16ga.com ~ View topic

Greetings been a while since I posted but I have a question. My wife bought me a bird hunt for my birthday down in Kentucky. It will include pheasant, chukar and quail. I will be taking my 53 belgium browning A5. So here is the question, what shot size should I use? For pheasants it says 4 or 6, chukar and quail 7.5 or 8. Will 6 be too big for quail? Will 7.5 be to small for pheasants? Should I carry more than one type of shells? I have only ever hunted rabbits with dogs so this is something I have wanted to do for a long time.

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

Don’t bring 4s.

I don’t know the particular preserve, but, I haven’t met many preserve birds that think they are wild birds. 7 1/2s will likely be good for everything, but, you can bring some 6s along to try on the roosters.

Have fun.

Best,
Ted

I'd probably go with just 6's unless you wanted to use the magazine cut off on the A-5 and throw some 7 1/2's in.

jamesb,

Take #6',s # 71/2's & #8's along, never hurts to be prepared for different birds.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Joined: 28 May 2008 Posts: 84

I don't know if you reload, but if you do, I have been loading true Nickel Plated #7's from Precision Reloading. I am shooting over pointing dogs and this seems to work well when in areas that hold both birds.

Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 962 Location: Minnesota

I have shot quite a few preserve birds.
In a perfect world, I would shoot IC/Mod with #6 for pheasants.
For quail or chukar, 7.5 shot.
If mixed birds, I go with 7.5.

Joined: 24 Jul 2016 Posts: 548 Location: Ohio

What do you shoot for bunnies? It were me I'd shoot 1oz. of 7 1/2's and smile all day long. By the way, I love beagles and bunnies. We ran 8 and killed 5 today. Have a great time!!

tramroad28
16 gauge with a mod choked barrel.

Ohio Wirehair
I use 6's for bunnies

Most of the time I just load 6's and walk the field edges to see what I kick up.

Joined: 24 Jul 2016 Posts: 548 Location: Ohio

Then that's what I'd use. Be aware a lot of preservers don't allow anything bigger then 6's anyway.

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 1113

I'd probably use my handloaded 1 ounce #7 nickel plated 1200 fps loads on a preserve hunt for that mixed bag. I load those for my western bird hunting trips and use them when hunting western quail, but have bagged wild roosters, chukar and Huns with clean kills on all.

Member Joined: 30 Nov 2011 Posts: 1695 Location: Minnesota

Since you're running a single barrel gun, how about a 7 1/2 in the chamber and 6's in the magazine. I do that when I think I might run into a grouse or woodcock on the same hunt. OR, if your preserve operator is accommodating, ask them to put the quail out separately. Hope you have a great days outing.

...I'd call the place and ask what THEY recommend.

FWIW, There was place near here that offered all three and they limited shot size to 7-1/2.
I went there once, years ago with a MOD choked 28ga 870 and 3/4oz Fiocchi HV 7-1/2's and had no problem.

Joined: 12 Sep 2010 Posts: 1973 Location: Maine

Check the preserve's rules. Some won't allow you to use bigger than 7 1/2 or 6.

Have fun.

Joined: 16 Jul 2015 Posts: 2124 Location: Hudson,Wy

Preserve birds tend to be easier to bring down. Add that to the fact that shots will likely be close, and 7 1/2's will do the job on pheasants. A little coarse for bobs when using an open choke, but like mentioned, shots will be close so that should not matter either. Go with 7 1/2 shot and put the pellets where they need to go. Enjoy your hunt.