Rich, that is a great pattern.
I watched my buddy pattern his 870 today while I was working on my 257. He just bought a new patternmaster choke and was dying to try it out. I have harped the benefits of patterning to him for some time. Today was an eye opening experience for him.
We set up at target at the 50yds and went to work , he was shooting it from the bench
. His first shot with the new choke was Remington #4 Buck, its pattern was acceptable and centered on the target. His second shot was 3 1/2" Dead Coyote and that's where reality (and a little cheek pain)set in. It patterned 15-18" low, it patterned good enough to hunt with but not what he was expecting.I gave him a Fed. Premium 00 buck to try and it was an awesome pattern, about 24" in diameter. Next I gave him a 3" Dead Coyote load. It patterned low just like the 3.5", but the pattern was so much better. It gave a even, thick pattern that showed lots of promise. Next time I will have him pattern the 3" at 60yds to see how it holds up.
Lessons my friend learned:
1. Point of impact can vary between loads.
2. Bigger isn't always better, in shotgun shells anyway.
3. Let me take pictures of the tagrets before he leaves