Loaded for Hunting Styles

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Wing Shooter

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This could easily fit in the ammo category, but it's also about hunting.

I've hunted only farmed pheasants in CA. In two weeks, I'll be hunting wild pheasants. It appears that most pheasants killed are flushed. What's the best 12 and 20 gauge load for flushed, wild pheasants?

I have #5 & #6 ounce-and-a-quarter 12 gauge lead shot and one-ounce 20 gauge #6 shot. Both exceed normal velocities for high base shells. If I can find a box of #5 shot lead, high base 20 gauge shells, I'll buy it.

In my youth, I disintegrated a pheasant on the flush with a one-ounce 20 gauge shell. I learned from that horrendous experience to allow a pheasant to gain distance before firing.

Does a three-quarter ounce 20 gauge shell, either #5 or #6 shot, shell at 1400 FPS sound perfect for roosters? I want to eat birds, not disintegrate them.
 
Obviously any shell/load can kill a bird since only takes one pellet. You will find wild pheasants are harder to kill then pen raised. They tend to flush at greater distance, are faster flying and have heavier feathering making them harder to kill. For a first time wild pheasant hunter I would recommend the 12 gauge 1 1/4 oz loads with number 5’s.

Good luck and enjoy your hunt.
 
Goosemaster said:
It's hard to not shoot when they are close. It's instinctive to shoot.
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If I've got a couple in the bag and can relax, once in a while I can reframe from pulling up for a second or to but if I shoulder the gun then wait, I'll miss every time. Goose is correct, shoot when the bead is on. As far as shells go, your fine with your choices, but don't go with an oz. Remember these are not going to be pen raised birds your chances are much larger at this time of year of getting 30-40 yard shots than at your feet flushes.
 
birddude said:
If I've got a couple in the bag and can relax, once in a while I can reframe from pulling up for a second or to but if I shoulder the gun then wait, I'll miss every time. Goose is correct, shoot when the bead is on. As far as shells go, your fine with your choices, but don't go with an oz. Remember these are not going to be pen raised birds your chances are much larger at this time of year of getting 30-40 yard shots than at your feet flushes.
Click to expand...
I meant 3/4. Don't go with the 3/4. I shoot a lot of pen raised chuckers. Mainly because they get a lot better altitude than quail and most pheasants, which is safer for my grandsons. I don't even like 3/4/ for them. 1 oz of 6's in a 20 for pen raised. 1 1/4 4s for wild pheasants!
 
Here's a previous post of mine on your topic. Hope this helps and good luck!

Inside of 40 yards, the No. 6 lead pellet is adequate for pheasants, but when shots start getting on the long side of 40 yards, you’ll probably be better off with the No. 5 lead pellet! Of course, you’ll need to choke your load appropriately, regardless of shot size, to maintain adequate pattern density for the typical distance of your shots.

Here are a few of my pattern numbers from 20- and 12-gauge lead loads, that I’ve shot pheasants with, to give you an idea of the kind of performance you might get from similar loads and chokes.

Patterns from 20- and 12-gauge Browning Citoris 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).

20 GA 2 ¾” RELOAD (BLUE DOT)
1 oz #6 lead (233 pellets) @ 1200 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 147 (63%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 168 (72%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 146 (63%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 163 (70%)

20 GA 3" RELOAD (BLUE DOT)
1 1/8 oz #5 lead (190 pellets) @ 1200 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 140 (74%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 150 (80%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 138 (73%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 147 (77%)

12 GA 2 ¾” RELOAD (GREEN DOT)
1 1/8 oz #6 lead (267 pellets) @ 1225 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 171 (69%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 211 (79%)
40 YARDS – LM / pattern 173 (65%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 182 (68%)

12 GA 2 ¾” RELOAD (UNIQUE)
1 1/4 oz #5 lead (210 pellets) @ 1225 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 145 (69%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 177 (84%)
40 YARDS – LM / pattern 155 (74%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 155 (74%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 174 (83%)
50 YARDS – IM / pattern 125 (60%)
 
I'm assuming you don't need non-tox shot. If you don't know it would be wise to check. Otherwise the 1 1/4 Oz loads in 5 or 6 shot will work. Good luck.
 
If you do need nontoxic shot loads, here's a previous post of mine that may be helpful.

When using steel loads on pheasants, it is best to go with loads that contain #2 or #3 steel pellets. Steel shot lethality research conducted on pheasants by Tom Roster showed #2 steel to be more effective (at all ranges) than either #6 or #4 steel. Yes, #4 or #6 steel loads will kill'em, but a little extra pellet energy is a good thing on wild pheasants where shots are often taken at going-away angles and can get on the long side. The research also showed that #2 steel resulted in fewer cripples than both #6 and #4 steel and Roster speculated that the #3 steel pellet would be a good compromise between pellet count and downrange energy.

You might want to google the study to find a link to it. Steel Shot for Pheasants | North Dakota Fishing and Hunting Forum (nodakoutdoors.com)

Here are a few of my 20- and 12-gauge pattern numbers to give you an idea of how #3 and #2 steel loads perform, in my gun/chokes anyway!

Patterning results from a 20-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).

20 GA 3" WINCHESTER DRYLOK SUPER-X STEEL LOAD
1 oz #3 steel (145 pellets) @ 1330 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 114 (78%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 123 (85%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 106 (73%)
40 YARDS – LF / pattern 110 (76%)

20 GA 3" REMINGTON NITRO-STEEL MAGNUM LOAD
1 oz #2 steel (118 pellets) @ 1330 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 101 (86%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 105 (89%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 99 (84%)
40 YARDS – LF / pattern 102 (86%)

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 ¾” REMINGTON SPORTSMAN HI-SPEED STEEL LOAD
1 1/8 oz #2 steel (139 pellets) @ 1375 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 116 (83%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 129 (93%)
40 YARDS – IC / pattern 111 (80%)
40 YARDS – LM / pattern 114 (82%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 114 (82%)
50 YARDS – LF / pattern 100 (72%)
50 YARDS – F / pattern 106 (76%)

As you can see, there wasn't much difference between the IC, LM and M chokes with this steel load at 40 yards, and the LM and M both registered the same 5-shot pattern average!

Hope this helps, good luck!
 
My trip is booked with a Kansas outfitter, so I'll be able to use lead.

My thought was to replicate a 28 gauge pheasant load; same shot weight but with higher velocity.

From memory alone, one of the upland hunters I knew in my youth used a 12 gauge with W-W upland load of an once-and-an-eighth of shot. I want to guess he used #6 shot for pheasant & 7 1/2 shot for wild quail and dove. He loved that load for all upland game. Pheasants we hunted were farmed, not wild.

The private club where we hunted farmed pheasants had a strict limit of maximum shot size and velocity which were under normal pheasant loads.

I didn't like the idea of kicking farmed birds to get them airborne, so I never returned to that club.
 
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