I mostly hunt pheasants, and with my SxS imp cyl (1st shot) 12 ga I have killed a lot of birds with 7 1/2's. Never a problem! I do hunt pointers so the shots are usually close(r). Nowadays i almost exclusively use steel shot and in my 20 ga SxS i usually use #3's followed by a #2. Haven't had the chance to try that combo on many quail.
12 ga Loads for a Mixed Bag
- Thread starter Schemy
- Start date
Toad
Active member
In truly 50/50 mixed bag country like I often hunt, I will load my semi-auto for pheasants and have quail loads in one pocket of my vest. I don't go quick on the trigger for quail on the covey rise anyway. I want to be able to see how many are there before deciding if I want to shoot at any. If I shoot one late on the covey rise, that's fine, and I can reload my gun with quail loads before pursuing the singles.
The appropriate load for each bird probably works best, but I have shot plenty of pheasants stone dead with quail loads and shot plenty of quail with pheasant loads and not torn them up at all.
If you have 5's, let the quail get out a bit. If you have 7.5's, be quicker, and have the discipline not to take a long shot on a pheasant from straight behind. :cheers:
The appropriate load for each bird probably works best, but I have shot plenty of pheasants stone dead with quail loads and shot plenty of quail with pheasant loads and not torn them up at all.
If you have 5's, let the quail get out a bit. If you have 7.5's, be quicker, and have the discipline not to take a long shot on a pheasant from straight behind. :cheers: