Patterning the Shotgun on a ES70 Combo

[jtamark]

I've got a Blaser ES70, 22mag and 12ga. 12ga measures as a full choke, so I tried a spreader load, to see if it would open up the pattern for upland hunting. The spreader shotshells are Cascade brand from Graf and sons, 1.25 oz of 7.5 shot. I tried them out against standard shells, Estate brand, 1 oz 7.5 shot.

Estate 1oz - shot 6" high. 30" circle had 280 hits, out of 350 pellets total. 280/350 = 80%

Cascade Dispersor (spreader) 1.25 oz - shot 3" high. 30" circle had 278 hits, out of 437 total. 278/437 = 63%

So the spreader loads did work, making the full choke shoot like a modified. The Cascade loads were good, because other brands of spreader shells were 1oz loads of 8 shot. Too light for most hunting. Cascade's load of 1.25 oz 7.5 shot is suitable for the field. Patterns attached. Top pattern is the standard load, bottom pattern is the spreader.

Standard 1oz.jpg

spreader 1.25 oz.jpg