Pheasant Gun

Last Fall I started doing some Pheasant hunting with my daughter and her husband. Great fun, and I’m looking forward to another season. Here’s my dilemma….

I own a Remington 870 Wingmaster, 12ga. 26 inch, vent rib, Improved Cylinder choke. This is a pretty decent gun for Grouse hunting, throwing a wide pattern at close range. However I’m guessing this isn’t the best configuration for open field Pheasant hunting.

So what would be a better solution:

1) Have a gunsmith install a screw in choke in the barrel I have, or
2) See if I can find a decent used barrel, something like a 28 in Full Choke.

Thanks!

SR

What?!?! What about your muzzy?

Personally, I would just shoot the improved barrel. My second choice would be to find a used modified choke barrel, but I don’t see any problem with shooting what you’ve got. Just my 2¢.

“What?!?! What about your muzzy? ”

Nothing. Old Smokey is just fine….however I’m looking ahead here. If they outlaw lead shot, it’s going to be tough to use a muzzleloading shotgun. Bismouth or tungsten shot in bulk is stupidly expensive.

I probably pattern the Remington with 2’s to see what that choke really does.

SR

No need for a full choke. Ditch parrots aren’t too hard to knock down especially with lead shot. If what you’ve got is working stick with it. If not I would look at buying a barrel threaded for choke tubes. Modified would be preferable to Full if going with a fixed barrel.

FWIW I shoot an O/U 16 ga with fixed modified chokes and have never felt under gunned

Full choke is too much I think. I used improved cylinder in a 28″ barrel most of the last season. I switched to modified for a bit near the end but I think it did too much damage and switch back to IC. It depends on how long your shots are too. I have a pointer so I usually have a chance to get fairly close to the bird before it flushes . With an improved cylinder you could also look at ammo changes instead of a choke/barrel swap. Prairie Storm for example is supposed to go further downrange before the pattern opens up.

I’ve killed enough roosters over the years to partially fill a small dump truck. Every single one w improved cylinder. In both 12 and 20. I want a pattern like a sheet of plywood flying through the air.
I “adjust” the way my gun shoots w my ammo choice. Opening day is medium based 7.5’s followed by high base 6s.
All 2 3/4. As the season progresses and Rudy gets wise I’ll bump up the the best 5s my $ will purchase.
At the bitter end around the holidays and when the wind blows, sometimes the 3 inch nitro mag 6s make a guest appearance.
I almost always hunt over good dogs that can run down cripples when need be, but I want those things DEAD when they reacquaint themselves w the ground.
That 26″ wingmaster is the perfect shotgun for everything.

If it’s older, w a fixed choke, pattern it. It’s cool to see exactly what your rounds are doing.

I hunt ND over pointers, bennelli montofetro 20 mod choke 1 3/4 # 5s until after thanksgivings, switch to a ethos 12 1 3/4 5s with mod choke.

I normally hunt pheasant with improved. Especially with steel shot.

Thanks everyone for the input. Looks like I already have all the gun I need.

SR

I’m such a lite weight cry baby about getting stock bit, I started using a 20 ga full choke a loong time ago. True, it takes time to learn when to wait and when to pull the trigger, but it’s a great set up for me- – jerr

If you shoot the gun well, stick with it. Since I switched from Labs to 2 GSPs I’ve also downsized my gun from a 12 to a Beretta 686 dbl bbl. I shoot skeet on the first bbl and improved on the second. I use 2 3/4 6s early and switch to 3 inch 5s after Thanksgiving. I don’t adjust the tubes.

Steve Root wrote:

Thanks everyone for the input. Looks like I already have all the gun I need.

SR

Ahlman’s gun shop (or any competent gunsmith) can add screw in chokes. Ahlman’s was less than $150 all in and including the 3 choke tubes last I checked. The benefit I see there is that you keep your factory barrel and then there are no bluing matching issues as there would be with getting a different barrel.

While you certainly can kill birds with an IC, I like the versatility of screw in chokes. I usually shoot a mod for pheasants, but on a windy day, or if the birds are really skittish, I go to a full.

BTW, I’m glad to hear you still have a proper shotgun with 2 barrels. I would hate to think you’d sold out and become some kind of pheasant shooting Rambo with bandoleros of belt-fed shotgun shells slung over your shoulder as you full-autoed dozens of rooster from the sky with every trigger squeeze. No offense Suzuki, I mean not that there’s anything wrong with that…

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

BTW, I’m glad to hear you still have a proper shotgun with 2 barrels. I would hate to think you’d sold out and become some kind of pheasant shooting Rambo with bandoleros of belt-fed shotgun shells slung over your shoulder as you full-autoed dozens of rooster from the sky with every trigger squeeze. No offense Suzuki, I mean not that there’s anything wrong with that…

I hunted with Steve last fall, and he hunted with a single-barrel muzzle-loader. Comparatively, your O/U seems a little excessive, TFG!

“I hunted with Steve last fall, and he hunted with a single-barrel muzzle-loader. Comparatively, your O/U seems a little excessive, TFG! rotflol
~Ryan~”

That was a double, side by side Ryan. Old time fire power!

SR

Steve Root wrote:

That was a double, side by side Ryan. Old time fire power!

SR

Really? Damn! My memory is failing me in my old age! Still, that’s way more grizzled than TFG’s fancy-pants O/U.

You CITY hunters with your fancy guns and matching camo….
DT