As originally designed by Churchill, those guns weren't proofed for 1 1/4 oz loads. And having shot driven birds several times in Scotland (of the "normal" variety, not at those shoots which features a lot of birds 50 yards or more in the air), I've never seen anyone shoot loads that heavy at driven birds. They can be killed at 40 yards (which is sufficiently challenging for most mere mortals) with 1 1/8 or even 1 1/16 oz loads. But most "normal" driven birds aren't nearly that "tall". And if you can kill a pheasant flying away from you at 40 yards with 1 1/8 oz of 6 shot, you can certainly kill them as incomers with vitals more exposed with similar loads.

Of course all 1 1/4 oz loads are not equal. Well-known gun writers such as McIntosh, Hill, and Brister praised the old "Super Pigeon" load, which had a modest velocity of 1220 fps and patterned very well. McIntosh put it this way in his book "Shotguns and Shooting", chapter entitled "Gunning John Ringneck": "I wouldn't object too strongly if someone described a 12 gauge, 3 1/4 dram, 1 1/4 ounce charge of hard No.6 as the ultimate all-around pheasant load." I agree. I pattern tested those loads against Winchester's standard Super-X at 1330 fps as well as the then-new pheasant loads at speeds in excess of 1400 fps. The Super Pigeon (unfortunately not easy to find given American ammunition makers' tendency to try to sell both heavier and faster loads as their "premium" pheasant shells) delivered the most pellet strikes in the 30" circle. The Super-X was not far behind. The really fast stuff finished last--and also started with fewer pellets. If it's more killing power you want, that requires more penetration. Moving to 5 shot vs 6 shot is the best way to do that vs increasing velocity or shot charge. Noted ballistician Tom Roster also believes in loads at modest speeds vs what we're being offered these days as premium pheasant loads, both lead and steel. The price you pay for more velocity (and sometimes a heavier shot charge) is more recoil. None of the pheasants I've cleaned to date have been wearing Kevlar. What worked for those classic outdoor writers will still work today.





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