Blindside for pheasants?

M

mnaj_springer

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Has anyone here used Blindside as a non-tox ammo for pheasants? How did it go? How did it pattern compared to lead? How did it pattern with different chokes compared to lead?

If you have any experience I hope to hear from you.

Thanks guys
 
I used Blindside #3 one year. It was my first time pheasant hunting and was borrowing my father-in-law's 11-87. I wounded one bird (never found it in the "swamp grass"), but didn't come close enough to anything else to shoot for the rest of the weekend. Didn't have a chance to pattern with it (heck, didn't even know what patterning was thing at that point). I know this isn't any useful info, but it's at least one person who's used it. :eek:
 
blindside

I have used it for waterfowl hunting I was shooting 3" number 2's with a Carlson tube it killed everything I shot stone dead i'd say to 40yrds and much closer when cleaning birds the devastation was unreal was it a fluke ??
I think not, I did pattern it before compared to my normal load and the core pattern was about the same in size and number of pellets. never have used it for upland but if I had to use non tox I wouldn't be afraid too. just my experience with it I was impressed with the results!! hope this helps some
 
springer -- I've not shot any Blind Side at pheasants but I have patterned it and shot a few ducks with it. I have no doubt that you could kill pheasants with it but I didn't really notice anything special about it while shooting a few ducks.

It doesn't tend to pattern as tight as traditional spherical steel rounds (see my patterns below) but at close range it should be effective. To me, it is much like some of the other designer steel loads, marketers trying to sell you something you don't need. If you need a nontoxic load, just get some traditional spherical #3 or #2 steel loads, use the appropriate choke, and go shoot your pheasants.

Here are some of my pattern numbers comparing several steel loads to give you an idea of the kind of performance you might get from BS loads.

Patterning results from a 12-gauge 3" Remington 870 Special Purpose with a 28" barrel and factory flush Rem-chokes (pattern average of five, 30" post-shot scribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, in-shell pellet count average of five, and true choke constriction from bore gauge).

40 YARDS / Modified flush factory Rem-choke (.018" constriction)

Federal Speed-Shok 3" 1 1/4 oz #2 steel (154 pellets) pattern 115 (75%)
Federal Black Cloud 3" 1 1/4 oz #2 steel (144 pellets) pattern 92 (64%)
Fiocchi Golden 3" 1 1/4 oz #2 steel (156 pellets) pattern 115 (74%)
Hevi-Metal 3" 1 1/4 oz #2 / #5 (164 pellets) pattern 93 (58%)
HEVI-STEEL 3" 1 1/4 oz #2 steel (148 pellets) pattern 100 (68%)
Kent Fasteel 3" 1 1/4 oz #2 steel (155 pellets) pattern 103 (66%)
Remington Sportsman 3" 1 1/4 oz #2 steel (152 pellets) pattern 110 (72%)
Winchester Xpert 3" 1 1/4 oz #2 steel (146 pellets) pattern 106 (73%)
Winchester Blind Side 3" 1 3/8 oz #2 steel (176 pellets) pattern 104 (59%)

Here are a few more of my pattern numbers with a load I commonly shoot ducks and pheasants with. Patterns were shot with a 12-gauge Browning Citori with 28" Invector-plus barrels and Briley flush chokes (patterns average of five, 30" post-shot scribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, and in-shell pellet count average of five).

12 GA 2 3/4" REMINGTON SPORTSMAN HI-SPEED STEEL LOAD
1 1/8 oz #2 steel (139 pellets) @ 1,375 fps
30 YARDS / SK / pattern 116 (84%)
40 YARDS / M / pattern 114 (82%)

Hope this helps, good luck.
 
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Springer/jo hunter

curious why you shoot a factory rem choke in your waterfowl gun but opt for briley tubes in your upland gun ?? also if I read that correctly your results were
12 GA 2 3/4" REMINGTON SPORTSMAN HI-SPEED STEEL LOAD
1 1/8 oz #2 steel (139 pellets) @ 1,375 fps
30 YARDS / SK / pattern 116 (84%)
40 YARDS / M / pattern 114 (82%)

did you shoot the mod choke at 30yrds with above shell to see the difference in 30" circle??

Springer I looked last evening when I got home and was mistaken I am shooting a Rhino med range tube in my duck gun not a Carlson as stated and yes I only shoot the one choke in my duck gun,like I stated I was impressed with the bodily devastation in the ducks compared to my normal fed steel load it worked and worked quite well for me no cripples that my dog had to chase down or none that were lost .
 
ONE -- I found the factory flush Rem-chokes were the only constrictions I needed to cover the decoy duck and goose shooting I do. I'll usually start the season with an IC (.009") choke and as the season progresses and the ducks tend to get shy I go to my Mod (.018").

I purchased some Briley flush tubes for my O/U so I could try (pattern) different constrictions that weren't available in the factory flush Browning invector-plus tubes. Nothing really wrong with the Browning tubes but they tend to be more open (less constriction for a designated choke) than some aftermarket chokes.

No, I didn't pattern that load with the Mod at 30 yards. Typically, a Mod at 30 yards is very tight so I start patterning them at 40 where they are most applicable. Here are some more pattern numbers with that load to show you what the IC does at 30 yards. Obviously, the IC with 93% is pretty tight and the Mod will more than likely be right around 100%.

Patterning results from a 12-gauge Browning Citori with 28" Invector-plus barrels using Briley flush chokes (patterns average of five, 30" post-shot scribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, and in-shell pellet count average of five).

12 GA 2 3/4" REMINGTON SPORTSMAN HI-SPEED STEEL LOAD
1 1/8 oz #2 steel (139 pellets) @ 1,375 fps
30 YARDS / SK / pattern 116 (84%)
30 YARDS / IC / pattern 129 (93%)
40 YARDS / M / pattern 114 (82%)
50 YARDS / IM / pattern 100 (72%)

Good luck.
 
Glad the info was useful. I forgot to include my primary 12ga lead pheasant reload for pattern comparison.

Here are some of my pattern numbers from a reload I normally use for pheasants when shooting my 12ga.

Patterning results from a 12-gauge Browning Citori with 28" Invector-plus barrels using Briley flush chokes (patterns average of five, 30" post-shot scribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, and in-shell pellet count average of five).

12 GA 2 3/4" RELOAD (WAACF, W209, UNIQUE, WAA12F114)
1 1/4 oz #5 lead (210 pellets) @ 1220 fps
30 YARDS / SK / pattern 145 (69%)
30 YARDS / IC / pattern 177 (84%)
40 YARDS / M / pattern 155 (74%)
50 YARDS / IM / pattern 125 (60%)

Good luck.
 
I had the opportunity to use Blindside this weekend at a shooting preserve. As Oneball said, it kills birds. If you hit them they die. Cleaning the birds I only found 1 pellet. They all went completely through the birds while shooting at 20-40 yards. I used a skeet and IC choke.

The draw back is that there was a lot of damage to the meat. Being someone who loves to cook for others the game I take, it was disappointing. I'm conflicted on this shell. I want to kill birds I shoot at (and not cripple) but I don't want to waste meat.
 
That is why I use Hevishot. I do not like crippling birds and it is the
best shell that I have found for both waterfowl and upland hunting
to that end.
 
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