S Dakota Pheasants

[grampster]

On Nov. 4th I'll be making another trek to S Dakota for pheasants. One of my compadre's brother has purchased a farm south of I-90 between Mitchell and Chamberlain.
I am wondering if the birds still wear kevlar vests as they did the last time I hunted out there.

 

[superhornet]

Depends on what you are using as far as the gauge load. I have hunted these birds for many years through out SD, Iowa and Nebr. I am old and set in my ways, but use an old Savage 520 pump in 16 gauge. Chamber a number 6 and followup shot will be #4. IMHO

 

[T.R.]

South Dakota pheasants are not armor plated. I hunt 'em with an older side by side double in 16 gauge. Right barrel is sort of between modified and improved cylinder but left barrel is extra-full. It was made this way.

I like low base #6 in right barrel and high base #4 in left barrel. I don't take straight away shots at all. There are so many birds that a hunter can pass up those tough shots. I prefer angled shots where I can lead a little and target the head.

My eldest daughter has taken dozens of birds with her Mossberg Youth shotgun in 20 gauge and modified choke. High base copper plated #6 gets the job done but she also passes those iffy shots.

We hunt 'em near Mitchell with a friend's Springer Spaniel. Great fun!
TR

 

[TrapperReady]

Good luck! I'm heading out to SD Oct 25th. I've got an 11 month old German Shorthaired Pointer who is proving to be an absolute bird-finding machine. It should be interesting.

BTW, I've got a pheasant load from www.hodgdon.com which has been excellent:

CAUTION: The following post includes loading data at currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The High Road, nor the staff of THR assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information. Always double-check posted information against published data.

Winchester AA Compression-formed hull
1 1/4 oz of #5 shot (Ballistic Products nickle-plated if possible)
Hodgdon Longshot powder
Rem. 209P primer
Rem. SP12 wad

Powder weights:
29.1 gr/ 9,400 PSI - 1330 fps
30.9 gr/ 9,800 PSI - 1385 fps
32.2 gr/ 11,200 PSI - 1440 fps - MAX Load!!

My charge-bar throws just under 32 grains of powder, but I still go through and carefully measure each and every charge. With these, I also weigh the shot individually, so the variance is tiny.

These shells are as close as I've ever come to a "magic bullet". They pattern beautifully and I've had some clean kills at borderline ridiculous distances.

Edited to add:

I agree with T.R. about passing up straight-away shots. With pheasants, if I can't see the head, I don't take the shot. Chukar, grouse, woodcock, quail, huns, dove... they're all easy to kill from behind, but I've seen too many pheasants be wounded and remain able to run by being shot from the back.