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< 16ga. Ammunition & Reloading ~ Opinions on Golden Pheasant Ammo |
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Posted:
Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:33 pm
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Joined: 31 Mar 2006
Posts: 35
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Heard from a friend that swears by Golden Pheasant ammo in his 12 gauge. Curious if anyone has experience with this same ammo in the 16gauge for pheasants or anything else, anyone patterned it? |
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Posted:
Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:57 pm
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Member
Joined: 28 Dec 2005
Posts: 2016
Location: Glendale, AZ
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On the 'General Discussion' forum see the following threads:
1 1/8 oz Loads p.2
Pheasant hunting p.2
Ks rooster shot sizes p.3
Shot size-late season sharptail/pheasant p.6
Graf & sons was out of GP 5s about 2 wks ago
I can't handle the recoil and it was a problem for CitoriFeather16 also. TJC and most guys seem to love them. |
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Posted:
Sat Apr 29, 2006 8:13 pm
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Member
Joined: 08 Nov 2005
Posts: 3438
Location: Illinois
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They work great but are nothing a reloader can't easily duplicate at 1/4 the price. |
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Posted:
Sat Apr 29, 2006 8:52 pm
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Member
Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Posts: 1522
Location: NH
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Like the rev said, I've used them and they work fine. I've shot them in my Merkel 47E as well as my Browning Feather. I plan on using them in the new 1620 this season as well. Recoil is no problem but then again recoil doesn't usually bother me. The plated shot penetrates quite well.
They are listed on different sites as being available in different shot sizes but I've only ever been able to find them in #5 for the 16.
As far as the reloader being able to duplicate them, probably so but I don't reload. So buying a few boxes a season in addition to other low brass stuff I use over the dogs is fine with me. |
_________________ A bad day of hunting is better than a good day of work. |
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Posted:
Sun Apr 30, 2006 6:35 am
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Member
Joined: 01 Feb 2005
Posts: 740
Location: New England, home of fat teddy k.
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I'll vouch for TJC's succesfull use of the Goldens, With the merkel, I'd almost swear he was able to pull off 150 yard kills (well what do you xpect?? teh merkel is a pheasent killin laser beam) and even with the clunky worlingworth, he was making 20-30 yard shots, well past what you would xpect from that tire iron of a gun. As far as Tjc not having a problem with recoil, think LT( lawrence taylor giants player from a few years back) only white, and meaner |
Last edited by hunshatt on Sun Apr 30, 2006 8:47 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Posted:
Sun Apr 30, 2006 7:37 am
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Member
Joined: 28 Dec 2005
Posts: 2016
Location: Glendale, AZ
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The curse of the 'golden BB'. One lucky pellet in the head at 60 yds and TJC thinks he's shootin' a merkel lazer guided cruise missile launcher Planning post-mortems of all TJC's pheasants in Montezuma |
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Posted:
Sun Apr 30, 2006 8:38 am
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Member
Joined: 09 Dec 2005
Posts: 989
Location: Las Vegas
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Hey Rev: Lets be accurate. I didn't say I had a problem with them, I said I sometimes fall over backwards when I shoot them!
I think they are a good load and, for the few shots you get when hunting pheasants, the recoil is acceptable. However, I believe them to be too stout, pressure and recoil wise, for my 125 year old WP&Son. I will be using a handload of 1oz. nickle plated 5 & 6 this year at lower velocity and much lower pressure.
Matt |
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Posted:
Sun Apr 30, 2006 11:38 am
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Member
Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Posts: 1522
Location: NH
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CF16,
I agree, despite what Hun says, I don't shoot them in my Worlywirth. My Merkel with Skt1 and Skt2 loves the Fiocchis. The new 1620 should be real nice with them and the Briley thin walls installed. I'll be able to adjust with chokes instead of ammo as I do now.
Hey hun, I'm not so mean.
But recoil is something that has just never bothered me either in rifle or shotgun shooting. In fact, I'm taking my Feather out with Rem Game Loads Fri for 200 rds of sporting clays. |
_________________ A bad day of hunting is better than a good day of work. |
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Posted:
Sun Apr 30, 2006 5:31 pm
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Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 787
Location: Indiana
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I used the 16 ga. Golden Pheasant in 2004 around here but stopped because as far as I could tell, they didn't perform any better than the Rem. Heavy Game load of #6's and they cost twice as much, with more recoil. |
_________________ One Man with Courage is a Majority
---Andrew Jackson |
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Posted:
Sun Apr 30, 2006 8:36 pm
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Member
Joined: 04 May 2005
Posts: 123
Location: Oregon
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I patterned the 20 gauge 3" Golden Pheasant loads at 40 yards and they were the worst I ever saw. I ended up using them like a Spred-R load. Even though they are "plated" they flattened out much more at the pattern board then most of the other brands.
Larry |
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Posted:
Mon May 01, 2006 5:50 am
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Member
Joined: 12 Mar 2005
Posts: 6535
Location: massachusetts
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It's the curse of the 3" 20 ga. shell--a long shot colunm and higher pressure to reach a decent magnum shell velocity being fired out of a narrower bore. It's why the 16 ga. is a better alternative regardless of the all the commercial hype to the contrary.
If "Golden Pheasant" loads are your only alternative for a good late season and long range load, then use them. However, HOA wrote that they can be duplicated with good handloads. He's dead on the money here.
I use nickal plated #5 shot and magnum shot in 1-1/8 and 1-1/4 oz loads to good effect. The plated shot does seem to penatrate better. however, the kills on the birds I've hit with either type shot fold up about the same.
I don't think buffering the shot is necessary either as long as pressures are kept below 10,000 psi. A shot cup that contains 90% of the shot as loaded will easily protect the column in the bore and is the key to effective patterns at longer ranges. Good crimps are also very important for uniformly effective loads. These two things are most important.
I use the SP-16 wad for all my 1-1/8 ounce loads. Its designed for the job and does it very well. The Remington case and Blue Dot powder allow me to get excellent crimps and reach 1250 FPS easily. The SP-16 wad can be used in a number of shells with good results if a good crimp can be formed. Adjusting the loader crimp form and finishing dies correctly is crucial and will vary from shell type to shell type.
For 1-1/4 ounce loads, I have some of the old Herter's 1-1/4 ounce wads. They are interchangable with the SP-16 wad in the Federal and Fiocchi case for these magnum 16 ga. loads based on Blue dot powder. The shells crimp better with the Herter's wad and pattern very well with .022 to .028 points of choke at 40 yards. I particularly like the Fiocchi case here. It crimps better than the Federal for me. However, I use only once fired shells here to ensure perfect crimps. I don't shoot a whole box of these loads in a long season, so its no big deal casewise. I would prefer that each of these heavy loads do the job well. They have so far. |
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Posted:
Mon May 01, 2006 6:21 am
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Member
Joined: 04 May 2005
Posts: 123
Location: Oregon
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The only decent 3" factory 20 gauge shell I ever found was the buffered Federal Wing-Shok 1 1/4 oz. load with copper plating. I don't know if it's the buffering alone or the combination of their two piece wad or the plating or what but they are consistent performers with a tight choke slightly beyond 40 yards. Their 3 1/4 dram 1 1/8 oz 16 gauge shell is excellent too as is their 2 3/4 dram shell if you can still find it somewhere.
Larry |
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