It’s been several decades (3) since I hunted wild pheasants. The group I had the pleasure to tag along with used 16 and 20 ga. Guns. I was the only guy out of 5 with a 12, so naturally I felt over gunned.
I used 1 1/8oz of 7.5 shot backed up with 1 1/2oz of 6s. We hunted over a couple pointers, and most birds were taken within 30-40 yards. I know One of the other guys was using 7.5 shot out of his 16. I believe all the other hunters were using 6s but it’s been to long to be 100-percent certain. However, I am pretty sure 6s were the choice of payload for this group.
The birds seemed to be everywhere and no matter what you were shooting, Roosters fell just as dead with the 20s and 16s as they did with my 12.
I remember being ribbed on using a 12 and hopefully I don’t run out of ammo as no one can loan me any shells. I took it as good humor and started to panic as I missed the first couple birds and the poking and ribbing continued until I got into my swing on getting on the gun.
