Based on the Washington state (Tom Roster's 2013 nontoxic shot lethality table):
pheasants steel 3 to 2 1oz. Minimum load weight, IC or Mod choke.
Quail steel 7 5/8oz. Minimum load weight, IC or LM choke.
Large ducks over decoys steel 6 to 2, 3/4 - 1 oz. Minimum load weight, IC or Mod choke.
I went #2 steel for pheasants and ducks and #7 steel for quail and huns. Ammo is Kent fast steel both 1-1/6 oz load. I'm jump shooting ducks in small farm ponds and upland birds are shot over pointers. I'm using fixed choked IC & LM side by side 12 bore shotgun.
What I'm seeing are birds pillow cased and they keep flying, to be found later by the dogs. Drives me crazy! In lead I normally use 7-1/2's on quail and huns and 6's for pheasants 1-1/8oz loads out of the same shotgun.
What am I doing wrong other than not patterning the steel? Never thought it would matter.
I can say from from my personal experience if you are "pillow casing", which I assume you mean hitting the bird and causing feathers to fly free and the birds are flying a distance before falling you aren't using enough lead and need to do a little informal clay shooting with your preferred loads. Steel doesn't deform or transfer energy like lead. It kills mostly by penetration, so a shot that hits the body but low in the lungs and liver while making an impressive display of falling feathers will often produce delayed kills.
We don't have quail or Hungarian partridge here but I'd suggest perhaps trying Kent's 1 1/8 2 3/4" load for waterfowl and pheasants, its my preference although I shoot #3's for the most part unless geese are likely.
