upland game rounds

[toddpreble]

I am a new owner of the 12g ultralight and would like to know if anyone has any suggestions on what ammo load I should try for hunting pheasant?

[Novaking]

I am a new owner of the 12g ultralight and would like to know if anyone has any suggestions on what ammo load I should try for hunting pheasant?

I shoot 1 1/4 4 shot max dram. I don't have dogs so my range could be out to 40-50 yards.

Novaking

[timb99]

Depends.

If you're hunting pheasants at a game farm over dogs, target load 7-1/2's will work.

If you're hunting wild birds, and/or without dogs, like Novaking said, I'd recommend at least 1-1/4 ounces of shot, and as fast as you can get.

Fiocchi Golden Pheasant Loads, Remington Pheasant Loads or Nitro Pheasant Loads, Winchester Supreme Loads or Super Pheasant Loads, or Federal Game Shok Loads or Wing Shok Loads all work well.

I prefer 5 shot or 4 shot, but early season or close flushing birds, 6 works fine.

Good luck!

[TMAC]

ditto on timb99's comments.

[splashtx556ftw]

i hunt southern oklahoma from time to time. i had pretty good luck with remington express duck & pheasent loads.

3 3/4 drams, 1 1/4 #7.5

[birdbrooks]

Novaking and Splash have it right for wild phez. I just returned from a pheasant/deer/antelope trip to MT. My 12 gauge Ultralight ate a lot of ammo for pheasants-- mostly 1& 1/4 oz loads, but a few 1 & 1/2 oz loads as well, all 2 & 3/4". No one needs 3" for pheasant, even 50 yarders in a high wind. They'll just make a good shot look bad because of the kick-- I bet Tom Knapp would agree. And I love copper plate loads, they pattern so well.

No bones about it, mag loads are gonna kick a bit more than your shoulder might like when you use the Ultra than, say, my M1 or any heavier gun... but toting that light weight makes it worth it in my opinion. I have never been bothered by kick anyhow. But take note if you don't care for kick-- the Ultra kicked more than my .300 Win mag bolt when I stuffed it with those mag loads.

The Ultra is one long range capable, hard hitting, smooth operating beauty. You will LOVE it!

Oh.. I should mention, I just used the .300 for the hoofed animals!

[Matt D]

We shoot #5 or #6 heavy loads (Kent, Winchester Supreme), but learned a lesson last year about the wind. In S.D. hunting with a local farmer, the wind was blowing 25 - 30 mph, he has knocking birds down, we were hitting them but not knocking them dead. He told us to switch to 4s with the wind blwoing hard. It worked.

[birdbrooks]

We shoot #5 or #6 heavy loads (Kent, Winchester Supreme), but learned a lesson last year about the wind. In S.D. hunting with a local farmer, the wind was blowing 25 - 30 mph, he has knocking birds down, we were hitting them but not knocking them dead. He told us to switch to 4s with the wind blwoing hard. It worked.

I agree 100%. 4's have big time knock down power for roosters-- I remember when we would have to hunt in Iowa without dogs from time to time as a younger guy, and I knew the 4's would anchor a rooster even if the shot wasn't fully centered-- a few pellets in the bird would give me time to retrieve that rooster. He'd be where he fell. I can say that we lost fewer birds than most folks --very few-- and a big reason was those #4 pellets.

Most of the time, I like #5 copper plated pellets. Copper is the way to go in my book.

[timb99]

"Copper is the way to go in my book."

I'm not convinced of that. To a large degree, I believe copper plated shot is a marketing ploy.

Here's why: The idea of copper plating is to have a harder surface on the pellets so they don't get as deformed in the gun barrel, and round pellets are "supposed" to give you better patterns than deformed pellets (but then again, hevi-shot patterns great, and its far from round and uniform...)

(And contrary to popular wisdom, testing shows most of the deformation happens between the time the primer pops and when the crimp on the shell opens, not as the pellets are passing through the choke.)

Many companies who advertize copper plated pellets are really only giving you "copper washed" chilled lead shot, which is almost exactly the same hardness as chilled soft lead shot.

If the brand you're buying is really giving you copper PLATED pellets, you might be getting better patterns. If its really just copper washed, you're probably not getting any better patterns than plain old chilled lead shot.

Unfortunately, I don't know who is, and who isn't offering truly plated shot. So I don't worry about it.

In my experience, if you use number 4 shot or 5 shot, and you don't take ridiculously long shots, and you hit the pheasants in the lips, it really doesn't matter that much.

My dad hunted with a 16 gauge Ithaca 37 with a full choke, in the days when pellets were pretty darned soft and wads were made out of cardboard. He seldom missed. Back then, shotshell technology was nothing compared to what we have now. Even the cheapie shells of today perform better than the premium shells of that day and age.

Guys, its the indian, not the arrow.

Your mileage may vary.

Tim

[TMAC]

"Its the Indian not the arrow" Couldnt be better said.

I shot 20+ pheasants last season along and never once did my #5 shot 20 ga hand loaded shells let me down.

Center the bird with your shot pattern and it will be yours. Rarely will you ever find a well placed shot end with a lost bird.

Dont buy into the hype.