20 ga. loads & chokes

wesslpointer said:
Where do you hunt wild Pheasants and kill them at 40 yards with 7.5 at 40 yards in Calif. ??
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Northern Cali in the rice. Most shots are taken in the 25-30 yard range but I am confident out to 40 with my trusty 20ga.
 
A nor cal mixed bag, only 2 of those pheasants are pen birds.

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onpoint said:
3" Magnum 6's and a Mod choke would be my choice. Most Sharptail don't hold close, at least in my experience. Shots tend to be on the long side.
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still have 1/2 a flat nitro 3" 5's from last year in SD......old aqmmo,ugly guns,and redneck dogs,,thats how we roll....thanks for all the advice..
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My experience with sharptails- the ranges can generally (not always) be longer but they don't have the tenacity that pheasants do. I'll apply the asterisk: I've shot all my sharptails in the first couple weeks of the season also, cannot comment on later season birds.
 
berettadouble said:
My experience with sharptails- the ranges can generally (not always) be longer but they don't have the tenacity that pheasants do. I'll apply the asterisk: I've shot all my sharptails in the first couple weeks of the season also, cannot comment on later season birds.
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I certainly second that assesment, sharptails are very thin skinned, and go down easy, even at what you would consider marginal range, even as compared to quail. Pheasants would shed that lead and continue on with slight shudder, at ranges sharptails fold up. They don't run when hit either, where you saw it, is where it will be. I've never seen any need beyond high brass 2 3/4" , 6's in a twenty or twelve. Shot lots even dead of winter, in the winter it's not a question of toughness, it's a question of getting in range! Resort to stalking, like antelope, hard to get close to a covey of birds standing on the snow pack watching you at 200 yards. Got to drop over a side hill and manuver around from a different direction, and try to pop up over the top of a hill, within range and ready to shoot. In that way it can be a lot like pheasant hunting! Either you step on them and they burst from a snow bank, or you see 'em a long way out with little hope of closing the gap.
 
Great pics QH and C&C. 3" 5's will work great IMO. I like the 3" 20ga shell. My favorite early season Ruff Grouse load is 3" Remington Nitro Magnum #7.5 20ga. Usually there's lots of leaves and brush on and you can bust through the brush and still get a BB in a bird and knock him down. I have six 3" 20ga guns. LOVE'EM
 
Hevi Metal

Im thinking of trying 20ga #2 Hevi Metal "NOT Hevi-shot" there steel with some hevi-shot for late WILD pheasants in SD has any one used them? What choke did you use. How did they work for you?
 
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I shoot Hevi-Shot #6 in a Citori 20 GA in early season GPA (public non-tox) units, I/C over I/C. The HS works as well as lead for me. I switch to either Win Super Pheasant or Federal Wing-Shok 3" 5's later.
 
i have shot a 20 exclusively for almost 40 years. I now use a 28 as well and a 16 when asked to block. I would not think of using a 12 for upland game. The 20 win 101 i/c m has been my old reliable. I shoot 2 3/4 5s 3" late season but really not needed. When I go through the last of this case I won't buy any more 3s. Todays ammo is superior to what we used 20 even 10 years ago. Better wads, powder etc. I shoot nickle plated shot. I just returned from 3 weeks in SD and Ne. Once I started using my new 28 berreta SP with my Llewllin pointing the way I probably won't go back to the 20. Put it on em and they drop like a rock.
 
pheasants are tough birds, not all pointed birds are going to hold for the flush by the hunter, i shoot a 20 ga. with 5's......IMHO, a .28 is too light and will cripple and result in the loss of a number of birds....some will fly off, only to die later.
 
hunter94 said:
pheasants are tough birds, not all pointed birds are going to hold for the flush by the hunter, i shoot a 20 ga. with 5's......IMHO, a .28 is too light and will cripple and result in the loss of a number of birds....some will fly off, only to die later.
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you have a good point
some though won't shoot unless the pheasant is held- meaning handled properly
I use 1oz of lead 7 shot skeet tubes in my Citori 20
sure seems to me to be plenty-
If one was to hand me a sweet 28 think I could do quite well with 7 shot
 
I seem to get a better pattern with my 20 ga using 7.5's; however, I do cripple some, but the dog takes care of that. Big difference in the number of shot between 6's and 7.5's.
 
I'm proud to say that I didn't lose one cripple shooting my 28 over my springers last year shooting 3/4 oz of 7.5s and 6s. I only shot it for the first week of season. Then switched to my 20 with 1oz loads.
 
I hunted opening weekend with my 28 ga. and killed every bird I shot at, it did take the dog 10 minutes to find one--it only went 15 ft or so but was in chest deep CRP and really dug in deep and very dead. BTW the rooster harvested count is now up to 63 on my land and this is right on line for a reduction of 1/3 as was noted by the local bird count survey.:cheers:
 
I have shot only a 20 for years. In areas where there are quail and pheasants I shot 7.5s and when in a pheasant only area I go to #6.

On straight away shots I think the 7.5 is a little light on a pheasant to get a clean kill. You have to get through the back and a lot of feathers on those going away shots, and 6s do that pretty well.
 
This will seem a bit ridiculous, but I shoot #2s or #4s Steel mag loads by fed or winchester Hi-Vs 3", through a skeet/IC setup.. I like steel because heavy lead loads push my head off the gun after the first shot.


I shoot birds at about 15/25yds as I draw pretty fast over a pointer... mostly from my grousin experiences in the northwoods. I don't lose many birds...or waste meat...but my range is limited.

Just yesterday I hunted CO WIA for the first time and killed 3 roosters all with my skeet barrel and all were dead on the ground. Same goes for the 2 birds I shot in NE last weekend. 5/5 on the last phez trips with no runners.

don't wanna jinx it yet.. but 10/10 would be sweet! My best was 8/8 two years ago in MN. Ruffies are a completely different story, however.
 
Hey MN, it's working for you! Don't fix what isn't broken . . .
 
MN_Birder said:
This will seem a bit ridiculous, but I shoot #2s or #4s Steel mag loads by fed or winchester Hi-Vs 3", through a skeet/IC setup.. I like steel because heavy lead loads push my head off the gun after the first shot.


I shoot birds at about 15/25yds as I draw pretty fast over a pointer... mostly from my grousin experiences in the northwoods. I don't lose many birds...or waste meat...but my range is limited.

Just yesterday I hunted CO WIA for the first time and killed 3 roosters all with my skeet barrel and all were dead on the ground. Same goes for the 2 birds I shot in NE last weekend. 5/5 on the last phez trips with no runners.

don't wanna jinx it yet.. but 10/10 would be sweet! My best was 8/8 two years ago in MN. Ruffies are a completely different story, however.
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Questions: Gage? shot OZ? pen raised roosters? At 35yrds and beyond do the #2 steel penatrat the meat?
 
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