Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game Pheasant loads and chokes

With a new dog coming along nicely, pheasant season cannot get here fast enough for me.

I have hunted pheasants exclusively with a Remignton Model 11 20gauge with full chokes for 20 years now. A few weeks ago I ran across a nearly new Beretta Silverhawk 20ga SXS that I couldn't pass up, so will have a new shotgun to tote afield this year.

Winchester Super-X 6's backed up by 4's have always done me well out of the full choked barrel, but I'm thinking that M/IM chokes with 5's might be the ticket in the new SXS. What say you? I generally prefer a bit longer shot (had to learn that shooting a full choked shotgun for 20 years) that won't tear up too much meat. I've tried 7.5's before, but found they sort of ran out of juice about 35 yards.

I've also got my grandfather's old 28ga that he used to hunt ducks with (I know, a 28 is WAY too small for ducks, just tell that to the 1000's that my grandfather killed with it). I want to haul it out as well this year and pund a few birds with the old warrior.

I used to hunt pheasants alot and found 5s to be best. Late season I would slip some 4's in last for some of the longer shots that sometimes come up. Over a good dog, 5s or 6s will work fine. Mod choke for most work though I will use full late in the season if its public land and wild birds.


MtnHtr

I use my 12 gauge its got the full choke in it, The Winchester Drylock 2 3/4" #4's have worked awesome for me.

Course then again a buddy of mine hunts with a single shot 20gauge loaded with 3" #2's. To each his own I guess

MH,
Yeah, there is a big difference in hunting wild birds and pen-raised birds. You can pretty much clap and scare a pen-raised bird to death. Wild birds are a different story. The full choke I've alwys hunted with has served me well for the wild ones.

I got a line on some good property this year that holds a bunch of wild birds. I'm hoping my pup won't be overwhelmed by them. My cousin has got a fantastic pheasnat dog that I may borrow to show my pup the ropes the first few times out.

Early in the season I run an IC with 5's, with a third shell of 4's in the pipe. It's intended as a "cripple stopper", or backup to my kids. Later in the season, I tend to tighten to a Mod, and straight 4's.

On preserve birds, a flyswatter will work. HTH, Dutch.

I agree with your choice of chokes and loads.

It's been my experience with a friend of mine, who raises both Quail and Pheasants. That if we release the birds at least 3mo. prior to the season, they mix with the wild birds and smarten up real quick.

We don't use a recall trap or other method to reclaim the birds. We plant food plots for gamebirds as well as deer.

If the pen raised birds mix and follow those that have survived the previous years they make it, it's like an OJT program.

In my 20 gauge I use number 6 out of a modified same for a 12 gauge but I always use a 20 gauge pump for them.

Around here (eastern SD) most use #6 early in the season and 4's later when the birds get "educated," usually whatever brand field load is on sale. Barrels are generally modified or mod/full though IC would be good when they're holding tight. Don't have to wait so long to keep from blowing them up.

South Dakota requires steel or bi$muth or other non-lead on all public lands now, wet or dry (walk-in lands which are seasonal leases excluded for upland game). Most seem to go with 4s and 2s in steel with a more open choke, good for ducks over decoys too. Either 2 3/4 or 3 inch, depending on gun and desire to use the same shells for ducks.

Don't know about pen raised birds, suppose I'd use the early season loads/choke.

Here (Oregon) we have to use Non-Toxic Shot on most of the State WMAs and NWRs.

Steel's "o.k." for Pheasants, like Ducks, but still nothing like good old Lead.

I've tried some Bismuth on roosters and it's o.k., but expensive.

Last season I got a sample box of Environmetal's "Hevi-Steel", which has about the same density as Bismuth at a cost of much less per shell.

I thought the Hevi-Steel #6s (all they had to send me) would be "light" for big Mallards. To my surprise the dense patterns flat smacked some big Greenheads really well!

I'm going to use some Hevi-Steel #4s on them this year, but those #6s would work really well on roosters in close and the #4s would be almost as good as Lead!

Having hunted pheasants for decades in the Hawkeye state, I've tried about everything at one time or another.

Of late I have an unfailing stealth weapon, my German Wire Hair who when he locks on seems to hold them very tight and I've gone to a 1 oz 20 even with 71/2s early in the season as my shots average fairly close. I'm sure a 28 would work here too and I've got one on order but one would also have to pass on some shots. I also have a Beretta Silver Hawk in a 12 that I use a lot generally with 6s to 4s very late and on hunting with my friends Vizla with 5s seeming to be a good compromise any time. With my dog I am using lighter loads and smaller shot than I use to; but a lot depends on your dog.

Personally, I'd probably not use 4s in a 20 because you already have a shorter range weapon - than a 12 - because of pattern density and the heavy shot makes it worse...if you need 4s maybe it's time to go up to a 12. The idea of increasing your range with 4s in a small gauge runs counter to that bore's ability to provide a dense pattern. You want to hit that bird with a number of shot rather than scratch him down with one or two or worse wound and lose him with the same.

Chokes in My Silver Hawk are also IC/M fixed and I've not been wanting at all with that combination although Beretta's barrel selecter system/safety and the single trigger are not near as good or effective in using your barrels appropriately as a single function safety and two triggers. I also have a Franchi 48 AL in which I use the IC to M over the dog depending on conditions; in high winds I'll go tighter because of the birds propensity to turn with it and turn on the after-burners.

Pheasant time is pleasant time and it's getting closer.

George

I've killed a whole lot of wild pheasants over a good dog with my o/s Belguin-made, Lightning grade Browning Superposed bored improved cylinder + modified with reloads using copper-plated #6 lead shot consisting of 1-1/8 oz, 3-dram equiv. loads.

I killed a prairie chicken dead-in-the-air at a measured 55 yards with that same load out of a Remington 1100 trap gun.

If both you and your dog are really "good", you could use skeet#1 chokes on early season pheasants out to 25 yards.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

I have two shorthairs that I hunt SD pheasants with. I do go out early season and if the birds are holding I use a 28 gauge with a mod. choke and 1 oz. # 6's. This has proven to be a killer load out to about 35 yds.
If the weather has been cold for awhile and the birds are on the run I go back to the old favorite light mod choke and nickel plated # 5's in the beretta auto 12.
If you can kill them with the 20 gauge then there is no reason not to use the 28 gauge. I personally think the 28 is the best patterning gun load of all, and the weight to carry all day is to die for.

I grew up shooting #5s out of a full choke. Later switched to a modified. For a long while in my 20s and 30s finding #5s was like locating hens' teeth around here, so I used a lot of 6s. Haven't done much pheasant hunting for a number of years; got interested in bow hunting and never could seem to get my behind out of a tree and it became fashionable for people to tie up as much pheasant ground as they could. Miss the soil bank days of the 50s and 60s when a more civil outlook on sharing hunting area was the norm. Getting too old and backward looking. Best, John

I hunted pheasants in S.D. a few years ago and because i flew in from canada I did not want to pack my handloads. We went to the cabelas store in Mitchell and picked up 1-1/4 12 gauge Fiochi golden pheasant loads #5 shot nickle plated. These worked extremly well with improved cyl and improved mod chokes lots of knock down power and the nickle plated shot pentrated well and did not seem to draw in feathers as unplated shot does. I also bought home some 3 Inch 1-1/4 # 5s in 20 guage and these were also terrific. I also tried some of these 20's on ducks and was totally impressed. I have never shot pen raised birds so am no help there.

CAS,
I used the Federal Wingshok Pheasant loads in my 12 ga in SD last year. These are copper plated and have muzzle velocity of 1500 fps. These are the fastest loads for upland game available at the moment. They really did a great job for me last year. I was making long range shots on birds after everyone else missed. Federal makes a 20 ga WingShok Pheasant load that is 2 3/4 inches 1 oz of shot and 1350 fps. They also have a Wingshok 20 ga 3 inches 1 1/4 oz of shot at 1300 fps. Last year I used my old Browning Superposed Lightning 12 ga with fixed modified and IC chokes for walking the corn rows. I used my Beretta Xtrema 12 ga with the full choke tube while on posting duty at the end of a corn row. This year I am using my new Browning Gold Evolve 12 ga. I will install the IC choke tube for marching in the corn and the full choke tube for posting. I have noticed that besides Fiocchi and Federal both Winchester and Remington have both come out with high velocity plated pheasant loads. In my opinion, any of these plated high velocity loads would work great on pheasants. As far as shot sizes go I use 5's and 4's. Good luck and good hunting.

I tend to favor things that are a bit off the norm. I use mostly #5 shot, but I have had good luck with handloaded nickle plated #7s. They seem to really kill a pheasant dead, when used at reasonable ranges. Another Beretta Silver Hawk here, 12 bore, bought used, with Briley thin wall tubes. John, I hear what you're saying about the older, more civil days. The invite is always open whenever you're over in Cyclone country, if you want to sit and chat.

Paul

Chokes and loads for pheasants really depend on the birds you hunt, how you hunt them, and where you are hunting. That said, here's what I do--

For years I used 1 to 1 1/8 oz of lead #6s in Federal or Winchester game loads at about 1200 fps. They worked great. For a variety of reasons, in the last few years I've gone completely over to non-toxic shot for all of my shotgun hunting-- upland and waterfowl. My current favorite load in 12 ga for farm-raised pheasants is Kent Tungsten Matrix-- 1 1/8 oz of #5 shot at about 1250 fps. This load is just right-- lots of big shot, but not too fast. Unfortunately this load has been discontinued in favor of a 1 1/8 oz/1400 fps load. OK for wild birds, but way overkill for farm raised birds. Truth be told, the one ounce Tungsten loads (6s) work just about as well. If I hunted wild birds, I might go to a fast (1400 fps) 1 1/4 oz load, or even a 1 3/8 oz load of non-toxic shot-- but then again maybe not. I've killed a lot of animals with the 1 1/8 oz/#5-6 combo over the years, so I've got a lot of confidence in it. I'll likely go to the Kent Gamebore 1 1/16 oz Tungsten Matrix 6s when I run out of my favorites. If I have to, I'll go to the Eco Bismuth 1 1/4 oz/ #6/ 1330 fps. I like the Tungsten Matrix better than Bismuth. Either is better than the lead shotshells I hunted with as a boy.

I've tried a number of chokes, but I've settled on IC/M-- pretty boring, but they do seem to cover all the bases for me. I junked the original Browning choke tubes that came with my Citori Lightning Feather-- they look like they're made from an old tuna can-- and went to Brileys with no regrets. IMHO, everybody with a Browning shotgun owes him/herself to check out one or more of the aftermarket chokes (Briley, Teague, etc.).

I agree on #5s. I have been able to get Winchester super x heavy field loads at Walmart for about $5/box. I know I'll here alot of arguments but I would not use full choke period. You said you have missed alot of shots, give yourself a little extra pattern to work with, I have never found a modified lacking. The 3 1/4 dram heavy feild loads should take up the difference in range. I live/hunt north and north/central Kansas and we walk open prairie ,heavy timber, you name it. Our quail and pheasant season (as well as habitat ) coincide so I don't like anything bigger than #5 and I still let the quail get out a bit.

I hunt S. Dakota every year, with a bunch of my buddies. Almost all of us use 2 3/4" 12 ga. ammo, #5 shot. The preferred choke size is IC, or IC/M in doubles.

#5 shot just seems to have been made with pheasants in mind.

Interesting discussion. Sorry to read that some states/areas have gone to non lead for upland.

I would like to know more about that Beretta. See this thread on upland guns.

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