Sellier and Bellot Red Pheasant loads

Rooster Rush

New member
Good day folks. Been lurking for awhile, and finally making my first post. I was at a local gun shop today, and saw some Sellier and Bellot Red Pheasant loads which intrigued me. They were 12 ga. 2 3/4, 1 1/4 oz loads, with paper hull and low base construction. Was wondering if any of you out there have used or heard anything about these? I know S&B is geared more toward the Euro shooter, with traditional short lengths and low velocity/pressures. Have been using various brands of the good ol 1 1/4 1330 fps high brass for lead on Pheasants for awhile now. Any info is appreciated!
 
Thank you! Glad I found this fourm. Seems like good folks here. I didn't have high hopes for much info on these shells. Lol.
 
Some of us remember the additional, post-firing, benefit of a waxed paper shell as we waited in a duck blind in various mid-western swamps. They make handy hand-warmers on cold and windy days. Just light and cup your hands over them.

You may be pleasantly surprised at the efficacy of the shells once you become accustomed to them.


Welcome.
 
Or maybe people will again learn why plastic hulls replaced paper hulls.

You know, when moisture infiltrates the paper and the hull either fails to feed, or gets stuck in the chamber. Either way, the gun is disabled.
 
Huh, interesting. Google gets only 1 hit. https://www.deguns.net/sellier-bellot-red-pheasant-12ga-2-3-4-1-1-4oz-5-v153352u-754908550388/p
Search the SKU & UPC that website gives to no avail.
Did you actually take a shell out & look at it? Was there a picture of any sort on it?
My guess would be that the velocity is in the 1200-1250 fps range.
What was the shot size? I'm guessing it's a European designation, in which case, the actual US size is 1 size smaller physically (bigger in #).
Years ago I had a bunch of 16 gauge S&B shells that were just under 1 oz & US size 6 at about 1200 fps.
They patterned beautifully in my gun & killed roosters real well out to about 30-35 yards, as long as it wasn't a straight-away shot.
 
Yeah A5, I found nothing on their website either. Opened box, and they were a red paper hull with black print, #5 shot, 1 1/4 load.(Not sure if US or Euro size) Intrestingly, the pic on the box was a black hull with metallic red S&B logo, not like shells in box. No velocity was stated on box, though I figured them to likely be low 1200 range. Staff at store was busy helping others with gun sales, so didn't bother them to ask.
 
Howdy and welcome o the forum from The Free State of North Dakota, Double R!

Put this in your "For What It's Worth" file. In my formative days learning my hunting chops in the mid-60s, my shotgun was a side by side .410 hammer gun made in Spain (you could buy them pretty much anywhere back then, wish I had a safe full now), and plastic hulled shotgun shells where just making their appearance in the bigger gauges. About the only truly waterproof hunting coats were costly waxed canvas, and most got by with a brown cotton duck coat that was anything but waterproof. Well, I and my couple boxes of shells had been well and truly soaked the week before Dad took us 250 miles north to our lake cabin, where we often duck hunted in a WPA across the road. When we got into our blind Saturday morning, I found my waterlogged shells had swollen and I couldn't chamber them. My Dad was not really the sympathetic sort, followed the Rule Of The 7 Ps to the letter (proper prior planning prevents piss-poor performance), and firmly believed lessons learned with some pain were lessons that stuck with us kids. No way he was driving to town for shells that weekend, so I had to sit in the blind all morning and watch he, my brother, and uncle shoot ducks. The lesson I took away was to do a better job TCO of my gear and when plastic hulled .410 shells were available, never again buy waxed paper shells...
 
Thanks for the welcome Labs. I've never shot paper hulls, nor have seen any in a field load like these around these parts. Thanks for the story/info on keeping em dry too.
 
I'm gettin old enough to be nostalgic and I love paper shells. But there ain't no denying that they will swell a little in the moisture.
 
I'm gettin old enough to be nostalgic and I love paper shells. But there ain't no denying that they will swell a little in the moisture.
Post-Script to my above paper hull shell anecdote. After everyone else shot ducks that morning and dad made it abundantly clear he wasn't driving me into Alexandria (Mn) for more shells, I spent Saturday afternoon and evening drying out my waterlogged shells. Then with my pocket knife (back then no boy left the house without a pocket knife and a clean white hankie, and I still don't...), I whittled away at those shells until they fit in the chambers of my trusty .410. Amazingly, every one I shot Sunday morning went off...
 
Paper shell are cool. They load and crimp well. They smell great after being fired...on a target range.

As much as I appreciate nostalgia. I do. I hunt with guns that are much older than I am.

However, I never want to whittle my shells to fit in my gun.
 
I hear ya, but still a great story and you got the job done. It brought back some memories for me of doing similar things.
 
Oh, I do not disagree. It's a great story and got the job done.

As a kid, at times I hunted with paper shotshells.

I have no fond nostalgia for wet stuck cartridges and misfires.
 
No advice or anything of the sort related to paper shotshells nor do I want to have any. I am baffled that people (in general) not use
the "best" ammo that they can find available. I simply would not venture out hunting without the best equipment for a variety of
reasons. The days in the field are so few compared to your everyday life that I want to maximize my chances for success. I want a
quality shotgun and quality shotgun shells. I am huge proponent of both Beretta guns and Hevishot Shotgun shells. To me, they
are simply the BEST
 
No advice or anything of the sort related to paper shotshells nor do I want to have any. I am baffled that people (in general) not use
the "best" ammo that they can find available. I simply would not venture out hunting without the best equipment for a variety of
reasons. The days in the field are so few compared to your everyday life that I want to maximize my chances for success. I want a
quality shotgun and quality shotgun shells. I am huge proponent of both Beretta guns and Hevishot Shotgun shells. To me, they
are simply the BEST
For the same reason some guys hunt with black powder shotguns, or more to your point, O/U or SxS that cost more than a good used low mileage 4WD truck. To some, particularly we who have been hunting a good number of decades, the experience is more important than the end result of a limit of birds...
 
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