What's the Consensus of Pheasant Hunters

When I was a kid, I killed a lot of game with a 20 gauge including huge jackrabbits, planted pheasants, ducks, doves, crows, and a whole lot of quail. I killed an average-sized coyote with a 20 gauge using #3 buckshot.

I used to like 3/4 ounce 20 gauge loads for dove and quail. I'm not sure if they're still manufactured.

The 20 gauge is an extremely versatile shotgun.

I was checking out shotguns for comparison. I discovered the Benelli Ethos 20 gauge with a 26" barrel weighing about 5 & 1/2 pounds. I bought it. It's being shipped to a local FFL as I write this.

I really like the Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen Lightning. If I had found one with a 26" barrel, I would have bought it.

Is Browning importing the A5 from Miroku? Miroku manufacturers quality guns. The Citori has earned an excellent reputation. I believe Miroku manufactured the A5 for a few years many decades ago. Japan is a world leader in metallurgy and baseball phenoms.

After decades of hunting the Rockies, I know from experience that heavy guns suck. All else being equal, I'll opt for the lightweight gun every time.

I'll take a Beretta 687 SP III or a Belgian Browning A5 Light Twelve. Both have 28" barrels. I'm better than average with the Light Twelve which isn't all that light. I've never fired my 687 SP III. Its intended use is waterfowl after Rocky Mountain big game tags are filled which is moot because I can't draw tags. I'm sure my new Benelli will see most field time. I've grown to appreciate lightweight everything, especially guns.

I'll check with the outfitter about shot size. From memory alone, #6 was a planted pheasant staple. Hunting conditions will probably determine shells. It'd be hard to go wrong with #5.

I have #4 20 gauge baby magnums that have to be over 50 years old. I used them for waterfowl. A dozen might be useful if birds flush far from me.

Upland hunting will get me afield. Big game tags are becoming more difficult to draw. I've been skunked 3 years in a row for every big game draw I entered. Drought conditions in the west caused reduction in tags. Next season might be worse.
 
It might have been longer than 30 years since I last drew a bead on a ringneck. It was a planted bird. I doubt that there is a wild pheasant in CA.
 
It's not the gun, its the shooter, but with shotguns the fit is critical. A 20 ga with 1.25 oz of lead in a 3" shell delivers more than enough for pheasants but is an easier gun to carry all day for quail and grouse. You can always shoot lighter loads with the 12 if you want to lug the heavier gun around all day so it really makes little difference. At my height and reach my 12 gauges fit better and I tend to shoot them better, but I still prefer to carry the 20 when grouse or quail hunting. The 16 used to be considered the best all around gun but that no longer applies. You can get 3" shells for a 20 gauge and lighter loads for the 12 gauge so the 16 gauge really does not offer any advantage and is very hard to get shells for. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like a nice 16 gauge Parker, it's just there is no practical reason to look for one so I will probably never own a 16.

If I could only have one gun it's simple, the gun the fits me and shoots the best. Gauge is not important.
 
Wing Shooter said:
After decades of hunting the Rockies, I know from experience that heavy guns suck. All else being equal, I'll opt for the lightweight gun every time.

I'll take a Beretta 687 SP III or a Belgian Browning A5 Light Twelve. Both have 28" barrels. I'm better than average with the Light Twelve which isn't all that light. I've never fired my 687 SP III. Its intended use is waterfowl after Rocky Mountain big game tags are filled which is moot because I can't draw tags. I'm sure my new Benelli will see most field time. I've grown to appreciate lightweight everything, especially guns.

I'll check with the outfitter about shot size. From memory alone, #6 was a planted pheasant staple. Hunting conditions will probably determine shells. It'd be hard to go wrong with #5.
Click to expand...
Not sure where you booked your pheasant hunt, but big game hunting in the Rockies is nothing like pheasant hunting. Don't make a big thing of the weight of the gun, unless you are at the stage you really can't tote much around. You might or might not have to high step through deep cover and maybe some snow, but the ground should be some what flat, not rocky/slippery and no attitude to deal with.

6s will be great over dogs, denser patterns, but maybe not quite the range and more pellets left in the bird than using 5s. 4s will work too, shoot what you have (or can find), within reason.
 
I pick my guns by how good I look with them. Get a full-length mirror, put on your hunting duds and practice different poses with it. Don't forget to try the squatting position a lot of people forget that one. If your ugly like me get one with a lot of scroll work and maybe some gold inlay:)
 
birddude said:
I pick my guns by how good I look with them. Get a full-length mirror, put on your hunting duds and practice different poses with it. Don't forget to try the squatting position a lot of people forget that one. If your ugly like me get one with a lot of scroll work and maybe some gold inlay:)
Click to expand...
I use your technique when I'm picking women ;-)

I love your sense of humor. Keep it coming.
 
My outfitter returned my email. He wrote that my Benelli will kill roosters. He's assuming I can place shot on birds winging without necessity of prayer. I might have to call in artillery strikes ;-)

He recommended 4, 5, & 6 shot. I'm thinking potshot, lucky shots, and a shot in the darr. Even Inspector Clouseau got caught bagging crows without a hunting license:


Actually, my hand-eye coordination has remained above average. It's those danged game animals that confound my best hatched guesses by pullin' every trick in the book. Trout and upland game must telepathize cheating techniques. It's a known and scientifically proven fact among frustrated fishermen that trout are notorious cheaters. I'm assuming upland game learned cheating techniques by attending trout schools. Besides, fish tails ain't lyin'. It's rationalized response to trout treachery. There ain't no reason preventing birds from conducting hovering maneuvers thus giving hunters a sporting chance.

birddude up and dusted off my sense of humor.
 
My hand-eye coordination was just slightly behind average when I last had it tested. Just take your time and put the bead on its beak and then pull the trigger as you swing with the bird. It sounds like it will surprise you with what happens next. Make sure you have the IC (improved cylinder) choke tube in the new gun when it shows up. It will make-up for some shooting short comings, that is my tip of the week. I do trust that "hand-eye coordination" line was meant to be funny, it was. Post some pics of the adventure and give us a report how it went.
 
Hi birddude,

I appreciate beautiful guns as much as any hunter/shooter. However, the most beautiful gun ever made is useless if it isn't accurate and reliable. Hence, my two nonnegotiable parts of hunting gun buying are superb accuracy and as close to 100% reliability as a mechanical device can get.

I have a Sako 7MM Rem Mag that had a gorgeous stock. That rifle will shoot .25". It has been 100% reliable. Through seasons of hunting the Rockies, it has acquired endearing characteristics of a well-used rifle. I look at them as reminders of adventures.

If a 25-year-old hunting gun looks like it just came off a store shelf, its owner hasn't exposed it to its intended use.

I'm thinking of buying another Ethos, a 12 gauge with a 26" barrel. It is a beautiful gun, but that isn't why I bought one and might buy another. Benelli has earned an excellent reputation for reliability. If I can't trust a hunting gun while I'm in a game field, I might as well stay home and watch reruns of The Honeymooners.

I'm mostly an upland game hunter. However, I do know high mountain lakes in the Rockies where waterfowl congregate during big game seasons. Using new math matriculated with revised history, mixed in with the recently adopted periodic table of compounds that's expressed in English sans grammar, I could bag a couple ducks or a goose for camp dinner.

Based on my long ago experiences hunting waterfowl, a 20 gauge will kill ducks and geese, but at much closer ranges. The last time I killed a duck, it was with a 20 gauge using lead shot. Because waterfowl is all steel shot, I'm not sure how a 20 gauge would perform on ducks, and I doubt it would be worth the risk of wounding a goose. I can be slow to follow obvious clues, but I caught on pretty darn fast that waterfowl guns are dominated by semiauto 12 gauges in camouflage patterns. Many waterfowl shotguns are chambered for 3 & 1/2 shells. I got it. Steel shot requires larger size shot in big shells.

I bought an O/U for big game season waterfowl. Ducks fly just shy of the speed of light. Unless they're fins down on decoys, a hunter will be fortunate to get one good shot at a low flying quacker. If he misses his first shot, probability of flying feathers diminishes with succeeding shots. Hence, an O/U with different choke tubes. I have no clue about waterfowl bag limits, but I couldn't see myself shooting more than two honkers. Those are huge birds. One would feed a camp of big game hunters or an average family. Two adult mallards would feed a hunting camp.

I'm anticipating learning a lot about pheasant hunting on my upcoming trip. I'll trade knowledge gained for a bird or two. If my skills haven't hightailed it on me, I'm going to ask the lodge chef whether it's possible to prepare a fresh pheasant dinner, assuming I manage to down one.
 
You'll be fine. You might have the usual problems like keeping your eyes off that big, beautiful tail and not the head. But everyone has that problem good luck and let us know how it goes!
 
Benelli Montefeltro 20-gauge youth model. Love, love, love. Steel shot 3-inch shells #4s before the snow, #2s after it snows. Works great in grouse cover too. Snappy up to the shoulder.
 
20 gauge has never let me down. Last year I added my 16 ga sidexside and it didn’t disappoint either. I bought a 12 gauge for shooting trap with the high school team and I’ll probably use it next season too.

#5 seems to be the consensus favorite with the group I hunt with no matter the gauge. I used some #6 in my 16 ga and it performed very well. I also used some #4 in 20 ga that did the trick. All pattern well. Pick your gauge, get some shells, and pattern the gun and choke combo and have a great time.
 
Just got back from our annual SD trip hunting all public land and me and the 2 other guys I was with had no issues shooting birds with our 28GA's and boss #5's out of MOD or LMOD chokes out to 40yds. Like others have said the higher the gauge 20/28/.410 your shooting is going to have to be a little bit better as you lose pellet count.
 
Sorry I’m late to the thread. Still may be able to save some of you. 20 gauge is a woman’s shotgun. Give your 20 gauge a peck on the cheek and put it back in the kitchen. Grab the 12 and bring home the bacon. Keep yer powder dry and run em to me.
 
waterdog09 said:
Just got back from our annual SD trip hunting all public land and me and the 2 other guys I was with had no issues shooting birds with our 28GA's and boss #5's out of MOD or LMOD chokes out to 40yds. Like others have said the higher the gauge 20/28/.410 your shooting is going to have to be a little bit better as you lose pellet count.
Click to expand...
What's the deal with Boss? Is it that much better that the rest?
 
birddude said:
What's the deal with Boss? Is it that much better that the rest?
Click to expand...
I don't know but after reviewing reviews, I bought 3 boxes. With that big storm coming thru I may not be able to test them this year. Dude I have only heard great reviews on them...
 
Last edited:
The 20 is good for good shots (and good women shooters too!) but for an all-round pheasant gun I'll take the 16 gauge and 1 1/8 ounces of Remington Express, or in late season /hurricane winds, Boss #5's. The new A5 or the modified choke Model 12 Winchester 16's are easy to carry, hard on the roosters. If the 16 with above loads didn't kill 'em then you didn't point the gun right...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top