I tend to agree with TW on getting a reloader and making up some loads that work for you.
Also I wouldn't shoot steel out of your gun. Bismuth would be ok, but if you are not shooting ducks or geese I would stay with lead.
As far as hunting pheasants in S.D., unless you are early season hunting, I think that the combination you have is great. I made the mistake of using a 20 ga. 26" barrels imp.cyl/mod on a hunt in mid November using pointing dogs. It's very hard to shoot when 10-20 pheasants are taking off and you are looking for colors, by that time they are out there. Next time nothing smaller than a 16 ga. with 28-30" barrels, at least mod/full.
I'm still confused as to why people worry about what choke markings are on their guns. Especially some of the older guns. It's true that with todays plastic wads, the patterns seem to be tighter, but that can be changed. Besides reloading there are shell manufactures making shells for older guns to pattern like they did yesteryear.
I still recommend that you pattern your gun with a variety of different shells and find the one that best suits your needs.
