Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game 7 1/2 Shot & Pheasant

[quote=BarryC]Will 7 1/2s completely penetrate a pheasant at, say, 35 yards? [/quot]

I doubt if any of the more commonly used sizes -- 6's, 5's, or even 4's -- would completely penetrate the body on a rooster on a straight-away at that range. I can't ever remember seeing and noting exit wounds on a rooster with any of 'em and I've shot hundreds or more of them in my life and with every available gun with the exception of a 10 ga. I suppose it's possible through the relative thin chest area right behind the big breast muscle on a crossing shot with 4's at that range but certainly not probable.

I would not choose 71/2's for pheasants even when using a 28. 3/4 to 7/8 oz of 6's provide a dense enough pattern even out of a 28 to thirty or so yards to be consistently effective. For the bigger gauges there is even less reason to use the smaller shot on pheasants IMO unless it's all you have for whatever reason.