What gauge/load shotgun is ideal for pheasant?

My first and last time I went hunting for pheasant was about ten years ago. All I know was I was using my friend's spare 12 ga (can't remember the make/model or load of shell). But we had a blast.

Anybody know what shotgun is best for a first timer? I'm looking at a Remington 870 Express or a Mossberg 500. Is 12 gauge an all purpose load?

Thanks,

12 gauge isn't a 'load.' Shotguns come in different gauges, such as 10, 12, 16, 20.... Depending on where your hunting (pheasant preserve vs. wild) and early vs. late season, there are a variety of guns you could use. Personally, I like a 12 gauge. I hunt wild birds and I really don't like to chance crippling a bird. If you want a all-around gun (can do waterfowl, upland, turkey) for a good price, I like the Remington 870. I prefer #5 shot for the majority of the season, #4's in the late season.

1-1/4 oz. of #5 shot out of anything is as close to ideal a compromise as I can think of. Randy Wakeman

I know this has been discussed many times on this list before, but for a low-end, beginning gun, either of the 2 you mentioned (and there are others, also) will do nicely. Some people will profess the virtues of the 16 or 20ga, but the widest variety of factory load shells available in the U.S. will be in 12ga. You would do fine with a 12ga in either of the guns you mentioned.

Rob Hatcher

If it weren't for my beautiful wife, my wonderful kids, or this fabulous job, I would be hunting or fishing right now.

I (we) highly recommend the Remington 870. We have it in 12 Ga. (mine) and 20 Ga. youth (hers). 12 Gauge is the most common gauge, available in a wide variety of loads and prices. We did also look at the Mossberg 500, seems comperable to the Remington

Ya know, for a first timer, you might want to consider a double barrel, either a side-by-side or a built-wrong (over-and-under .

They can be got pretty cheap, and are reliable as dirt, and often lighter to carry for upland bird hunting.

And yes, a good twelve gauge shotgun is good for everything you could care to hunt, from grouse to deer and back again. If you want to make it a truly all-purpose gun, though, better off with the pump gun, and with the 870, you can buy special-purpose barrels for it later, for slugs, for example, if you wanted to use it for deer hunting, or a tight one for turkey.

To get into the terminology, '12' is the gauge, the diameter of the ammunition, not the 'load', the composition of said ammo. The load is composed of two things: a size/diameter of pellet and the number of them, measured as a total weight of shot. For pheasants, if you can still use lead shot for upland game where you are, something in the 4-6 range of shot size in a 2 3/4' shell should provide you with the fixings for 'pheasant under glass' without too much fuss.

Myself, I use a 20 gauge when ever I have the rare hankering to pay-shoot pheasant (not native here in my neck of the woods), and use a 3' mag #6, as that is often the largest shot size allowed, so I try to compensate by using a heavier shell (the 3' mag).

Grouse here fold up nicely under 2 3/4' #7s (Federal general purpose shells from WalMart in the 20.

A sixteen gauge is an odd bird; very popular, but hard to find 'fodder' for. I'd go bigger or smaller, if I was you; a 12 or a 20. And if you want it to be a one-gun arsenal, go for a pump 12.

'12 gauge' refers to the number of round lead balls that weigh one pound.

In actuality, the bore diameter of a 12 gauge currently varies widely. Randy Wakeman

Now, Randy, you're going to confuse the poor boy . But yes, the number of lead balls, the same size as, supposedly, the bore of the shotgun, that equal one pound. With a twelve guage, that would be twelve, with my little 20 gauge, there would be twenty little balls of lead, totalling a pound.

So, do you want to tell him about grains and dram equivalents, or should I?

Hi DJ,

Sorry to offend your delicate sensibilties. As far as 'dram equivalents,' I sure wish they would lose that - - and stick with payload and FPS!

Randy Wakeman

Don't do that, Randy. You'll make the coffee come out my nose again . I shoulda let it go. I've been a bit edgy lately. But yeah, our sport does have alot of really bizarre units of measure... CUPs, grains, BCs, hog's heads per fortnight... Ah well. It's almost as good as having a secret handshake and decoder ring .