4, 5, or 6 shot for you early season pheasant hunters? And what choke are you shooting?

gimruis said:
I don't even raise my gun if a rooster flushes that far out. My dog (british yellow lab) is trained to stay extremely close to me. Within 20 yards, unless she's on a runner. Then I can't do much other than try to keep up.
Click to expand...
I don't shoot past about 30 very often - if ever.
 
dawgs14 said:
I don't shoot past about 30 very often - if ever.
Click to expand...
It isn't that I don't think you can properly fold up a rooster beyond that range, because obviously you can. I think there are a fair number of hunters here that are after highly pressured public land birds and if they didn't take long shots they would rarely shoot their gun. That is not the situation I find myself in when I'm hunting though.
 
gimruis said:
It isn't that I don't think you can properly fold up a rooster beyond that range, because obviously you can. I think there are a fair number of hunters here that are after highly pressured public land birds and if they didn't take long shots they would rarely shoot their gun. That is not the situation I find myself in when I'm hunting though.
Click to expand...
Agreed and that's not my situation either.
 
Most birds I shoot are erupting from within 10 yards of me from my dog. Which is why I choose #6. I'm not hunting beside someone else's dog. Yes, I have another hunter and dog with me but not generally close enough to shoot at their bird. If you are a walker without a dog, you need to stay very close to the person with the dog and maybe drop down one shot number. On the occasion where the birds move to the end of the cover and begin flushing before we get there, I sprint to get within 20-25 yards of the eruption point and wait for the last one or two to get up. Still close shots and the #6 does well. As mentioned by MattD, being confident in your shot, not shooting ability, goes a long way in being successful. Confidence in your shooting ability goes even further in being successful. Also, knowing your distance limitation is important. That is only learned by experience, both success and failure.
 
gimruis said:
It isn't that I don't think you can properly fold up a rooster beyond that range, because obviously you can. I think there are a fair number of hunters here that are after highly pressured public land birds and if they didn't take long shots they would rarely shoot their gun. That is not the situation I find myself in when I'm hunting though.
Click to expand...
The truth is I take relatively few 50-yd shots. A good share of roosters 50 yds away from me are flying nearly straight away over cattails. Almost impossible to bring down, even more unlikely to be recovered. But in the event one gives me a 50-yd crosser over cover that we're likely to recover it, I want to be confident my shells are adequate for that shot. It might be the best opportunity I get that day or even that weekend. Also, if I make a bad shot (yes, it happens 😉) & wound a bird at 30-35 yds, my follow up at 50-55 needs to have some snot behind it.

In order to minimize long shots on pressured, brilliant birds, I take several measures. Stealth. Playing the wind. Hunting an area backward from how most people might. Playing my dog right. Etc. I feel in many cases, I gain a few yards before a rooster flushes, which can obviously make the difference between a good shot & no shot (or what to me is no shot). Many less experienced hunters think a 60-yd straight away is a shot.
 
Last edited:
shoot 6s (first shot) and 5s early and then just 5s later. start w IC and mod and then mod and full if necessary. may start skeet and IC on the upcoming opener just to see what happens. current shells seem powerful.
 
I got a little of everything. I'll start the year with lead 6's in a skeet/IC O/U. When shooting a repeater I'll shoot IC all year. I can't emphasize enough 4's in bismuth. 5's are all right and I've bagged birds with them for sure, but as stated by others, if you pepper a bird with the first shot and he's still going, you'll be happy you had 4's instead of 5's for bismuth. As said many times, steel #2 or #3 shot. 90% of the time I'm shooting a 1 1/4 ounce payload from a 12 gauge.
 
Modified in my old A5 16 gauge. #5 lead or Kent bismuth. LM or IM in my 12 gauge. #5 lead or #2 or #3 steel. I have a couple boxes of #4 that I got to try on windy days late in the season. I only use #6 shot on preserves anymore and most of it is old stuff I bought years ago.
 
I have 4's steel in my 12 gauge because I will also shoot ducks and geese that happen to fly by or if I jump them in a pothole around Aberdeen.
 
This will not help if you are not allowed to use lead, but here is what works well for me. I use an auto-loader, IC choke, 1.25 oz of lead 5s over a decent charge of Longshot for about 1400 fps. I only hunt private ground and hunt behind a GSP, so my first shot is usually close, but I have plenty for a second shot (once in a while a 3rd) if required. I am not an exceptional shot, thus the IC choke (and my normal target range), and I use only one gun and the same shells all season, I am pretty capable with my set-up. I migrated to 5 shot around a decade ago from 6 shot, the primary reason is that less shot remains in the meat.

I would make sure you have IC and modified chokes with you, so if the normal shooting seems close or further-out, you can change and increase your chances on connecting. Get out with a few different types of shells you are considering and shoot some paper from 25-35 yards with a few of each to just make sure they pattern decent....and you will know if your pattern is going where you think it should be. Good luck and post some pics from the hunt.
 
So funny how all of this has changed over the years. I started hunting pheasant when I was 12 years old shooting a model 37 featherweight 20 gauge. I shot whatever shells were cheapest and always 6’s. Killed a lot of birds till I was about 20. Switched to an 1100 twelve gauge and still shot 6’s with no problem till I was about 30. All of that over pointers so most shots were 25-30 yards at most. Once I switched to flushing labs I noticed the shots were longer so I have shot 5’s ever since. I couldn’t tell you what those first guns were but I assume modified. I have shot this Citori 16 the last 10 or so with 5’s also. Up till my horrible last day in SD last year it has served me well.
 
carptom1 said:
So funny how all of this has changed over the years.
Click to expand...
True. 30-40 years ago, we shot all lead at pheasants. Back then I was a #6 shot guy too. That's what was most readily avaliable, they seemed to kill if I hit a bird, that's what my dad liked, & I wouldn't have known any different anyhow. I wasn't much of a shot back then though. I'm a much better shot now, & I've got 30 years more experience trying to bring down roosters at longer ranges. I know, without question, what works for me by now. And that is #5 shot. A seemingly insignificant change that can make a big difference sometimes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top