nef 12 gauge pardner pump

Question
i bought my new England firearm 12 gauge 3 inch chamber pardoner pump 3 years back for $200 as a deer and rabbit gun and the first year i patterned it it held a 1 foot pattern at 75 yards with 00 buck, (moderate choke) then the next season  it literally shot a circle pattern with every type of shot from 000 magnums to 2 3/4 8 shot this gun cant hold a pattern to save its life, i bought a full choke, open, and another moderate choke thinking something messed up with its screw in choke but it still shoots circles, scaring every target i shoot at, and i don't know what else i can do to fix it  

Answer
Ryan,

I cannot be certain without being able to examine and pattern the gun personally however, I do have a thought none the less.

The symptoms that you are describing to me are very indicative of a shotgun that is having the shotshell wad blowing a hole in the center of the pattern. The wad actually passes through the center of the pattern taking disturbing the center of the pattern.

The easiest fix to this is to try a choke tube that is wad retarding in design such as a Pattern Master choke tube. There are others and you can research them all yourself now that you know what to look for.

These tubes have several slightly raised fingers that protrude into the inside of the tube just enough to catch the wad. This slows the wad to the point of it being incapable of blowing a hole in the pattern as the shot is long gone before the wad ever exits the choke tube.

I have not checked recently but I think that Wad-Wizard is also of this design so check them out also.

I hope this helps and thank you for the question Ryan.

Sid Lark