As a little tyke, I never can finish a day of hunting with the adults. Usually, it means sitting out the later house sitting at the window of a family home watching the hunters as they approached the house for dinner. The flaws in the glass of the old house give a rippled effect to the view as the sunset paints the cornfields gold.

The flutter of a rising covey of quail, the explosion of a shotgun, a plume of smoke dispersing across the field. These are components of upland hunting.

Forward 20 years to today. Gone is the old house and I am stronger. I switched to black powder from the days of old and my .410 shotgun.

My pair of black powder shotguns are in 20 and 10-gauge. The first is the 20 which accounts for the demise of pheasant, ducks, rabbits, quail and chukars.

Choosing a proper shot and black powder, or black powder substitute, combination is a matter of practice and patterning. Each gun comes with an instruction sheet and recommended powder load. Usually, they range from a low to high. I do not go beyond the high load. It can be dangerous to your health and to the structure of the gun. Beginning with the lowest load, I experiment with the various combinations until achieving a desired pattern at the desired distance.

I find with my 20-gauge, 70 grains of Pyrodex and about an ounce of #7 shot gives me the pattern desired. One can custom tailor shot to the type of hunting. A dove hunter prefers a different load than a goose hunter. The distance of a probable shot is different.

Because many modern black powder shotguns now come with interchangeable chokes, I need to experiment with various load-choke combinations in patterning.

One of the keys to chokes is knowing the inside diameter of the barrel. Most chokes have a taper, perhaps an inch long, and then a parallel section at the very end of the tube. By measuring the taper, I find I know the constriction.

An improved-cylinder choke has a .10 constriction. If the inside barrel dimension is .726 inch, then the improved-cylinder choke should measure .716 inch. A modified choke should measure .020 inch and improved-modified .025 inch. Anything tighter than .030 inch is a full-choke.

Just because the stamp on the shotgun barrel of a screw-in choke says “improved cylinder” is no guarantee a particular gun throws an improved cylinder pattern. I pattern a specific gun with my choice of loads.

Another reason for patterning a shotgun is to learn the exact point of impact. If the bulk of the shot is not going where the gun points, then I need to adjust accordingly.

Once a load is determined, I need a sheet of plywood, some paper targets, shooting glasses and ear protection. A bench rest is helpful in being consistent from one shot to another.

The paper targets are available at a sporting goods store.

If I shoot at the center of the target and the bulk of the shot is consistently hitting off to the side, then I need to adjust the fit of the gun. A gunsmith is best qualified to do such things. If the bulk of the shot is just a little off center, then I adjust my point of aim to compensate. The idea is to deliver at least six pellets to the head and neck area of an animal target.

As I shoot to see where the pellets will hit, it is a good idea to use different loads and chokes. One hunter might like a full-choke while another may prefer something different. It depends upon the game I am planning to hunt and what works most effectively.

Once I can establish a pattern at a specific range, it is time to test at increments. For instance, if I know where the shot is going at 30 yards, then it would help to know where it will be at 10 and 20 yards. Most loads begin to lose their effectiveness beyond 30 yards.

Unlike the muzzle loader rifle, modern black powder shotguns are smoothbore. I use a 20-guage without the choke tubes exclusively for small birds and as it seems right. Seventy grains of Pyrodex and an equal amount of #8 lead shot throws a pattern the same as from shooting one ounce of number 6 shot from a 20-guage Remington 870.

Modern black powder guns are a chance for hunters to relive the origins of small game hunting with the assistance of modern weaponry. Besides, it is just fun!