24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,339
30338 Offline OP
Campfire Outfitter
OP Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,339
Anyone used the Fiocchi 16 Gauge Ammunition FI16HV5 High Velocity 2-3/4" #5 1-1/8oz 1300 fps on pheasants or sharptails? Working on sporting clays this summer with mine and wanting to pack it afield early season at least.

BP-B2

Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,067
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,067

Hi 30338,
I haven’t but have used those Fiocchi’s a ton in both 20 and 12 ga on pheasants. The 20 with 1 oz loads and the 12 with 1 1/4 oz loads which bracket the 16 ga. load are fine shot shells and very good on pheasants. So those 16’s will be too. No worries.

Ironically, though I haven’t had one since, my first worthy shotgun was a 16 and I killed my first pheasant with it probably at age of 13.

Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 634
G
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
G
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 634
I shoot 16's and Fiocchi's mostly 1 oz on grouse and woodcock, took the 16 to South Dakota once and killed several with 7 1/2 in cylinder barrel my left barrel is mod and I shot 6's in it, the 5's will be plenty , I use smaller shot so I have better chance for getting 1 in the head.

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,339
30338 Offline OP
Campfire Outfitter
OP Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,339
The Fiocchis seem to have a good reputation. Appreciate the feedback guys. Going to order a flat of those shortly.

Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 634
G
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
G
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 634
B AND P are good also.

IC B2

Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,112
W
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
W
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,112
Early season sharptails load is an ounce of #6 shot through whatever 12, 16, or 20 ga gun I feel like carrying. Early on the birds typically hold well and are not bunched up and wary as later on. Once the pheasant season opens I switch to 1 1/8 oz of #5 shot as a minimum. I find that to be more reliable on pheasants than #6 though if pheasants are not commonly ounce no the area I will stay with #6 as a primary size.

I keep velocities in the 1200-1250 fps range as higher does little other than increase recoil. I reload so that is a viable option for me but if having to use factory one's options are rather limited.

Last edited by woodmaster81; 07/03/19.
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,730
B
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
B
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,730
Agree, 1300 FPS 1 1/8 out of a light 16gauge is not for the recoil shy and especially not all that conducive to getting back into the gun for a follow up.

Winchester makes a SuperX 16ga load of 1 oz of 5’s or 6’s at 1200fps that is more than adequate, but not as glamorous as Fiocchi and B&P.

Downrange at 40 yards the FPS difference between a starting 1200 vs 1300 is not worth the recoil.

Federal makes 16 gauge loads, both normal and high velocity, that are every bit as good as anything out of Fiocchi or B&P. In addition, for every box of their Pheasants Forever sold, they donate a portion to Pheasants Forever. Win, Win, Win....If you want velocity, they give most all any want. Federal components and shot pellets are as well made as any in the business.



https://www.federalpremium.com/products/shotshell?page=0&facets=computed_skugauge_s=16%20Gauge

Last edited by battue; 07/03/19.

laissez les bons temps rouler
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,730
B
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
B
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,730
The fps facts when it comes to shotgun shells.

https://www.shotgunlife.com/shotguns/tom-roster/does-speed-kill.html


laissez les bons temps rouler
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,339
30338 Offline OP
Campfire Outfitter
OP Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,339
Okay, so maybe something like this for earlier season sharptails and chickens. Federal 16 Gauge Ammunition Game Load H1606 2-3/4" 1oz #6 1165FPS

And then could bump up to 5s at higher velocity if I decide to use the 16 on pheasants.

My current pheasant gun is a 12 ga Franchi Affinity which thanks to the stock adjustability fits me well despite being tall with long arms. I use heavy #4s on the public land roosters I am hunting thru mid January and had good success even with some longish shots last fall.

Another question while talking 16 gauge. If I am hunting an area that is 80% quail and 20% roosters, thoughts on what you would carry in the gun? Just those #6 Federals or drop down to 7 1/2?

Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 634
G
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
G
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 634
why I like a double 7 1/2 in open right barrel, 6's in tighter left barrel

IC B3

Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,096
T
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
T
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,096
I’ve killed a slew of roosters over the years with a 16 and with 7 1/2s. I think 7 1/2 is my favorite shot size for general upland use and the Remington Express Long Range load is a good one, in both the 12 and the 16.

I killed 8 roosters last year with 8 shots. 6 of them were with 1oz of 7 1/2s out of a 20. Get the bird centered in the pattern and shot size isn’t as important as we make it out to be sometimes.

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,799
B
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
B
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,799
That game load from Federal at 1165 is a good load with good shot and the bar I use for value/performance. They will kill any grouse or pheasant dead enough. I would shoot the sixes if pheasants or prairie grouse are anywhere on the list of possibilities.


"Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin.'"
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 481
D
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
D
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 481
Originally Posted by BKinSD
That game load from Federal at 1165 is a good load with good shot and the bar I use for value/performance. They will kill any grouse or pheasant dead enough. I would shoot the sixes if pheasants or prairie grouse are anywhere on the list of possibilities.


Great to know! I have a pheasant/quail hunt in Kansas this season. My 16 throws absolute gorgeous patterns with this load. I was thinking about loading the first round or two with this in my A5 and follow up with higher velocity 6's or 5's. My thoughts were this would cover quail if they flush or tight holding roosters.

Last edited by CarolinaHunter; 07/03/19.
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,096
T
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
T
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,096
Guy that introduced me to pheasant hunting always used 3” 12ga #5s in a 28” 1187. He always said that those loads would kill quail just fine and I saw him do it plenty of times. Not something I normally do but he was a one load kind of guy in pheasant country.

Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,112
W
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
W
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,112
When hunting mixed bag, load for the tougher bird, not the more fragile one. If my main quarry are pheasants, I load with 5s and make do with them if I run into quail or grouse. If my primary quarry are quail, il load up with #6 if there is a reasonable chance of finding a rooster. There have been times I've had low possibilities for roosters and then used 7 1/2 shot and was willing to pass on opportunities that would have been fine with larger shot.

Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,067
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,067
Originally Posted by TheKid
Guy that introduced me to pheasant hunting always used 3” 12ga #5s in a 28” 1187. He always said that those loads would kill quail just fine and I saw him do it plenty of times. Not something I normally do but he was a one load kind of guy in pheasant country.


This was dogma in NW Iowa when I was a kid (60’s) — magnum shells, larger shot, 30” barrels choked full were the real pheasant guns. I Started out with a full choke H&R 16 ga and then came a Stevens 20 ga SxS ( probably mod/full) and I began to realize it wasn’t true as I was regularly putting birds down. Even with the mod choked barrel. I realized then that most of these older guys were not real upland hunters and hunted pheasants once, twice a year, mostly out of tradition and weren’t particularly good shots which began to explain how tough pheasants were. 😉

Joined: May 2005
Posts: 14,104
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 14,104
I lived in Kansas and Nebraska for about ten years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I hunted upland birds--quail, pheasants, prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse--from the day the first season opened until the last one closed. I always shot a 12-gauge in those days and I always started the season with 2 3/4" 7-1/2 shot. By the end of pheasant season, when all the other seasons had closed, I was shooting Magnum 4s with a full choke as the birds were getting up much farther away, and anything less resulted in too many wounded birds.

Since then, I have been primarily a quail hunter. However, each year I do one or two late-season preserve hunts for pheasants, as well as some mixed bag hunts in Montana, using my little 20-gauge double. I have found that 6s put the birds down more reliably than 7-1/2s.

A lot depends on how you hunt: with or without dogs, with pointing dogs versus flushing dogs. etc.


Ben

Some days it takes most of the day for me to do practically nothing...
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 19,158
B
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
B
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 19,158
I guess 7.5's are good pheasant loads if you like eating bird shot. Can't see any reason to choose them otherwise.

Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,284
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,284
Used my Browning Citori 16 GA for my last pheasant trip to Kimball SD. Used Fiocchi #5 lead and Federal #6 lead, both 1-1/8 oz. shot. Could tell no difference in effectiveness between the two loads (shooting the factory IMP CYL tube in my bottom (first shot) barrel and MOD in my top barrel). I think both factories listed the load at around 1300 fps. My kill ratio was the same as when I shoot my 12 GA with #5 lead there.


One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others.
Archibald Rutledge

Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 59,898
M
Campfire Kahuna
Offline
Campfire Kahuna
M
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 59,898
One rarely seen shot size, at least in the U.S., is #7--which is the same as the British #6, apparently the most popular over there for shooting driven pheasants. The nominal diameter is .10, and there are approximately 300 per ounce, as compared to 350 for 7-1/2's and 225 for 6's. That 350/225 gap is the biggest in popular American shot sizes, and 7's fill it neatly.

Bought some high antimony 7's from Ballistic Products a number of years ago when working on handloads for the 28-gauge, and was very impressed. A load of 7/8 ounce in the 28 killed wild roosters well out to 40 yards, using a typical modified choke, and when processing the birds for the freezer found they definitely penetrated better than 7-1/2's.

Have always suspected 1 or 1-1/8 ounces of hard 7's would make a great pheasant load in the 16, just as it does in light 12's in England, but so far haven't tried them in any of our 16's, apparently because of having too much factory ammo on hand. :-)


“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
384 members (1lesfox, 160user, 257 mag, 1lessdog, 12344mag, 01Foreman400, 40 invisible), 2,044 guests, and 895 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,593
Posts18,397,970
Members73,815
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.176s Queries: 14 (0.004s) Memory: 0.8966 MB (Peak: 1.0334 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 11:24:32 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS