Your opinion about my 20-guage, please.

Hello All,

Like you, I love to hunt pheasants. However, I have not had the opportunity to go for awhile. This season I scored a great invite by a friend who hunts a bunch of private ground near Garden City, KS. He stays on the farm in a bunk house and never goes to town until he heads home. Sounds like a sweet deal!

I will be breaking in a new Browning 525 Special Field. The 20-guage has 28-inch barrels, a three-inch chamaber and is my dream gun. It took years to be able to buy it but now it calls my place home.

My question is, what do you guys prefer in the way of shell length, shot size and chokes? For example, do you like three-inch loads with #6 shot fired through modified over improved chokes? How about some other favorite combination? Does it really matter to you? Any thought you have would be helpful and appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Sounds like a fine gun. I prefer to shoot skeet first and then modified. I see no need for 3 inch shells and would shoot 5's in the skeet barrel and 4's in the other.
 
What Game Birds are we talking here? It would really help us in forming a good answer. One more thing are you using a flushing type dog or a pointer. That makes things a little different too......Bob
 
Hello All,

Like you, I love to hunt pheasants. However, I have not had the opportunity to go for awhile. This season I scored a great invite by a friend who hunts a bunch of private ground near Garden City, KS. He stays on the farm in a bunk house and never goes to town until he heads home. Sounds like a sweet deal!

I will be breaking in a new Browning 525 Special Field. The 20-guage has 28-inch barrels, a three-inch chamaber and is my dream gun. It took years to be able to buy it but now it calls my place home.

My question is, what do you guys prefer in the way of shell length, shot size and chokes? For example, do you like three-inch loads with #6 shot fired through modified over improved chokes? How about some other favorite combination? Does it really matter to you? Any thought you have would be helpful and appreciated.

Thanks!
dang good gun lots of trap guys use it for there fav
 
I used a 20 gauge exclusively for many many years and never had any more trouble killing birds than my 12 gauge carrying buddies. That being said though, I used premium ammo like the long gone Federal Hi-Powers and the Winchester Super X One in #6. Don't buy the cheap (relatively speaking) promo loads for $5-7 box, get the ones that sell for $12-15 like Fiochi Golden Pheasant, the Federal Pheasant loads or the Winchester High Brass with this designation X206, not XU206. I have hunted over dogs for the last 20+ years an favored open chokes like cyl bore early in the season, improved cylinder and modified later in the year.

Good luck
 
open your choke and use a heavy load

I hunted with a slow springer for 11 yrs so most shots were under 35 yrs, and many under 20. I used a side by side 20 G with cyl and IC chokes. Using open chokes like that I felt best using 3" 1 1/4oz of #6 shot. If I were to use 1oz of shot in 2 3/4" shell I would use IC and M choke. Now that I am in my 60's, slower and have a wider ranging springer I am using a 20G auto with a M choke. Now most of my shots are over 30 yds. I still use same shells. With either gun I hit about 85%. Just my results, by no means the only way to go. This is for Pheasants.
 
The 525 is a sweet shootin iron. Congrats on getting your dream gun.

My favorite 20ga Pheasant load is 3" 1.25oz of #5, 6 or 7.5 depending on how jumpy they are. In thick woodsy fence lines and creek bottoms lines with tree's and brush. I like the 7.5 shot. Out in the open where flushes can get a little more distance. I like to step up my shot size to 5 or 6's. I like at least a LT Mod choke. Maybe LT Mod and Mod. Then going to a Mod/Imp Mod or even full later in the year when birds are smart and can jump at greater distance.

Fioochi Golden Pheasant are my favorite brand for Pheasant load with both quality and a fair price. The big name American ammo company's tend to be as much as $10.00 a box more then Golden Pheasant loads.
 
I shoot only 28's & 20's. 2 3/4" 6's & 7 1/2's. Recognize range limitations, put a bird in the pattern, and it falls. Nice gun you have there; enjoy & good luck. Oh, and in my doubles I use IC & IM (with lead shot); C & M with steel. IC in my semi-autos for both lead & steel.
 
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airmedic1

Where I live I still can get the winchester super-x shells in 6 shot.Every so often I luck out and find 4 & 5 shot of the super-x. The store I get my ammo at the 4 & 5 shot goes first then the 6 shot.It comes in 1 oz and 1.25 oz for both 2 3/4" shells and 3" shells of 20 ga.. These shells are still listed on winchester's website.
 
I only use pumps just prefer it that way but if I had a 2 choke option I'd put a light modified in 1 barrel and an improved modified in the other. Tighter than most guys but I do better if a take my time and let the bird get out a bit. 3 inch golden pheasant 4's.
 
Take the time to pattern your gun with different types of ammo.
It will be eye opening. Each combination is unique to its self and a given gun.
 
For pheasants I almost exclusively hunt with e 20ga. (did the opener with my new 28ga SxS)

I've tried almost every size shell and shot over the past 35 years and have settled on 2 3/4 in 5 shot pheasant loads. I like the Fiocchi's but also use Federal's and Remingtons too. For some reason I like the smooth case over the ribbed. Maybe because they pic up less debris in my pockets, I don't know.

But I do know that the 5s give me great range 40+yds, don't destroy the bird like 4s and have good knockdown power. My one hunting partner who prefers a 20ga has come to exactly the same conclusion and he's got 8 years on me.
 
You should have bought a 10 Ga. 40 inch barrel with a 4" chamber and Ic Choke. Then gone to the Doctor for a back brace.:D 525 in 20 is a fine set up.:thumbsup::10sign: Happy hunting.
 
I shoot a 20 ga., Bng., Imp. cyl. For some reason 7.5's hit more birds, but I seem to cripple them - perhaps it's my aim? Started using 7.5 several years ago, but I think 5,6's hit harder.

Obviously the 5 or 6 shot has less pellets, hence a different pattern than the 7.5 shot. In a lead shell the 7.5 has 437 pellets (1.25) and the # 5 has 212.

In a steel shell - 507 vs 304.
 
Hello All,

Like you, I love to hunt pheasants. However, I have not had the opportunity to go for awhile. This season I scored a great invite by a friend who hunts a bunch of private ground near Garden City, KS. He stays on the farm in a bunk house and never goes to town until he heads home. Sounds like a sweet deal!

I will be breaking in a new Browning 525 Special Field. The 20-guage has 28-inch barrels, a three-inch chamaber and is my dream gun. It took years to be able to buy it but now it calls my place home.

My question is, what do you guys prefer in the way of shell length, shot size and chokes? For example, do you like three-inch loads with #6 shot fired through modified over improved chokes? How about some other favorite combination? Does it really matter to you? Any thought you have would be helpful and appreciated.

Thanks!

All that will work quite nicely. Might try nos. 5 (I/C barrel) and 4 (mod. barrel) for a little more downrange whupass. With wind, you might need to tighten up too.
 
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