Been hunting pheasants (trained dogs, road trips just for pheasants, specific gun purchases, etc. ) seriously for about 35 years. Started when I was about 30, so that makes me 65, with probably 1,000-1.500 birds or so to date. I have seen my share of cripples for sure. Luckily good dog work reduces it, but there are always a few that "wobble but don't fall down" every year. I have slowly realized that several variables make a big difference in my numbers of cripples.
1) Early season vs late season--those early birds are young and dumb and flush a lot closer than late season birds. Early birds also tend to be less feathered and smaller.
2) My good hunting partner and I were just commenting during our last trip that we wish we had a switch that we could flip that would prevent us from shooting at birds going directly away from us past 35-40 yards. We have found that those are the majority of birds that get wounded. Just amazing how much shot a heavily-feathered bird can soak up from the back end. Sometimes a leg drops which makes it easier for the dog to pick up, if it lands within sight and you can get to it. But inevitably a few of these will go over the hill and out of sight or into a cover that is not accessible. Birds that are flying broadside to you are a lot more vulnerable and it increases the likelihood that you will get pellets into the head or other kill areas. Even a bird that is flying at a slight angle to you is more killable than those going straight away.
3) I have also noted that I usually have a few more cripples when I shoot my 20 ga as opposed to my 12 ga. I personally would not shoot anything smaller than a 20 ga on pheasants just for that reason. If it is windy, or late season and birds are flushing further out, I almost always switch to my 12 ga to get that extra speed and 25% more payload. I know some folks will argue that the 28ga and .410 are perfectly fine for pheasants, and they probably are, in the hands of really competent hunters. Really competent hunters don't take marginal shots with small guage guns-- I am not one of those people, and I don't think there are that many of these type of hunters out there. I'm a person that likes to pull the trigger and I sometimes take shots that I later regret--do you ever wonder how many birds you hit that don't show any signs of being hit but you still felt you were dead-on with the shot?? I think the number of wounded birds is higher than we realize. Every year I kill a few birds that have old wounds or gangerene and pus from more recent shots. Wounding loss is a real thing and it is probably higher than we realize.
4) Shot speed and type seems to make a big difference in my shooting. Many years ago my friends and I noticed that we killed more birds when using better shells like Fast Lead, Fiocchi Golden Pheasants, or Prairie Storm loads. 1300 fps size 5 shot is a good minimum for me. I think it helps a little bit when I don't have the proper lead on crossing birds. And we also noticed we had more cripples with steel than we did with lead. For that reason we try to limit the range on our shots when we are hunting in areas that require non toxic. I know some will say we should switch to tungsten or bismuth, but I do a lot of shooting in a season and that extra cost adds up. Not a bad recommendation, but I will keep using lead (as long as its legal) and steel when required by regulation.
5) Hunting with a competent dog makes a huge difference. It's possible to hunt pheasants without a dog, and I know several people that do, but wounding loss is much higher with these folks than someone that has a competent dog. I once dropped a bird into a cut soybean field (if you don't know what this looks like imagine a billard table with a little bit of vegetation scattered on it. The bird popped up and began running toward the field edge. My dog didn't see it go down so I ran her over to the edge of the field where I saw the bird headed to once it hit the ground. I worked the field edge back and forth several times with no luck, not even a hint of scent. Finally I took the dog out into the field to see if she could pick up the scent. She fixated on a small depression that looked like nothing and began rummaging her nose into it, finally pulling that bird out of a small hole that didn't seem like it could hold a quail, let alone a pheasant. Without a dog it would have been a goner. Another time my dog chased one into a badger hole and started digging it out. She finally wiggled into the hole all the way to where she dissapeared with only the last 1/4 of here tail sticking out. I could tell she had the bird but couldn't back out of the hole so I dragged her out by her tail, with the bird in her mouth!! And yes, I was worried about a badger or rattlesnakes in the hole! I have hundreds of stories like that as do many others. Just amazes me what a pheasant can hide in! Sometimes they can even be stone cold dead when they hit the ground and still dificult to find, even with a good dog. A dog makes an enormous difference!
6) I'm 65 and not gonna lie, I have lost a little bit when it comes to hand-eye coordination and speed. I am a second or two slower than I was in my 30's. 40's and even 50's when it comes to spotting the bird, getting the gun up, tracking the bird, and taking the shot. I am also a little slower at locating the dog and other hunters to make sure I am safe with my shot. All of this means the bird gets an extra few yards on me before I am shooting. I still feel like I am a good hunter and I certainly kill my share of birds every year, but I am no longer as fast as I was and it makes a difference in my shooting.
7) Finally, getting a gun you are comfortable shooting and that fits you like a glove, to me, is critical. I am one of those people that only shoots 1-2 guns. I have found that the Benelli M2's and SBE's fit me like nothing else, so that is all I shoot for everything-pheasants, quail, grouse, woodcock, ducks, etc.) I recognize the advantages of the Dbl Barrels (instant safe, simpler design, traditional look, nostalgia), but all I shoot are 2-3 Benelli guns. I have other guns in my safe, but they have sat there for decades without being fired. I am a person that sticks with what works for me and I don't venture away from that. I have tried other guns but none of them fit me like the Benelli autoloaders.
There are some other, more minor, things that can affect wounding loss (amount of clothing worn, hunting conditions (wind especially), but those are the big ones for me, and several of them can be mitigated with good discipline and training time, e.g., time spent at the trap or skeet range prior to the season.
