Admittedly a bit late now that we're well into the season, but I was wondering where do you fellows obtain paper sized large enough for proper patterning of a shotgun?

Old engineering/architect drawings and Flip charts have always worked ok for me.

Flip charts with 1" squares from Staples I take a clay target and place it in the middle and draw around it with a felt tip pen
Perfect for rifle at 100 yards as well.

Butcher's paper.

Back when I was anal about the mistique and the club's patterning fixture was loaded w/mostly useless thin paper, I used butcher paper which can be bought in rolls and you can also get a holder for it so it is very easy to tear off. Some dept. stores used to use similar fixtures, but the paper they used was typically of a much less durable stock. I had two plexiglass circles that I used to center the patterns/w, a 20" and a 30" & I'd draw the circles around them and then do the manual analysis, core & fringe. I still have part of the last roll of that paper in a tear off fixture that we use when the bride wants to wrap or pack something or I want to make a mess somewhere & need to protect the surface underneath. I went through three rolls of that paper, back when & came to the same conclusion that Oberfell & Thompson(sp?)did and Bruce Buck also, a bit later.

Today, I find the use of the club's very nice double sided steel faced grease plate to be much more expedient.

Digital cameras make recording the results child's play and you can buy a program that will do the analysis directly from your pics.

To answer your question, go talk the guy behind the meat counter into letting you have sufficient feet of the wrap to shoot your patterns or buy a roll from him. You can pattern in the rain w/butcher paper if you need to and a gust of wind won't generally tear it.

Rolls of heavy paper can be found in the paint departments at
Lowe's and Home Depot.

I'm cheap--old appliance boxes stapled to a warehouse pallet. Shoot the SOB with one barrel then flip it, shoot it again with the other barrel and look at the exit holes.

You can buy what seems like an endless roll of brown paper (3' wide) from Home Depot for about 10 bux in the paint section. I cut off sections and with spring clips attach to a steel framed real estate lawn sign. Remove the realtor's sign in the center. These signs are easily found at night on residential lawns. Avoid homes with well lit yards, pick-up trucks in driveways and lights on in the windows.

Gil,

I'm really taken back by your advice here, maybe I am not understanding what you wrote here.....are you advising folks to go out and steal real estate signs that other people pay for....?....Not good.....

You can buy them cheap at most supply stores BTW.....

I think that GLS was trying to be funny. I got a good laugh from his post!

Ditto. I read his post as joking too. I'd be surprised if he literally meant swiping Realtor's signs. Nahhhh.

Thanks for all the tips, guys, I appreciate it. One question: Where can I buy butcher paper? Please don't say "the butcher"!

These are a little pricier than bulk paper rolls but are very handy to use (overlapping circles to capture off center shots, for instance)
Hunter John

The rolls of paper that come into a print shop are always wrapped and the wrapping sealed with a circular, heavy, water resistant coated paper, stamped on either end. The paper handler removes these ends with a knife before loading the roll into the press. If you are near a larger newsprint or direct mail shop, they will typically give these ends to you for the asking, as they have enough glue on them to not be worth recycling. Ask for "web ends". The rolls for a typical half web press are about 50" across, if memory serves. Half or full web roll ends will work perfect.
Wish I had a buck for every one I've shot in my life. Total cost has been zero.

Best,
Ted

Here is one place to get butcher paper.
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/36-x-800-white-butcher-paper-roll/43336TAR.html

Pete

Here is one place to get butcher paper.
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/36-x-800-white-butcher-paper-roll/43336TAR.html

Pete

Doug,
Thank you for the reminder to be a gentleman. In that regard, after successfully harvesting an unguarded, non-booby trapped lawn sign be sure to leave a thank you note. Unsigned.
When not using the frame for a patterning board, I use the frame to hold a "Get off my lawn" sign. I got hoarse from constantly hollering "Get off my lawn" at the damn little bed wetters..
Gil

Gil,

You should put up an electronic lawn perimeter laser around your lawn for the bed wetters......the real estate sign holes probably look tacky after repeated installation and removal...?.....Or, you could just park your car on the front lawn where they would have to walk around it.......

Is your lawn on par with 16th hole in quality and texture...?.....I do understand your concern.....

Doug, on Halloween I used a motion detector rigged to turn on my lawn sprinklers when they'd approach the front door. I used a laser to deactivate the hose when they were taller than 3.5'. I got tired of hiding in the bushes holding the hose. Any suggestions how to get toliet paper out of sweet gum trees and raw eggs off window glass? My lawn looks like the rough at St. Andrews and there is no more room to park another car. Besides, I ran out of cinder blocks to support another. Gil

Gil,

Have you tried putting a sign under each sweet gum tree that reads: "Gil PC, Attorney at Law"...it may scare the toilet paper out of the trees...?....Just a thought....

As far as the dried egg on your windows, no short cuts come to mind, only elbow grease....yours or somebody else's....LOL....It is possible that Wonko has a special brew for that application....?

http://www.uline.com/BL_1956/Butcher-Pap...mp;gclsrc=aw.ds

JEEEZ! So many options and they ALL look great! I want so many different offerings I could be patterning until I die. This last one from Chuck H is the cat's meow for me as I am an artist as well. I can imagine buying one of their mountable cutters and a couple rolls and hae the paper serve double duty. The mind reels!

What software is used to evaluate digital camera pictures of patterns?

I stopped into a local newspaper and picked up an end roll of newsprint paper. 4' long and I got a few hundred feet for $5.

Lock and load:
http://www.shotgun-insight.com/intro.html
Gil

Interesting software, I look forward to trying it out. If it works as shown it will make patterning a dream