Finally found a suitable steel plate for patterning. At one point in time someone mentioned an oil/paint mixture to roller brush on the plate. Anyone with a suggestion? Randy

At my club we use a light colored lithium grease...once it's coated good it's easily refreshed with a paint roller. They have a small metal box mounted on the back to hold the roller and some spare grease.

cheap white spray paint.

Here's a pattern shot on the grease...1 & 5/8 oz. #4 Bismuth out of a Scott 10 ga. hammer gun at 40 yards. 1260 fps over a chronograph.

What thickness of metal and dimensions do you recomend for a pattern plate? I want to build one.

I would guess that one pictured is at least 3/8" thick. That's a short piece of pipe welded in the center for a permanent aiming point.

jOe,

That looks like a pretty good turkey & waterfowl load!!

tunes

I haven't done much patterning. That's really something. I wouldn't have believed a pattern of 4s as good at 40 yards.

We cut the end out of a 10,000 underground fuel tank - 1/4-inch plate, rolled with white lithium grease it works well.

Do you guys have those mounted at a slight top to bottom angle to reduce ricochets?

The one at my gun club is perfect vertical....tunes that's not a bad pattern for an 1881 hammer gun.

Yes it does! Thanks for letting me use it!

RMC,

The plate slurry you might be thinking of, I mentioned here a good while back. It is a half-and-half mixture of mineral oil (light motor oil works also) and non-drying white paint pigment that can be found at your local paint center. (Benjamin-Moore, Color Preview No. 1 WHITE #233-01 non-drying).

I can buy it in a one-quart can to which I simply add 1 quart of mineral oil, stir, and I have about a three-year supply of plate wash. I keep my plate tarped over when not in use, so it does not wash off with weather or dry out to sun exposure, and usually only needs to be rejuvenated with just a paint brush wetted in common thinner – even after several winter months of non-use. IOW, you’ll use very little of the mix, which is thick enough that it doesn’t really even drip unless just slathered on.

My board pictured here is a 4.5 ft. X 5.5 ft. of 3/16” plate steel (weight just under 200 lbs.) and holds up well without dimpling even with BB’s or No. 4 buck when shot back at 40 yards. The ‘pup’ in the picture is now 11+ years old so that gives you an idea of how long it has been in use. I took the picture of him and the board upon completion in 1998.

The center hole is a 4” cut-out with a back assembly that can also be painted to check for center hits…..and eliminates the need to spray on a reference dot each time. I hung it eye level and perfectly vertical so the pellets will use up all of their energy on the plate and pretty much fall downward…..at least those that don’t vaporize. I think that any angle given to it would likely direct some of the remaining pellet momentum into a richocet, making matters worse. I have shot steel at it, with no returning pellets, but have always been at least 30 yards distant. Don’t know ‘why’ one needs to pattern steel at say, 20 yards, but I don’t think I would be doing it. It’s been a real workhorse and sees a lot of use from different individuals. Hope this helps.

Rob

We used to use the paint/oil mixture...trust me the grease is easier and does just as good a job.

Joe did say it was out of his shotgun. Would you expect anything less then a perfect pattern from a Scott??

I use a water based hobby paint on mine
My plate is only about 1/8" thick (I'll have to measure it!) I only use it for target shot sizes and only at 40 yards so far no problems

Thanks all for your relies. My chunk of steel is only 36"X 48" a little on the small size compared to those listed. Everyone in this part of the country took all their steel to the junk dealers last fall when the price of steel was high. I feel fortunate to have found this piece in a friends pile of scrap. Randy

36x48 should be just fine. After all, most pattern/choke results are based on a 30 in. circle at 40 yds. As long as your gun shoots to point of aim (and you shoot straight) you've got enough room. The white lithium grease applied with a paint roller works very well, unless you want to get into drawing circles and counting pellets - then it's a little too messy. You can often find a perfect round circle imprinted in the grease where the wad hits the plate (it will be travelling backwards by the time it makes it to the plate).

Question: Where does one purchase white lithium grease in a quantity needed to cover a patterning board?

It's not as thick as you might think and one application lasts a long time....between shots you just roll it out.
The grease on our patterning board is more grey than white. I would think Auto Zone or Wallmart would have it.

I have never tried it but did hear of using auto transmission fluid and talcom powder for a whitewash I guess it would stop the plate from rusting!!

yOu know I bet peanut butter would work in pinch...