....It's simple as that, and has nothing to do with time of arrival of the shot pellets.
I believe what you are saying is true. I wasn't referring to the time of arrival, just the different arc the flight of a slower shot would take as compared to the flatter arc of the generally higher velocity shot. I believe it was mentioned earlier that maybe 75% of the shot tended to be towards the front of the string.
Back to your explanation, a shot charge with zero stringing would show the same impact pattern against a flat angled surface. But, I think the duck on the water example was brought up because it's a way to visualize a shot string, not a two dimensional pattern spread at an angle. Then again, Larry mentioned likely short shot strings with notox loads, and it may have been a bit since some of us have had a chance to shoot lead at ducks.
If they clear the muzzle at the same velocity, there must be a change in velocity between individual shot to string the pattern, and I'm thinking usable pattern, not flyers outside of the pattern.
