I have a xtrema 2 and have been patterning several types of 3.5" shells including Kent fasteel, Rem HD, Hevi shot, and 3 different lead turkey loads. I have tried 13 chokes. The turkey loads have only been tested with full choke or better.

Here is the thing. Every shell and choke combo shoots the center of the pattern approximately 2 feet low at 40 yards.

I believe I have eliminated the way I shoot as the key problem by trying other shotguns. I do not shoot every shotgun low, just this one.

I would like some experience based guidance, because I am stuck.

Thanks

What sight picture do you see when you shoot?

Can you see the bead?

Beretta's come with a set of shims to allow you to shift the butt stock....suggest you install the shim with the least amount of drop.

Have you patterened it with some lighter loads?
When you pattern the gun do you have a rest for the gun or are you shooting off-hand? If you are shooting off-hand I suspect you may be dropping the muzzle in anticipation of the recoil with those Roman Candles you've been shooting.

Here's how I pattern for Point-of-Impact. Put up a large piece of paper or cardboard and draw a cross on it. Set up a table with a rest on it at 13 yards. From the rest place the front bead at the intersetion of the two lines and gently squeeze off the shot. You should get a ragged hole (assuming a full choke) and the location of the hole will show your Point-of-Impact ---- won't show anything about the percentages, but it will show you where your gun will shoot at 40 yards. Try it a couple of times with light loads until you get the hang of it and then go to the big loads.

If none of this works it needs to go back to Beretta.

Are these factory chokes?

This is what your pattern will look like if shot at 13 yards..... as you can see, this one is shooting high which is standard for a competition trap gun. The irregular torn holes are from the wads.




And this is how I test a gun for POI at 13 yards. When I want to count pellets I just move it back to the distance I want to evaluate.

Sight picture is the same as the other shotguns. Yes I can see the bead? I can adjust, to the extreme, the sight picture to see every bit of the rib and it hits fine.

I have not patterned with light loads since I have no intention of packing this boat oar on a quail hunt.

I patterned only at 40 yards and it was off a bag that looks exactly like yours. I also tried some just off an elbow rest. Same results.

Chokes are standard and aftermarkets. They are not a variable.

I will confirm at 13 yards but I am thinking now that it may be a result of using full house 3.5 loads. I will shoot 3" and 2 3/4 full house loads and see if they hit at a higher point, in which case I might just sell this thing.

I'm not suggesting you "pattern" it with light loads, just do yourself a favor and shoot a couple of light loads at 13 yards (using your full choke) to see what they do.....shoot 3 or 4 to confirm (on different crosses) and they try 2 or 3 each of 3" loads and 3 1/2" loads to see where they hit. If they're on at 13 yards they will be on at 40 yards.

SG,

Bill knows what he's talking about when he says pattern it at 13 yards, but the fact of the matter is if Mr. Longbeard comes out at 40 yards, you're going to shoot under him (from the way you're talking, anyway)! Two feet is really, really far off, I don't think the Beretta shims will move you that far, but I haven't played with them much at all, so I could be wrong. Maybe if you changed them and put an adjustable comb on the gun, and moved it up...but that's still a lot of tinkering for a field gun. Personally, I think it would be best to send it back to Beretta and tell them your problems, they might be able to do something about it (if nothing else give you a new gun). Anyway, good luck with your gun, I know how frustrating it can be.

Justin --- at 13 yards you really aren't checking the pattern but rather checking the point-of-impact to see where the gun shoots with your sight picture. When you talk about patterning a shotgun you're referring to the percentage of pellets inside a 30" circle at 40 yards. I'm guilty of being careless of terms myself so I ususally put "pattern" into quotation marks when I'm referring to checking the point-of-impact.

The two things are, of course, related as the right pattern in the wrong spot (and vice versa) are usless.

Bill,

I agree, too, you're just checking the point of impact at 13 yards, I put the wrong term in there, too. But, if he's shooting off of a bench at 40 yards and the gun is shooting 2 feet low, there's a problem with the point of impact, probably too much for him to fix on his own, I think. Especially if he's getting a good sight picture while patterning, which from what he said above, I think he is. But, rechecking at 13-yards is still a good idea, because as Neil and Pat have proved, that's the proper way to do it. Where are they when we need them anyway???

SG

Sounds like the comb's too low. build the comb up with some cardboard and electrical tape to see if it brings your POI upto where you want it. You may need to built upto an eight to three sixteenths of thickness but you will see a difference. Keep raising the comb untill you bring the POI to where you want it.

Also I've never used a bench to test a shotgun as I don't see how you can get the same cheek weld on a bench? However if it works for others then it's obbviously a viable option.

Rgds,
FB

If it ever stops snowing here in Idaho I will get out and keep working at it.

That Al Gore is a lying skunk!

LOP too long will cause you to shoot low, also. It drops the sight picture way down when sholdering the gun.

Bill is spot-on with his suggestions. First thing I'd do is change the shim between the stock and receiver. If you're not seeing the top of the rib, you're way too low. After shooting trap quite a bit and some sporting clays, I learned a lot more about gun fit and POI. I now shim my Benelli so that I'm shooting roughly a 60/40 or 70/30 high pattern. That allows me to stay under the bird when wing shooting instead of covering him up with the barrel. In my opinion that allows you to maintain focus on the target the entire time. The same applies to shooting turkeys. If you're set up for a little high pattern, you won't have to cover his head up to kill him. Just put the bead at the bottom of his waddles and he's a dead bird. Allows you to see your target instead of covering it up.

If the shims don't bring it up enough, get you some stick on moleskin out of the footcare department at the pharmacy or Wal-mart. You can stick it to the top of the comb until you can get something more permanent. Beartooth, I think, makes a slip-on neoprene comb that would probably work just fine. I have a piece I got from either Brownell's or Gamaliel's that's made of vinyl and has a series of various thickness shims that stack together with velcro to get the correct thickness for you. Then the whole unit velcroes to the stock. Good luck with it.

David Walker

BENT BARREL or the choke drilled in at a angle.

I have had two guns come from the factory with pattern problem a Rem. 11-87 super mag with a bent barrel it shot 12" to the left and 18" high
And a Xtrema with a choke drilled in wrong it shot 10" low and 14" to the right, found out opening day of duck season 3 years ago I could not hit crap with the 11-87 but got one golden BB in a bird went to finish it on the water and found my problem real fast, first thing I did with the Beretta was pattern it then back to the factory they put on a new barrel same for Rem.

You can also get a stick on comb pad... I get mine from Briley... can't remember the name brand... but they come in several different thicknesses, are made of a black rubbery material that doesn't seem to hold water (as opposed to moleskin), and save your face from those 3 1/2" shells beating on it..