Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Anyone Use a 20 Gauge For Pheasants?

I've never carried anything but a 20 ga. for pheasants, usually with #6 shot.
I've been carrying an Ithaca M37 choked IC for years, but recently found my "holy grail", a 1960 Superposed in 20 ga., so I'm anxiously awaiting the season opener this year.

You're going to love toting' that new Citori this Fall! Enjoy.

Jeff

Why no passing shots that are in range in that there are more vitals exposed than going away?


Addition: Perhaps I misunderstood. You will shoot at crossing Pheasants as long as your Dog put them up. However, not at Birds that just happen to be passing by.


If so, and I'm now thinking that is what you meant, well done.

I often use the term crossing and passing interchangeably.

Said it before, but that Merkel is one nice shotgun.

I would love to carry a 20 ga. but where I hunt its nontox shot and I am usually doing ducks early and pheasants after lunch so I shoot the same gun and load. Benelli M1 and 3" #3 steel. I'm looking at a light 20 ga. auto and if I ever get a chance to hunt where lead is legal I will definatly try the 20 ga. with an ounce load.

I was just admiring that shotgun as well. Ok.. the entire picture.

I kill a lot of waterfowl including geese with a 3" 20 gauge and while I have to admit finding a good patterning load of steel shot larger than #3 can be a challenge. If you load your own shells the heavier than steel shots certainly add an extra dimension to the capabilities of the 20. 7/8-1oz of steel at 1400-1500 fps kills ducks, pheasants and with skilled shooting geese over the decoys just as well as a 12 gauge. You are doing yourself a disservice by not hunting with the 20, if you truly want to.

Grew up using a Ithaca M37 Featherlight in 20 ga for pheasants and quail. Used a lot of #8 game loads for the first shot backed up with some stout #6's

Hadn't been on the fire in a couple days. Thanks for the follow up everyone! I figured a 20 O/U would be a nice light gun to carry but was a little nervous with the iffy feedback elsewhere. I'll get some 5's and 6's and see what it likes. Being this is my first over/under, how would you recommend configuring the chokes on the gun? I was thinking IC on the first barrel and Mod on the second. Any other recommendations or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

The only gun I use for pheasants these days is a 20

I have two of them.....one a featherlight citori......a very light weight gun and it's a dream to carry and kills pheasants as good as any 12 I've owned.

The other is a Binelli ultralight 20 ga.....another extremely light gun.....both are chambered for 3" but I find that using federal trap hulls (same as estate) and IMR 800X with a full ounce of #5 shot (sub #4 or #6 if you wish) one can reach the velocity of the standard 12 Ga and the 1/4 Oz of missing shot isn't at all a severe loss.....as a matter of fact it's an advantage in early season hunting as 1 1/4 Oz is far too much to swat a rooster with.

The lightweight 20s help one to get off a somewhat faster aimed shot and this more than makes up for any supposed power difference.

I'm still into waterfowl with a 3" 12 ga as the gun isn't carried afield....it's blind shooting and I still think I need the extra shot to compensate for using steel.....I do suspect that the 20 would do fine here as well but can't get myself to use it.....yet!

IC and MOD is perfect for a pheasant gun. I use an Ithaca/SKB S/S 20 gauge with a 2 3/4" 1 ounce load of 5's in the IC barrel and a 3" 1 1/4 ounce load of 5's in the MOD barrel.

I have never felt handicapped using that combination on pheasants.

Early in the year ic mod would be a good starting place, or anytime birds are holding well. For later in the year or anytime birds aren't holding particularly well I would go with light mod and imp mod or mod and full, but I like tighter chokes tham most guys. When I hunt them with my auto I use imp mod cause I like the way it knocks them down. If the gold standard is mod for a single then splitting the difference with a double would be even better, one barrel more open than mod and one tighter. More forgiving on close shots and more pattern on longer ones. Of course you need to find a load that throws a even pattern, it not all in the choke. You can also control patterns with your shell to a good degree.

Forgive me if I'm over doing it but the fire is made up largely of rifle shooters and I know almost nothing about rifles but I have a boner for all things shotgun and I have spent many hours patterning many shotguns and shooting clays and birds. I finally get to talk about something I know well.

I use one of my SxS 20's for pheasants and they work fine.

Most of the shots are not that far away over a dog.

I have used the Bernadelli to the left of the Ugartechea the most.

I love shooting a 20 ga for pheasants. But if you want to have some real fun, try shooting a 28 ga.

For years I shot a 20 gauge choked skeet and skeet, usually with 1-1/8 oz. of #6 or #7-1/2. For the last two years I've used a 28 gauge, choked skeet and IC usually, with 1 oz. Winchester #6 factory loads.

Funny thing, the first pheasant I took with the 28, I had inadvertently loaded a 3/4 oz. #8 round. Worked fine.

A 20 gauge is plenty.

Very rarely, but I do load 20 gauge upland ammo for my buddy Hornhead!
I have used it in the past but mostly either use vintage SxS 12's or 28 gauge , sometimes a 16 as well.
Cat

I have shot very many pheasants with everything from 28 to 12 and more with a 20 than anything else. Load an ounce of 6s and worry most about pointing the gun at the bird. Hint, the tail is behind the bird. ;-{>8

Hawkman-, first things first--Go Hawks! A belated welcome to the 'Fire.

The 20 with an oz of shot 5's or 6's is just fine. Those that say not don't know.

Back in '69 a friend and I took 198 pheasants legally that fall and winter in NW Iowa because we had great snow, Government Acres (now CRP), and we cut way too many college classes. I remember the numbers because the hunting was so good we started keeping track, and I actually did a bio research paper on the stomach contents of my birds.

My point is I had a inexpensive Stevens 20 SxS and shot all those birds that year with it and many more in other years. Now, I shoot a bit of an upgrade--a Beretta 471 Golden Hawk 20 SxS--and it's still knocking them down and out.

There is perhaps something to going 12 late season for birds that flush wild and or in wind but if you have a twenty on a true twenty frame it sure carries nicer than a 12 and perhaps you pass up a few of those more challenging shots.

Dad had an old break-action single-shot 20 that accounted for pheasants. I graduated from my H&R Topper .410 (which, contrary to some, would also kill pheasants) to a Winchester 1200 in 20 that saw the demise of numerous pheasants as well. With all three of these shotguns it seemed that having the shot occupy the same space as the bird was much more important than the means of delivery. I was always partial to #5s.

This is interesting reading on the 20.. I have used one off and on since about 1959.. Most of my shooting has been with 12's, mainly my old 870.. But the 20 has killed plenty of game also..
I was looking over the regs. for hunting birds on some Federal Refuges. Here they call for nontoxic shot.. What shot do you 20 ga. fans use in this situation???

I use 3/4 ounce of 4s in 2 3/4" shells when I can find them. Had to buy 3 inch Fasteel at Sportsman's Warehouse last time I bought ammo, also size 4, since customers apparently think they need 3 inch shells to kill pheasants with a 20. I need neither the extra shot nor the extra recoil in my light 20 gauge, and had previously only used 3 inch shells for geese. For some reason SW thinks 3/4 ounce of size 7 steel in a 2 3/4" shell is a good load, perhaps for doves, so that was available. Not having had good luck with special orders from SW, I ordered Winchester 2 3/4" size 4 steel from the internet, and it was hard to find. Everyone has 3 inch loads, but often only size 6. I cannot bring myself to pay the price of other kinds of nontoxic shot, steel being expensive enough.