Would just like to know some of your favorite loads for pheasants.
Thanks
JZ

I like 1 1/4 oz of # 6 shot. High Brass-- Federal or Remington.

In open country (fields) I would use 3 3/4 -1 1/4, #6's. In brushy draws or edge of swamp areas (closer shots) I used 3 1/4 -1, #6's (heavy field load like Rem. Shur Shot)

My father used field loads,#8's out of a 20 gauge many years ago with great effect and it was a long time before I realized that he was particularly effective on crossing or quartering shots because most of the pellets were hitting the head and neck.(The shots also were within 25 yards) The heaviest feathering is in the body itself and the reason why I stayed with a 12 gauge but if you're careful about your shots, a 20 does the job effectively and does it with quite light powder and shot loads. Also many years ago I was occasionally using a 16 ga with 2 1/2 -1 loads,# 6's effectively on pheasants but these birds were shot within perhaps 15-20 yards of the gun on the rise usually.I had a beagle who always could force pheasants to fly but I really had to run to keep up with her. She and I used to chase more than one pheasant the length of a cornfield. (In those days before widespread use of combines,the fields had standing stalks)The trick was to be close enough behind the pheasant when it got to the stone wall to force it into flying rather than just scuttling over the wall. Many's the shot I took while panting for breath. Anyway it was a kind of pheasant hunting that is long gone in NY. Nowadays I go to a preserve and it just isn't the same. (We have a very limited pheasant season in NY and truly wild bird populations have vanished from areas I hunted as a boy and as a young man and have decreased across the entire state. Loss of habitat,increasing numbers of furbearing predators are the principal reasons.

Reloads, use AAs, Win 209s, Win red wads, 571(31 grains from memory, but you will have to look it up) and 1 3/8 ounces of hard 4s, 5s or 6s, again from memory is about 1300fps. I like 5s and 6s. Copper or nickel plated shot is usually better yet.

Note: This is using the original AAs, I understand they have changed and don't know if this load will still work in the new ones. This is an excellent all around game load, but it has significant recoil and should not be used where a lot of shots are going to be taken, such as dove hunting, unless you like recoil, that is.

Favorite pheasant load would have to be Fiocchi's Golden Pheasant load of #5's or #6's. It really isn't that much different than Gatogordo's load as it packs 1 3/8oz of nickel plated shot at a velocity around 1250fps. This is on the heavy side and any 12ga load of at least 1 1/4oz with #4-#6 shot will do the trick.

As for pheasant loads with a 20ga, I think it's important to use at least a 1oz load of premium shot (like hard plated shot either copper or nickel will do). Preferred load is/was Federal's Super Mag (don't think they're still available) with 1 1/8 of #4's with hard shot and buffering.

I hunted pheasant for probably 10 years with a 20ga with a lot of success. However, many of these tough wild Kansas birds weren't quite dead eventhough they were knocked out of the air. Some might run and many didn't, but I noticed a MUCH higher percentage of "closed eye" birds when I switched to a 12ga than with the 20ga. I mention this because I think it irresponsible to carry too little of a gun for these fine birds.

Preserve raised birds are a different story however. I suspect that I could bring one down with .22lr birdshot! I've seen more than once where the dogs just about caught up to a flying pheasant. It takes a couple of years of tough conditions before those birds become a real challenge to bring down. But once they do, you really should be using a 12ga. This, of course, is my opionion.

B Koes:

Good post and you about summed up the difference between a 12 and a 20 in the hands of a good shot. Give a 20 to someone who is not as good and the differences become more pronounced.

Preserve birds, with rare exceptions, are .410 type work.

I'm reminded of a time when I was out hunting quail with my 20ga. I was loaded with 7/8oz #7.5's and a crazy pheasant jumped up right in front of me! Of course I let him have it and that bird dropped like a rock and did a roll on the ground about 15yds in front of me and took off running like nothing ever happened to him. You can't tell me that I didn't hit him well because I was right on him and he wasn't very far away. That was the day when it was impressed upon me that pheasants required more than a 20ga. Fortunately another hunter was able to anchor the bird before it escaped into dense cover.

Oh yeah, I used a modified choke on my 20ga. In addition, I rarely used it for late season birds unless it was bitterly cold and I knew they wouldn't be out for an afternoon jog. It has been my experience that our wide open Kansas fields require a bit more choke than the customary IC selection for upland game.

Now that I think about it, that's probably a good reason to use a 1 3/8oz load so a fella can open up the choke a bit while still maintaining a fairly dense pattern.

{added at edit} Yes both the quail and pheasant seasons were overlapping so it was quite legal for me to take the shot.

[ 10-24-2002, 00:05: Message edited by: B_Koes ]

Thanks very much for all the replys, I think i will step up the load a bit as i have been using 1 1/8 of #5 shot in a sts hull. Its not bad on released birds at close range but the wild ones seem to be getting away.

I largely agree with my friend Gatogordo -- my favorite pheasant load is very similar to his, using #5's and WW 571. Unfortunately, WW 571 has been discontinued! This is a great load when pheasants are in open country (like a milo or corn field) and flushing wild.

I do disagree, Gato and B_Koes, that the 20 is not a fully sufficient gun for pheasant. It, or a 28, certainly limit your RANGE, but either will kill pheasant as well, given the right shot size, at more modest distances. The problem with your 20, B_Koes, was not the gauge, but the light load of small shot. Given one ounce of H.V. #6's with a fairly tight choke, I'd be very comfortable with a 20 gauge out to 30 or 35 yards or so. Pull that back by 5 yards and the 28 will pot them nicely.

I will hasten to add that most of the pheasant hunting I have done was BETTER done with a 12, given that wild-flushing birds at 40 or 45 yards was typical. If the birds are holding tight in cover, then give me a nice, light 20 or 28 and I'll go head to head with you anytime.

All of my experience is based on east coast preserve hunting. Most shots are taken at around 20 yards and 35 yards is a really long shot in the early season. For this sort of hunting gauge is relatively unimportant. Excellent all-around preserve pheasant guns need only throw about an ounce of shot. This rules out only the .410 and 28 for all-around use.

The 1 1/4 oz 3 3/4 dr 12 ga loads that many recommend are just not necessary here. In 12 ga I'm partial to the fast 1 1/16 oz B&P High Pheasant in #6 (actually is a US #6.5 shot size). In 20 ga the 15/16 oz B&P F2 is great, as is the plated 1 oz version, again in #6. #7 works fine, too, and has some advantages for mixed game hunts where chukar and quail are apt to be encountered.

I've had good luck with ammunition from the big 3 as well. Speaking only with regard to preserve birds - and during the early season - best quality #7.5 1 1/8 oz trap loads work well for mixed game situations - especially when using loose choke constrictions.

Were I heading west for wild birds I'd doubtless use bigger shot, heavier payloads, and feed them to a gas gun.

Sam

I don't know guys. We just came back from hunting wild pheasants, and I don't know if these things are made armor plated these days, or what. We hit three roosters fair and square on going away shots with #6's, fold their wings and everything.

Two men and two dogs could not find ANY of the three. Three shots, three runners. All I can think is that the pellets just did not penetrate enough to hit vitals. I'm starting to lean towards copper plated 5's, and even thinking about #4's. These big, wild, jumpy birds are something else.

I guess I just needed to vent..... Dutch.

Win AA,Win 209,26gr 800x,win waa12f114 (the yellow(ish)one,and 1&1/4 oz of #5 or 6 magnum shot.on those harder days cut charge to 24.5gr and use super grex buffer.this load also has taken most of my turkeys,none any farther than 43 yds,but we are trying to "hunt"them right?on a 32yd turkey last fall I hit the front trigger by accident,even the modified tube put his lights out fairly quick.on easy days with close birds (pheasant,sorry for the babble)might even try a load of 19gr of red dot and an ounce of hard 6`s,win aa,win209,19gr red dot,waa12 ir even a windjammer,you don`t get beat up and sometimes it`s surprising how good a light load will work.

Stonecreek:

I've been shooting up a vast oversupply of lead duck loads on pheasants for the last few years and have not been reloading that load. I didn't know that 571 was discontinued, haven't been reloading anything but target/dove loads for quite a while. I've still got some 571 but am sure that Blue Dot or some others would do the job about as well.

BTW, I DON'T Recommend 1 7/8 ounces of 5s for pheasants, it will kill them, but after a few of them in an Over and Under, you begin to wonder if they are worth it.

Gato: Legend has it that Hodgdon H-S 7 is the same spec as WW 571 (and that H-S 6 is another permutation of WW 540). Looking at the data, the two pairs certainly appear to be close, but I don't know if they are interchageable. Besides, the Hodgdon shotgun powders have always been pretty scarce with the retailers available to me, anyway.

I'm actually missing WW 571 more in the 20 gauge where it was a favorite of mine for HV 1 oz loads. Bluedot just doesn't seem to give as favorable velocity/pressure ratios if the loading manuals are to be believed.

But like you, if I had as many hunting opportunities as I have current supply of ammunition, I'd be a happy man, indeed, and worry about where my next batch of powder was coming from later.

I've been watching this post with some interest as an avid pheasant hunter in the king of pheasant states, South Dakota. Most non-residents shoot loads taht are too heavy and they kcik hard so they don't shoot well, just like rifle shooting! Our recipe for success is simple, opening weekend, shoot 12 ga. F/M with 1 oz. of 5's out of a AA case. After that, the birds get jumpier, and we switch to 1 1/8 oz. of 5's from the same case in a 12 gauge. Yes, we are hunting all wild birds, and yes, these loads DO work, note the choke tube designations. Out-of-staters piss me off come in here from preserve bird hunting, expect the wild birds to hold for a dog on point and be gentlsmanly birds and let you kick the up and shoot them with an M/IC set up. (That being said, we hunted over some German short-hairs this weekend and one rooster thought he was so smart and didn't move when the dogs locked on point. I managed to pick him up my hand, a first for me. He was a tasty bird!) Shoot tighter chokes, aim for the head, you may laugh, but my father and I shoot 75% of our birds in the head, and nothing kills them quicker than that. I was out this weekend with some friends and we took our limits both days, unfortunately many of the birds were old birds that were carry over from last year, the hatch was terrible last spring, if the drought doesn't relent it will be even worse next year.
Willie

So you're telling me that all resident S Dakotians use loads that are just right? As for your "recipe", I'm sure it would be effective in many circumstances. A little light for my tastes, but if you don't like the recoil then go for it. Heck, I don't know how anybody would even notice that the gun kicks after the adrenaline rush of the cackling and thumping of wings from a pheasant busting up through the brush!

I agree that for quick & consistant kills, then you gotta aim for the head rather than the midpoint. Some hunters don't really account for the fact that if they are shooting for the midpoint, then they are bound to miss because those long tail feathers sort of lead the eye away from the "shootable" part of the bird.

Sorry B_Koes, I should have mentioned that a lot of my friends try to make up for poor shooting with more shot as well. I enjoy hunting with non-residents because the majority of the time they can't hit anything and we get to shoot their birds, but when we do run into a non-resident that can shoot they are a joy to hunt with because they realize the same thing we do about hitting pheasants and they are usually wonderful gentlemen. I agree with your comments about that long tail throwing people off, I learned as a young boy to look for the red around the eye to identify the roosters because sometimes the young ones look like hens the first couple weekends and that red is the only way to identify them in a hurry. Good luck hunting, you sound like one of the non-residents that would enjoyable to hunt with because you would be safe, respectful, and kill your own birds, and maybe even listen to the experienced residents that know how to hunt the area we are most effectively because we do ti week in and week out. Good luck!
Willie

Alas, my pheasant hunting days are mostly behind me. That makes me sound really old, but it is more of a result that Kansas just doesn't have the numbers of birds that it used to. I grew up on a farm and as a pup, I became accustomed to filling my limit at least 2 or 3 times a year with the occasional 1-2 birds on other weekends. Now, a fella is lucky to find a bird around the ol' farmstead and I refuse to hunt the so called pheasants that are raised by preserves locally. Suffice it to say that it has been a few years since I've done any "serious" pheasant hunting. I've given serious thought to venturing up your direction to get in on some pheasant hunting. I'm probably so out of practice that I'd drop a brick in my pants the first time a rooster flushed!

Your comments bring back memories of the days when I would show other hunters around our land as long as they would let me hunt with them. After a couple of years of being a "fast gun" and beating others to the shot most of the time, then I switched strategies. I started carrying a full choke 12 ga and would let the guys I was with shoot first and then I would clean up their misses right about the time the pheasants were kicking it into high gear. I found a sadistic pleasure in letting them demonstrate their inability before I "mopped up!"

What part of SD do you live in Yardbird? Maybe you could suggest an are in southeast SD for some hunting??

I always liked a 20 ga loaded with 11/8oz of 6's never had any trouble keeping up with the 12's Matter afact I took the money on the first bird in the bag a lot more then the 12 ga shooters.

I load either 1 1/4oz. of copper plated 6's at 1325fps or 1 3/8oz. at 1275fps.
It may sound like a heavy load for pheasants but they are the best loads for these tough birds we have found. I always carry a few of the same loads but with 4's for warm weather when they flush way out. I have also tried 1 1/2 oz. of 4's for the long range flushers as well and I have seen it kill graveyard dead out to 50yds.
Hope this helps,
Elk Country

I hunt a lot in Kansas and South Dakota. I'm sure a lot of loads will work just fine with limitations of range or a chance to get shot on the head or neck. For catch as catch can, head or tail end, 25 to 50 yard shooting I've drawn some conclusions after shooting a lot and observing others shooting a lot.

Number 4 shot gets it done consistently.
Plating on the shot helps penetration.
12 Ga works best
You don't need a lot of choke.
IC works fine out to 35-40 and Mod 30 to 50 yards
My load is Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 1.375 oz nickle plated #4 at 1250fps.
Recoil is about like a regular high brass load and with a limit of 3 to 4 birds, if you have to fire over 10 shots per day you need to practice a lot more.

My hunting buddy who is a part time guide uses Winchester or Federal high velocity (1400 fps) with 1.25 oz of copper plated #4's. He gets outstanding results also.

I also have associates that shoot magnum loads (1.5 oz). These tear up the birds too bad at short range.

I agree with all who said to concentrate on the head if it is visible. Even with these stout loads, a tail feathers shot will result in a lost bird.

I like a "soft" load (3.5 dr equiv) of 1 1/4 oz of copper 6's in the first barrel, IC choked. The modified barrel is stoked with 3 3/4 dr equiv 1 3/8 ozs of hard 5's.

Herco for the "light" load. Blue Dot for the "heavy" load.

I use the old Federal Champ II's for the sixes and the Fiocchi plastic hull for the 5's. Not that it really matters much. The Champ II's don't have the interior room that the Fiocchi's and other Riefenhauser style hulls do.

Tim