series of concetric washers of the same area around the center of the pattern and divide them into "pie segments," the number of pellet strikes in each segment of each given washer would, ideally, be the same; variation within each washer tells you the quality of the pattern. The number of pellet strikes in a series of segments of increasing radius would have the number of strikes per square inch vary according to a Rayleigh Distribution. If this is not clear, post bck and I'll try again.

Now, because a 1 oz payload in a 20 bore is in a longer shot column as it sits in the shell and in the chamber and as it goes down the barrel, how is the pellet swarm different as opposed to that same 1 oz payload in a 12 bore which is not as tall in the shot column while in the shell and the chamber and the bore? Because of the larger bore size, does a 12 gauge have a shorter (from first pellet to hit the patterning board to last) shot string?

Last edited by Rocketman; 07/23/10 12:12 AM.