| Top-Performing Pheasant Guns & Loads | |
This wingshooting veteran has used a number of shotguns and loads over the years; here is what’s worked for him in the field.
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the beginning of my pheasant hunting career I used a 12-gauge autoloader and
made most of the common greenhorn mistakes. One was using too much choke. Another
was using more powerful loads than I actually needed. I also started out with
too small a shot size. A mature cock pheasant is a tough cookie, one that, pound
for pound, takes a lot more to kill than all other North American game birds
with the exception of the wild turkey. I really can’t explain why, but
some game birds are far more tenacious of life than others. The chukar partridge,
for example, is considerably larger than the bobwhite quail and yet it seems
to give up the ghost with a hit that would still allow a bob to escape wounded
on foot. Like the bobwhite, a mature cock pheasant can soak up lots of lead
without missing a single wing beat, but its larger body size makes it even more
difficult to bring down.
Liberated pheasants
hunted on preserves look the same and weigh the same as their country cousins
who hatch out and grow up in the wilds, and they can be just as tough to kill,
but as a rule the preserve pheasant holds better for a pointing dog and in doing
so allows the hunter to walk in closer before flushing. There are, however,
exceptions to those and other rules. I’ve killed many wild pheasants inside
20 yards and just about as many beyond 30 yards. I have also bagged wild-flushing
commercially raised birds that wouldn’t allow me or my dog to approach
closer than 35 or 40 yards. But if I had to guess, I’d say my average shot
on wild birds is more in the neighborhood of 20 to 30 yards while most of the
preserve birds I kill bite the dust no farther away than 20 yards from the muzzle
of my shotgun. The fact that preserve pheasants are usually shot at closer ranges
allows hunters to either use some of the lighter loads in the 12 gauge or leave
the 12 bore at home and hunt with one of the smaller gauges.
There are those
who will use no choke other than Full when hunting pheasant, but most hunters
are better off with more open chokes. Improved Cylinder is probably as close
as we’ll ever get to ideal for pumps and autoloaders. And if a better combination
than Improved Cylinder and Modified ever becomes available for double-barrel
guns, I’ll be the first to stand in line. When hunting preserve birds I
usually use even less choke—Skeet being my first choice for an autoloader
and Skeet and Improved Cylinder my favorite duo for doubles.
The most popular
shot sizes among pheasant hunters are No. 6 and No. 7 1/2. The latter is okay
for most preserve birds, and I have even used 8s with some success there as
well. But if all the dope and data on what it takes to consistently kill pheasants
stone dead from all angles and at various distances were fed into a computer,
the machine would likely belch a great cloud of smoke and choose No. 6 shot
with No. 5 in a very close second place. Smaller shot sizes work okay at closer
ranges, but they lack the ability to break heavy bones and penetrate to the
vitals of a bird at longer distances. No. 4 shot is great if enough choke is
used to keep pattern core density high, but I’d really rather have No.
5 or No. 6 and less choke. When choosing between the two I prefer to go with
5s so long as the shot charge weighs no less than 1 1/4 ounces, but I always
choose 6s when using lighter shot charges in order to keep pattern density high.
Before leaving
the subject I must mention that the use of nontoxic shot is now required in
some areas of the country regardless of the game being hunted. Hunters who go
after pheasant and other game birds in those areas can no longer use lead shot,
which is the same as it has been for waterfowl for several years now. Steel
shot works okay on pheasant so long as pellet diameter is a couple sizes larger
than lead. For example, those who prefer No. 6 lead shot would go with No. 4
steel while fans of No. 4 lead shot would opt for No. 2 steel. When using nontoxic
shot such as Tungsten-Polymer, Tungsten-Matrix, and Bismuth, use the same-size
shot as lead since all have similar densities. Those types of shot are actually
superior to steel. While considerably more expensive, a good wingshot isn’t
likely to spend a fortune on shells with today’s daily game bag limits
on pheasant being what they are. Actually, anyone who desires to use an older
gun built prior to the steel shot days has no choice but to use one of the other
nontoxic options.
12 Gauge
Each year more
pheasants are bagged with the 12-gauge shotshell than with all the other gauges
combined, and it is easy to see why. While many who choose the 12 do so because
of its heavier payload compared to the smaller gauges, there are those who also
recognize its tremendous flexibility. Regardless of whether you need a relatively
light load for preserve hunting or a heavy load for long-range gunning, the
12 gauge has all the bases covered.
I
prefer the smaller gauges for preserve hunting because I enjoy being in the
field with trim and quick-handling guns, and on those rare occasions when I
do use the 12, a light 7/8-ounce or one-ounce load that duplicates 28-gauge
and 20-gauge field load performance is what I’m likely to choose. On the
other hand, when hunting long-flushing wild birds, I reach for premium-grade
shells with heavier payloads. An excellent combination for a double-barrel gun
is 1 1/8 ounce of 6s in the first barrel and 1 1/4 ounces of 4s or 5s held in
reserve for any second shot that might be needed. The single best all-around
load for pumps might just be 1 1/8 ounces of 5s exiting the muzzle at 1200 fps
or so.
Without doubt,
some of the deadliest 12-gauge handloads I have ever used on pheasant are built
around Hodgdon’s LONGSHOT powder. The load I first tried on a Kansas hunt
consisted of a Remington STS case, Winchester 209 primer, 32.0 grains of LONGSHOT,
Remington’s Figure-8 wad, and 1 1/8 ounces of No. 6 nickel-plated shot.
Velocity in the 28-inch barrels of my Krieghoff 32 averages just over 1500 fps.
Believe me when I say this combination really hammers them from the sky.
20
Gauge
I use the 20 gauge
on more pheasant hunts than any other gauge mainly because I like the way some
of the guns chambered for it handle and feel. I like an over/under with three-inch
chambers due to the fact that it allows me to use more of a variety of loads
than a 2 3/4-inch gun. My favorites are 1960s-vintage guns, a Browning Superposed
Lightning and a Winchester 101.
The factory loads
I prefer for pheasant are premium-grade—Winchester’s Supreme, Premium
Lead from Federal, and Remington’s Premier Magnum, all loaded with copper-plated
shot. When birds are holding tight for the dog and flushing close to the toes
of my boots, I like an ounce of No. 7 1/2 shot, but those days are rare so I
more often use heavier loads.
A tough combination
to beat when hunting with an over/under is a 2 3/4-inch load with
1 1/8 ounce of 6s in the bottom barrel and a three-inch shell with 1 1/4 ounces
of 5s for the second shot if needed. The chokes I use with that combo are Improved
Cylinder (.009 inch of constriction) down below and Improved Modified (.018
inch) up top; any ringneck that flushes no farther away than 35 yards from my
gun is in lots of trouble.
Page Two -28 Gauge, .410 Bore, Guns For Pheasant
This article was originally published in Shooting Times Gun Guide 2001 in 2001.
