doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Tower pheasent shoot, what shot size?

I'm going to a tower shoot Thanksgiving and will be shooting a London sidelock weighing under seven pounds. It's 2 1/2" as well. All I have is #8 shot with a few #7 1/2 shot in my stash.
What is the best shot size and load for this shoot and who has best shells?

I normally use 7 1/2s in a 1 1/8 load low velocity. Cherie uses one ounce of 7 1/2. Come to Beaver Pond sometime for a walk up shoot Much more fun.

Hmmmm......

Mike, I've not participated in a traditional driven shoot but many, many tower shoots. I've read reports of good results at traditional driven shoots with #7.5s or #7s (British #6).

Makes me wonder if driven birds aren't alot closer. Perhaps the towers I've shot are atypical. Whatever. #7.5s are woefully inadequate for any of the towers I've shot....even on a day when the birds weren't flying well...unless I intended to seriously restrict my shot opportunities.

I would go with the B&P Hi-Pheasant in #5 (US #5.5). I've used this loading at towers and found it works well. Right now B&P are selling Hi-Phez at discount ($70/250, shipped).

That said, I do better with a 391 Sport and heavy US #5, or even US #4.

Sam

Most Preserves around here don't allow anything larger than #6 for safety reasons. My wife and I shoot several tower shoots a year as writers and she does fine with and ounce of #6s.

Incoming pheasants are a lot easier to kill than birds flying away at the same distance.

I use Brit 6's (slightly larger than American 7's) on wild ringnecks over dogs, with excellent success. They tend to be the shot size of choice on British driven shoots, other than those featuring extremely "tall" birds. As Dick said, although driven/tower birds can present longer shots, that's at least partially offset by the fact that you're shooting them as incomers, with the vitals much more exposed to your shots.

RST has 7's for your Brit double. Kent Gamebore offers 2 1/2" shells with British 6's.

I'm late coming in on this, having been out of pocket a few days, but have found that lead #5's is hard to beat for tower shoots just as it is in the field when dealing with wild flushing birds & long shots.

It is presumptive, at least in my experience, to assumme that the persons on adjoining pegs will kill every bird flying in their sector; they will not. And also to expect that somehow tower birds are automatically direct overhead incomers; they often are not, some to many being more on the order of crossers when shooting all comers.

Where we shoot tower birds shot size is not restricted & having the ability to 'poach' an adjacent peg is not considered unsporting, particularly if the bird is borderline within a given peg's propietary area. I realise this was not in the original question, but tower shoots can be a good place to use up any left over lead duck loads one may have on hand.

At the end of the morning's shoot, the bag is divided equally. I am always in hopes of NOT receiving any birds that were felled with a load of #7.5' as their breasts can sometimes resemble a salt shaker's top. #7.5 shot can certainly kill pheasant, but if the bird is well centered, it will always prove less desireable for the table, IMHO. FWIW, lead 5's seldom remain in the bird.

kind regards, tw

The diversity of opinion here reflects a wide diversity in the "tower shoot" experiences. Really, the best answer (I should have mentioned this at the outset) is to ask the shoot manager or folks who've actually attended his shoots.

I'll describe one setup: at the top of a high knoll is an elevated box platform. Platform is 40-50 feet above ground. Top of knoll is easily 60-70 feet elev above perimeter. Circle radius is irregular ranging from approximately 100-150 yds. It is not unusual for birds to pass directly overhead at 50 yds or more, depending on conditions. The last bird I killed at this tower was a 70 yd (not a typo) incomer taken with my full choke 16 ga M-12 and B&Ps in #5. Some percentage of birds never get hit. The goal is to get as many as possible. As tw notes, birds are divided up evenly at end (not according to how many you think you killed). Thus, poaching is not considered bad form - so long as one is safe. Lead duck loads are, indeed, the bomb.

After birds are divided you put your tower gun away, grab a field gun, and walk-up hunt the escapees over your dogs.

Sam

I have shot a number of tower shoots with light english double guns loaded with the appropriately named B&P High Pheasant 2 1/2" loads in their italian #6 and #7. They come in 1 oz 1160 fps and 1 1/6 oz fps 1280 fps. Both work very well, but the latter are particularly effective. As the 1 1/6 rounds are little hotter and there are ususually quite a few rounds shot at these events, I prefer them in #7, which feels a bit softer. If I shoot the 1 oz, I use #6. Generally, if the gun is on the light side I shoot the lighter load. I like them well enough I shoot them in both 2.5 and 2 3/4" guns.

I have used the B&P #5 in the field, but most tower shoots will not let you use anything bigger than a #6 for safety reasons, and they are not necessary. Bandpusa.com will deliver them to your door with free shipping, and they are very nicely priced.

The Gamebore 2 1/2" I've shot certainly work, but recoil is nasty. The RSTs will also do the the job well and are also softer shooting like the B&Ps. Both cost more more and charge shipping.

There are now some Holland & Holland 2 1/2" available made by the famed English Hull cartridge company. I've shot some at high clay targets and like them. Not quite as soft as the B&P or RSTs, but much nicer than the Gamebores and you might enjoy shooting a true english made cartridge. You can get them at British Sporting Arms in Millbrook NY (bsaltd.com) Be sure to ask for the new Hull made cartridges, not the older H&H's made by Gamebore.

As noted previously, incoming pen raised birds are not like shooting Dakota pheasants or waterfowl, they come down much easier. So no need to unnecessarily beat up your gun, yourself, your birds or your neighbors with heavy shot and hot magnum loads.

I've done about a dozen tower shoots around the great lakes. Most, if not all restrict shot size. I have done all the tasks involved, much preferring to pick up with my dogs, where you can stand outside the ring.
I've been in the tower when the nimrods were blasting 4's and 5's directly at the tower. Openly seeking to kill the birds as soon as they cleared the walls. I quit.
This crude, blood thirsty, slob mentality, overly preoccupied with body count, fitting magazine extension, endorsed by the white buffalo crowd, that gets recruited for these shoots generally behave in an obscene fashion. If you are shooting 4 or 5 boxes at the tower birds, you are wasting your ammo, and are routinely attempting to poach adjacent butt's birds. Bad form in all ways.
If you can't cleanly hit a pen raised pheasant at 35 yards with breast side on, bigger shot is just going to hit the guys in the next butt.

I was run off at NOBS because of my detailed descriptions of Americanized tower shoots.

Use 6's at the largest, (7.5's are more than adequate) and shoot only at the birds that fly your way. Try to bring some respect back to the field if you can.

I think that the selection of full and mod. would do nicely for most " Tower Pheasant " shoots. As for ammo, I would contact the preserve where you will be shooting. Many preserves provide the ammo and thereby allow shooters to only shoot their provided shells and usually limit the shot size to #6 for the safety of the attendees.
Tom