20 ga. --- 3" Magnum or not

Thanks for the message, Jim - good to know. What choke? full?

Would love to carry a lighter gun,but am sensitive to the recoil et al. I have a titanium pin in my arm and really don't want to replace it due to recoil or damage by a shotgun.
 
The Feather and the Cynergy Field are both lighter that the Citori and SKB but they all carry nicely. I used Modified choke for patterning but i shoot with an Improved Modified (2nd shot) and Improved (1st shot) so who knows...
 
When I pheasant hunt with my 20 gauge I always use a 3" shell. I normally try
and shoot one of the Hevishot products. I like the Hevishot Duck probably the
best.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
All other things being equal, there's not a significant difference between 5's & 6's in either pattern density or the amount they can destroy flesh. But if you're out there past 35 yards, particularly on going-away birds, 6's have a tough time penetrating. Go with 5's in both barrels (assuming you're talking about lead shot or something roughly as dense) if you think longer shots are likely. Close birds......6's are fine. I'd only go w/ different shot sizes if I was really sure most of my first shots were going to be pretty close. All depends on type of birds (wild/planted) & type of dog (flusher/pointer/experienced/novice). I'm a one barrel, one choke, one load type of guy. My brain can't afford to be cluttered up with that stuff when it's trying to tell me when to pull the trigger.
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Thanks for the reply and advice, somehow missed it until now. I've been having success with some leftover Remington Long Range Express shells in 4 and 5. I am out of those now but had success. Going to do some more patterning with other shells soon. Some of my first shots were only 20 yards where others were out passed 30 so I'm finding out that the 5's were definitely a "safer" bet as far as thats concerned. Appreciate it A5!
 
I am 60 this week. I bought my win 101 20 ga im mod in 1977. I had the factory rep rebuild the gun about 10 years ago. They told me no more 3 inch mag. It just beats the gun up. I also have 2 implants lower left from the shotgun breaking the root in my jaw. So I just shoot fiochi#5 2 3\4 golden pheasant they do a great job. The ammo today is so much better than it was 30 years ago. I also have a beneli m2 20 and a berretta 686 28 . If I only could have 1 shell and a gun to shoot my dinner it would be the old 101. It's like pointing your finger. Never shot a pheasant with a 12. I like to eat them
 
JMc said:
So I've come to the conclusion that with the exception of my Browning Sweet 16, that I shoot my over and under 20's better than anything else. After years of hunts, I have the can of cast off shells and usually grab what's available. But...for those of you who shoot 20's at pheasants; do you go with 3" mags or stick with 2 3/4? I'm not trying to get in a brand or shot size conversation. Just talking overall power here. What do you guys think?
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I shoot a 2 3/4" #5 or #7 1/2 in my improved barrel and a 3" #5 winchester super x pheasant in my modified barrel.
 
Personal preference but for me the 3" isn't necessary to kill pheasants. I reload and 1 ounce of #5 at 1250-1300 fps does just fine.
 
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I know I'm late to the party here, but I think shell length is misleading. A 3" has more pellets but is often slower than a 2.75. For most game my measure is to hit 1300fps with the pellets first. Thus in my 20, which I use almost exclusively in the uplands on everything from quail to sage grouse, I mostly shoot a Win AA SC load with 7/8oz of #7.5s or a Remington Premier Nitro Buttkicker Somethingorother of #6 both at 1300fps. It kills very reliably when I do my part. If I need #5s I pick up a 12, and its the old 1.25oz load at 1330fps.

Got no use for steel if not mandated.
 
cbass12 said:
Personal preference but for me the 3" isn't necessary to kill pheasants. I reload and 1 ounce of #5 at 1250-1300 fps does just fine.
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#5 bismuth also does just fine at 1300 fps (Kent's 16 ga. factory stuff). You probably won't be able to cram 1 full oz into a 2-3/4" 20 ga. hull; maybe more like 7/8 oz. But if you get the velocity up in that 1250-1300 range, you're fine for most pheasants. So I agree. 1 oz of lead 5's at 1250-1300 is all you need. You need to put it in the right place at the right time, but if you do that, you're fine.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
#5 bismuth also does just fine at 1300 fps (Kent's 16 ga. factory stuff). You probably won't be able to cram 1 full oz into a 2-3/4" 20 ga. hull; maybe more like 7/8 oz. But if you get the velocity up in that 1250-1300 range, you're fine for most pheasants. So I agree. 1 oz of lead 5's at 1250-1300 is all you need. You need to put it in the right place at the right time, but if you do that, you're fine.
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Agreed. Never tried bismuth, mainly because it's difficult to find.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
Ballistic Products usually has most shot sizes in stock. Used to have a manual full of data for bismuth. Don't know if they still do.
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I've checked there before, but I seem to remember them being out the last time I looked. I'll have to do some calculations to see if it would be cost effective to reload for duck hunting. What's nice is the recipes for Longshot with Bismuth use basically the same components as the lead recipes.
 
I have never been a fan of Bismuth and opted for one of the Hevishot offerings.

MODERATOR OK. We've played this game before. As I recall, the company-sponsored website has a drawing from names of folks who have gone to other websites and mentioned or praised their products, and then submitted the links to the company site to show they did it. They can win prizes or something.

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theuplandlife said:
I have never been a fan of Bismuth and opted for one of the Hevishot offerings.
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I use your Hevi Pheasant product but if you don’t stop thiese ridiculous product placements in the threads I am going to stop buying your product. Do you care to explain your dislike for Bismuth. Beam me up Scotty back to planet BS.

MODERATOR: OK, I warned him, and erased any further mention (even in your post, which was fine.) Let's let things settle down. Life has been good on the Forum and it would be nice to have it stay that way.

Thank you.
 
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