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July 17, 2026
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Ever wonder if your shotgun is actually hitting where you think it is? Or how tight your pattern really spreads at different distances?
That’s what shotgun patterning tells you. It’s basically testing your gun to see how the pellets spread when you shoot, which matters a lot more than most people realize.
Here’s the problem: traditional patterning is a pain. You shoot at big paper targets, then spend the next two or three hours hunched over with a magnifying glass, counting tiny holes and trying to figure out where the center of your pattern actually is. Most shooters skip it entirely because who has time for that?
But patterning data is important. It tells you where your gun shoots, how your chokes are really performing, and what your effective range is with different loads.
Hunters miss birds because they assume their gun shoots where they aim.
Clay shooters wonder why they’re missing easy shots.
The answer is often in the pattern.
What if you could get all that data in seconds instead of hours? That’s exactly what Target Telemetrics figured out how to do.
To understand how this technology works and its impact on the shooting community, we spoke with Steve Peterson, one of the five founding partners of Target Telemetrics and a retired NRA instructor with extensive experience in both engineering and shooting sports.
“What if you could pattern a shotgun without having to spend two or three hours playing with a 30 inch loop and trying to figure out where the center of mass was?” Peterson asks, describing the frustration that led to Target Telemetrics’ creation.
The traditional patterning process involves shooting at large targets, then using measuring tools to find pellet holes within specific diameter circles, manually counting each impact, and attempting to calculate the mathematical center of the pattern. This process is not only time-consuming but also prone to human error and inconsistency.
“What if we put a computer to work and we found every pellet and we kind of computed the point of impact or the center?” Peterson continues. “You essentially got all these scattered pellets and you want to know where’s the center of that pattern.”
This engineering approach to a common shooting problem reflects Peterson’s background and that of his partners, all engineers who had been “working with image analysis and taking images from digital cameras and doing things with it for industrial purposes.”
Target Telemetrics was established in 2014 by “a group of engineers that got together at lunchtime and said, hey, let’s make something of our own,” Peterson explains. The combination of engineering expertise in digital image analysis and genuine interest in shooting sports created the perfect foundation for innovation.
“A few of us were interested in shooting, primarily myself. I am now retired, but I was an NRA instructor, taught concealed carry and all that sort of stuff. But we also like hunting,” Peterson notes, explaining how personal experience with patterning frustrations drove the technical solution.
The initial product was PC-based, but user feedback quickly drove mobile development. “We converted the code and moved it over to iPhone and Android so a person could go out to the range, take a shot at a target and walk up to it, take a picture and three seconds later, not three hours later, 3 seconds later, they’ve got their data.”
The Target Telemetrics smartphone app provides “4 valuable pieces of information within 3 seconds,” according to Peterson:
“It’ll tell you the point of impact, you know your windage and elevation of where that center of mass is,” Peterson explains. This eliminates the guesswork and manual calculation required in traditional patterning methods.
The app provides comprehensive density data “at 10 inches, 20 inches, 30 inches, or break it down into a shot ratio, which a lot of the trap shooters like, where it’s what percentage of the shots are above the bead versus below the bead.”
“You can buy a full choke or an improved or modified or whatever, but is it really doing that? And the fact is chokes don’t always do what they say they do,” Peterson notes.
“We’ll take that shot spread and we’ll tell you what is the effect of the choke that you have. We’ll give you your pattern, we’ll give you the density, what percentage of the shot was within 30 inches or not, and then we’ll convert that into an effective choke value for you.”
For hunters and competitive shooters, the app performs sophisticated analysis based on target type. “If you tell us what size Clay pigeon you’re shooting and you just select it from a little menu” or “what game animal you’re going after. Is it pigeon, rabbit, turkey? We’ll tell you at any given range what your kill zone is.”
The kill zone feature goes beyond simple percentages. “We’ll not only tell you you’re at a 95% kill or 100% or 60%, we’ll show you a map on that target of where the zones are that where you wouldn’t have broken the Clay pigeon,” Peterson explains.
The sophisticated analysis requires specially designed targets with precise registration marks. “It only works on our patented copyrighted targets that National Target produces and sells,” Peterson explains, addressing a common question about compatibility with standard targets.
Target Telemetrics targets feature “patented registration marks” that allow the software to automatically correct any image distortion before starting the analysis. As Peterson explains, the software “first does a total correction on it to make it a uniform, perfect Cartesian plane, and then it begins the analysis.”
“Using our targets with the known registration marks serves as registration points and allows the software to become extremely accurate,” Peterson emphasizes.
The Target Telemetrics system offers multiple analysis methods to suit different shooting disciplines and preferences.
Pattern analysis options include uniformity mapping, where the system “divide it into like 8 pie slices and tell people how many pellets are in each slice.” Shot ratio calculations appeal to competitive shooters, while kill zone mapping serves hunters and sporting clays competitors.
For serious users, “we offer our software on the Mac or on the PC for $30. That’s a professional version that gives you more functions, gives you the ability to average targets together, keep records, and more.”
National Target manufactures the precision targets required for Target Telemetrics analysis. The TT-SGP Shotgun Patterning Target comes in 25-target packs designed specifically for the free smartphone analysis apps.
These targets require careful handling for optimal results. “Don’t crease or fold targets, roll them similar to shipping method,” the guidelines specify. “Store in dry indoor locations until ready to use” and “don’t mark or write on targets except in designated border areas.”
Photography requirements are straightforward but important: “Minimum 4 megapixels required” for camera resolution, with proper alignment holding the “camera directly in line with the target’s center.” Lighting should “minimize shadows, capture at least 2 inches of border around the target.”
The process is remarkably simple for such sophisticated analysis. Shooters need only a smartphone with adequate camera resolution, the free Target Telemetrics app, and the specially designed targets from National Target Company.
The workflow involves shooting the target, photographing it according to the guidelines, and uploading the image to the app. “Three seconds later, they’ve got their data. They know where the point of impact is with windage and elevation. We give them pattern density information at 10 inches, 20 inches, 30 inches.”
For hunters and competitive shooters, this instant feedback transforms the patterning process from an occasional chore into a regular part of equipment optimization.
Target Telemetrics represents a fundamental shift in how shooters approach performance analysis. The combination of engineering precision, smartphone accessibility, and professional-grade accuracy makes sophisticated patterning analysis available to every shotgun owner.
“You’re getting so much more value by using the targets that are printed by National Target because the free app gives you so much information instantly,” Peterson emphasizes.
For hunters wanting to verify their effective range, competitive shooters optimizing their setup, or anyone curious about their shotgun’s true performance, the technology eliminates traditional barriers to proper patterning. The transformation from hours of manual work to seconds of automated analysis opens new possibilities for regular performance monitoring and equipment optimization.
In just seconds, you’ll have the data that previously required hours to obtain, opening new levels of understanding about your equipment’s true capabilities.
Ready to transform your shotgun patterning experience? Download the free Target Telemetrics app and order TT-SGP targets from National Targets to discover what your shotgun is really doing.