Received Wisdom

One of the markers of civilization is the written word; even the simplest writing system can store and transmit more information, sacred and profane, than can be retained in one man’s mind.  A writing system, being a system, also imposes an order on the man such that his ideas and actions more closely mirror those of other men.  This order and its attendant flow of information allows human society to grow from mere culture to civilization.  Yet even with the rise of such a powerful tool, oral tradition has remained a cornerstone of the human experience.  Old habits and all that.  From infancy, we are told commandments, truisms, parables, and cautionary tales.  Some are old (“pray before eating”), some are relatively new (“wash your hands before eating”), some are obviously true (“it’s good to share”), and some are obviously not (“gum will stay in your stomach for seven years”).  And so, by the time a man becomes a sentient being, somewhere in his late twenties, he has a whole bird’s nest of Received Wisdom to parrot to the next generation

I’ve sifted through a good portion of what I was told and have confirmed that, to have friends, I must indeed be friendly, but that pop rocks and soda will not make my stomach explode.  I am by no means done with my patrimony; but being easily bored, I’ve decided to turn my attention to some of the “facts” often bandied about concerning steel shot and the like.  I don’t want to call them old wives’ tales because that implies that they’re falsehoods—they may be true.  However, I’ve never seen the proofs for a lot of them.  For example, everyone knows that larger steel shot patterns better with less choke constriction—we’ve been saying it since the early 80’s—but no one has shown me the patterns to back it up.  I’m not assuming it’s false; I just want to see some paper with holes in it. 

Now, to be clear, I am not going to conduct rigorous experiments; I have neither the money, time, or patience to put on a lab coat and “do it right.”  For example, for a truly meaningful velocity test, I should have a sample size of ten or more; but I may only shoot five.  I might shoot five patterns, or three, or one.  But poor as my data may be, even one pattern is better than just repeating “everyone knows….”  If you’re looking for lab results, go to a lab.  But if you’re looking for the settling of a barroom bet, then you’re in the right place.  Hold my beer.

What Effects Does Duplexing Shot Size Have on Steel Shot Patterns? 

Do Overshot Cards Blow Patterns?

Does Large Shot Pattern Better with Less Choke?

Does Large Shot Pattern Tighter than Small Shot?

Does Slower Shot Pattern Better than Faster Shot?