Compare these four 16 ga. shells

[EddieF]

Okay, quick background: Young dog, inexperienced, just had her first bird (a chukar) shot over her last week.

Almost all her training birds before that were also chukar.

Going to a preserve in a week and they tell me the cover is very heavy and thick because it hasn't died yet. So they recommended pheasant instead of chukar, that the chukar will have trouble flying well out of the cover.

I want to take my 16 ga. for a couple reasons. It's the gun my dog was okay with last week, and it's also the gun I shoot the best with. In the interest of setting my dog up for success, I'll take the 16 but I have questions about which ammo to use.

If I go with pheasant, should I use the #5? Or am I thinking that just because there's a pheasant on the box?

Advice on chokes also appreciated. My choices are: skeet, light modified and improved modified.

Also, I can't tell if that Express Long Range is lead or not. I use an old Model 12 and am under the impression I should use the softer lead loads.

[Will]

The Fiocchi is a great load on wild phez so certainly adequate on preserve birds. Honestly, all of those loads would likely handle preserve phez ok. I would probably take the Rem Express with the improved modified for this situation. It should be lead or it'd have otherwise printed all over it.

[Big Dave]

I would save the Golden Pheasant for wild birds, they are more than you will need on a preserve. I would shoot the skeet tube and 7 1/2's on preserve pheasants or the light modified if it was windy.

[ezzy333]

I never check the wildness of the bird I am shooting. But for pheasants I like 4's to 6's so I will use a six as the first shot followed by a 5 or 4. But any of them will kill a bird but think you are better with something in that range and an open to improved cylinder for choke.

Ezzy

[Big Dave]

Ezzy,
You will rarelyl find a wild bird on a preserve and pen raised birds are not as fast or tough as the wild ones. I don't really have to test or check for it, I use more open chokes, smaller payloead and often smaller shot when shooting at pen raised birds.


P.S.
I frequently shoot a 16 gauge at Pheasants and use the Golden Pheasants or Remingtons shown in #6 when hunting wild, not pen, birds.

[ezzy333]

Ezzy,
You will rarelyl find a wild bird on a preserve and pen raised birds are not as fast or tough as the wild ones. I don't really have to test or check for it, I use more open chokes, smaller payloead and often smaller shot when shooting at pen raised birds.

So very true but when hunting with a pointing dog the shots are always the same distance and any shotshell will kill a bird when hit well and fairly close. I like bigger shot as I prefer less pellets in the meat and they will penetrate feathers better. But most of the birds that I kill at least has a leg or wing or both broken and unless they are flying straight away the head is vunerable.

Though I agree with you about the birds, I see no real difference in them when they are pointed and I flush them. The biggest difference is many times the length of the tail.

Ezzy

[mcbosco]

Consider yourself lucky that you have those choices of shells, I would have to spend half the day getting them in NJ where I live. I pretty much stick with the Remingtons or Winchesters because there is a "bleep"'s nearby.

But "bleep" is a crap shoot anyway for ammo. Never know what's in stock or if someone is there or willing to unlock everything. When you pay for them people look at you like a leper. Suburban moms literally move their kids away from you in line.

[EddieF]

Consider yourself lucky that you have those choices of shells, I would have to spend half the day getting them in NJ where I live. I pretty much stick with the Remingtons or Winchesters because there is a "bleep"'s nearby.

But "bleep" is a crap shoot anyway for ammo. Never know what's in stock or if someone is there or willing to unlock everything. When you pay for them people look at you like a leper. Suburban moms literally move their kids away from you in line.

I agree totally with you about buying ammo at "bleep"'s. Although I do go there for fishing stuff and if they have those Remington Game Loads when I'm there I will always pick up a few boxes. I have more of those than any ammo for any other gun I own.

The Remington Express I picked up at a shooting range a while back because it was the only 16 ga. they had.

The Winchester X and Fiocchi I picked up a box each at Gander Mountain the other day for this coming weekend. So while it looks like I have a lot of options, it took me a while to collect them and three of the four I only have a single box of!

[EddieF]

Hey first post using my new avatar, lookin' good if I say so myself! If I didn't know better I'd say that looks a little bit like a bird dog in that picture!

[mcbosco]

NJ has nothing but "bleep"'s, no Cabelas, no Bass, no Gander Mountain, no Academy, nothing

[Ruffshooter]

Preserve or wild Pheasants, 6 or 5 high brass, (CHuckars would be 7/12 high brass) Reminton Express (led) have never failed me. But when on public/state/federal/land one must check the regs ususally need to use non toxic shot. I have used the Fiochi but not in Pheasant, seemed reliable enough.