Shooting Pheasants

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Michealdavis

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Went out yesterday and chased up 4 roosters 3 were maybe 40 yards out which I did not shoot at. 1 was flying directly towards me and I missed it. So my question is how far away will you shoot birds and what shot will you use. The reason I did not shoot the ones 40 yards away was because on opener we shot a couple birds within 20 yards and the dog brought them back alive. We were using #4 shot
 
Lots of variables to your question beyond distance and shot size. Choke, quality of shot(lead, steel, nickel plated), direction flying, where hit amongst others. 40 yards are within range when I am hunting. I only use nickel plated lead typically travelling 1200 FPS or faster with LM and Mod chokes. Either 4,5 or 6 shot depending on my mood that day and what shells I may grab.
 
Michealdavis said:
Went out yesterday and chased up 4 roosters 3 were maybe 40 yards out which I did not shoot at. 1 was flying directly towards me and I missed it. So my question is how far away will you shoot birds and what shot will you use. The reason I did not shoot the ones 40 yards away was because on opener we shot a couple birds within 20 yards and the dog brought them back alive. We were using #4 shot
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I'd like to know what choke and gauge gun you are using. The one problem that I see with #4 shot is that as the distance gets a little longer there can be some holes in the pattern due to lack of shot density. I personally prefer 5 or 6 shot for a denser pattern. If you are shooting a 12 ga. with let's say a Modified choke and using 5 or 6 shot you should have no problem killing pheasants out to 40 yds. and even a little beyond. If the birds you shot at 20 yds. were still alive you were not centering them up in the pattern. At 20 yds. if you square a pheasant up you are going to pretty much shred it.
 
Gotta’ know your limits, me that would be my maximum if they got up at forty yards. If there are lots of birds I would probably pass on it. By the time you get the shot off they will be much further if flying at all away from you. Then I try very hard to make clean kills.

I use 1.25 oz of #4 lead in 12 gauge modified.
 
McFarmer said:
Gotta’ know your limits, me that would be my maximum if they got up at forty yards. If there are lots of birds I would probably pass on it. By the time you get the shot off they will be much further if flying at all away from you. Then I try very hard to make clean kills.

I use 1.25 oz of #4 lead in 12 gauge modified.
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I am with you. I have never been a sky blaster but I have hunted with plenty that will continue to shoot at at 60 or more yards. I have also watched plenty sail off with a leg down or surely a couple pellets in it. sure to die at some point. I shoot a 16 with either 4 or 5 shot. When I hunted behind pointers I would shoot 6's as your shots typically will be closer.
 
I think #4 lead can be very useful in certain situations IMO. Windy days especially. Birds get spooky on windy days and that usually means longer shots. On very cold days when the air is very dense the larger pellet size of a #4 gives you that added advantage as well.

That being said. We'll assume that a 12 gauge is being used as the load sizes typically available in a smaller gauge normally doesn't lend itself to #4 unless using a lot of choke. If you look at the chart below you'll see that to get the equivalent pellet count in a load of 1.25 oz of #5 shot you would need to go up to a 1.5 oz or possibly 1 5/8 oz of #4. Not exactly equal but close enough. You split the difference with a 1 3/8 oz of #4. I've personally had good results with 1 3/8 oz of #4 using a mod choke. You can cleary see that the 1.25 oz of #4 is seriously lacking in pellet count when compared to #5 in the same load size.

So the moral of the story is if you going to go up to a #4 lead pellet you need to increase the load size to get a comparable pellet count as the old standard 1.25 #5. I too agree that #5 is a great all around pellet size for Pheasants at any range within reason. It's those exceptional days when the birds are spooky and or the wind is howling that the #4 will be a superior choice for it's added performance under those conditions.


pellet count.PNG
 
Dakotazeb said:
I'd like to know what choke and gauge gun you are using. The one problem that I see with #4 shot is that as the distance gets a little longer there can be some holes in the pattern due to lack of shot density. I personally prefer 5 or 6 shot for a denser pattern. If you are shooting a 12 ga. with let's say a Modified choke and using 5 or 6 shot you should have no problem killing pheasants out to 40 yds. and even a little beyond. If the birds you shot at 20 yds. were still alive you were not centering them up in the pattern. At 20 yds. if you square a pheasant up you are going to pretty much shred it.
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Im shooting a 12 gauge #4 shot 3 inch shells with a modified choke-0.20 on top barrel and a impmod-0.25 on bottom barrel. I need some serious help with something because im shooting birds and they are getting hit but there running after getting shot.
 
It’s not the ammunition or the gun, so…

However, I would take the shotgun and shells to a pattern paper and see what the result is. May be the actual thrown choke is not what is written on the tin.
 
All my life I have shot a 16 with a full choke. I love 5 shot but have used 6 shot and will use 4s late season. This has worked well for me.
 
I hunted the first 10 days of the SD season, shot 2 3/4” lead #5’s @ 1220 fps from an IC choke out of my 12 gauge Benelli ultralight. Killed well over 2 dozen, lost a couple. That kill total included those shot on public, where I shot 3” hevi metal #3 shot. While in ND a few weeks ago I shot 1 1/8 oz # 6 shot from my 16 gauge O/U with skt/IC chokes, worked very well. I think it’s where you’re hitting them. Gretzky skated to where the puck was gonna be, not where it was; shoot birds that way…it works!
 
3 inch shells typically don't pattern as well as 2 3/4. You need to pattern with a couple different loads to see what your gun likes. 6's always seem to pattern a little better than 5's. I would never shoot 4's at anything. I don't care how good you shoot, and I shoot excellent, your going to have runners. That's where your dog comes into play. I have had them run a 1/2 mile and my dogs recover them. I like to knock them dead, but about 1/3 or more will run and I figure if I can get them to the ground, my dogs will find them. I dropped one dead a few years ago, and stepped it off at 52 yds. I have shot several at that distance. Kent Fast Lead 6's out of my 12 gauge IC and Fiocchi Goldent pheasant 6's from the 20 gauge with a light modified but I prefer the Browning BXD's #5 from the 20 but you can't get them right now.
 
Shot placement is the key for me. Especially at 20 yards. I know we all know what we're supposed to do, but in the heat of the moment sometimes that doesn't happen. There's a fine line between those red circles and green circles. Green circles are dead in the air. Red circles produce lots of feathers, and possibly a runner. If you pheasant hunt enough you will have runners, I just try to keep it to a minimum. I hope you figure out the issue. This is just a thought that came to mind.
 

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Patterning lets you know where the center of your shot spread is relative to the actual, not subjective, aim point. My Browning 625 12 ga. patterns 60% above and 40% below the true, not subjective, aim point. This centers the pattern on the bird when you can see the entire bird above the sight.
 
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BritChaser said:
Patterning lets you know where the center of your shot spread is relative to your aim point. My Browning 625 12 ga. patterns 60% above and 40% below the aim point. This centers the pattern on the bird when you can see the entire bird above the sight.
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That's where the shims and gun fit come into play.
 
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