Ideal pheasant gun?

Firefighter, I'm an inch taller than you and probably twice as fat, and I find the long barreled guns much slower to get after the bird. And while I believe in the long-barreled guns swing smoother theory. The guys that taught me how to hunt will already have the bird rolling in the air before you can get a long barreled gun to your shoulder. I had to learn to shoot my pheasants on their initial jump out of cover or I would not get a shot. I second the Fiocchi nickel #5's also. Baddest thing I've ever shot at Pheasants. 1-3/8ths Oz. These shells used to be called Waterfowl magnums before the steel shot laws came into effect.
 
Firefighter,

For walk and shoot remember you will do an awful lot of walking and relatively little shooting. (And that walking probably won't be over the easiest of terrain).

So, I would say lightness is the key, as (maybe you're different) I find when I'm shooting "walked - up" with or with out dogs, the gun spends a lot of time in my hands rather than over my shoulder so I like 'em light.

So, my ideal gun would be:

26-28" bbl
O/U (I like being to choose relatively looser or tighter patterns)
Multi-choke
Single selective trigger
Nice broad sling
Perhaps modify the ejectors to extractors so they don't throw spents and you have to go guddling under bushes for 'em.

I'm still looking for my perfect walking gun... one day ;)
 
I've always had very good luck with a pump shotgun for pheasant. My favorite load had been #6 shot but I recently switched to #5 and I've had good results. I've always used a 12 gauge but I'm rethinking the logic since my son bust just as many, if not more, birds with his 20 gauge.
 
Noreaster, remember how fast kids reaction time is. I used to use my 20 ga. double down in Mexico for pheasants because of the weight difference. But the difference in payload and velocity of 12 Gauge field loads makes them a much better choice for most people. I always got more birds with a twelve.
 
Firefighter88 said:
What is your ideal pheasant gun and why. What loads do you use? I haven't found my 'ideal' pheasant gun yet, not much experience handling too many different shotguns. I would love to have a Browning Citori 725 Field, but for no other reason than its a Browning, other people seem to love it, and it looks so good!
Click to expand...
When hunting wild birds, and where I can still use lead; I use my circa 1921 Ithaca® Lefever Nitro Special™ 16ga SxS loaded with Fiocchi® Golden Pheasant® #5's. If I have to use nontoxic shot I use Evironmental® Hevi•Shot® Classic Doubles in #4 & #5 shot.

If I'm hunting state game lands pheasant release sites, which require the use of nontoxic shot; I use a Remington® SPR220 20ga SxS & Federal® Prairie Storm® Flitestopper® Steel #3 & #4 shot.
 
Some thoughts on guns and loads for wild birds.....

Pheasant hunters do a lot of walking. That A 5 might seem a bit heavy three ridges away from the truck.

Brister,et al, suggested most folks would find 7 lbs as a practical ceiling on an uplander. I personally find that shotguns lighter than 6 lbs are hard to shoot well, so let's aim for in between.

IMO, big loads are called for here. I like 1 1/4 oz of 5s, and that means 12 gauge. I have seen plenty of ringnecks harvested with 7/8 oz of 7 1/2s, but those were closer shots than some of us see much.

Action type? Whatever floats your boat. I recall one jack pine savage long ago whose weapon of choice was an old "Long Tom" cut back to about 30" and with a Polychoke installed. He was deadly with it.

Chokes? For all around use, Mod is hard to beat.
 
I mostly use a Browning Double-Auto (steel receiver variant), choked modified. There are times and occasions when I use either No. 4 or No. 6 shot, but mostly "premium" No. 5s.
 
I grew up pheasant hunting in the midwest and there if you didn't have an 870 12ga with green Remington Express 5's, you were some kind of alien.
That said, I hunt upland quite a bit and over a flushing dog...the birds are up and gone if you can't get on them quickly.
I carry a Browning Silver Hunter 20ga 28" with Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 3" 5's and that combo has killed more birds than I ever have with a 12ga.
First it fits...like an extension of my arm.
Second, it's light. Unless you're living in SD or shooting at a preserve, pheasant guns get carried a lot and shot a little....a heavy shotgun is heavier at the end of the day.
It functions perfectly and the recoil of a light shotgun pushing 1 1/4 ounce of lead is pretty soft for the followup shots (yes, I miss them, too).
Buy a pretty shotgun...it's not a duck blind in a salt marsh, it's upland. Buy something that's nice to look at.
After listening to a lot of people talk about their favorites and spending some real money on poor-fitting shotguns, I decided to buy what feels right, rather than what someone told me was right.
 
I typically hunt over dogs, so a Browning Auto-5 or Remington 1100 20 gauge usually works just fine in the early season. Late season, it's pretty much a 12 gauge game, and I really like my Citori.
 
The 12 ga double Fox Sterlingworth my Grandpa gave me worked fine in N side of Toledo pheasants in the late 50's. Now it is all condos and my old bedroom is a meat dept in a Kroger store--yuk.

Best pheasant hunting anywhere!! Excellent for rabbits also.
 
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