Browning super light feather O/U 12 ga.

[406dn]

I have a box and change of the Fiocchi Golden Pheasant GPX 5 shot in 12 gauge that will never be shot by me. They push 1 3/8 of lead at at something like 1385fps. It's a marketer's dream but they aren't any fun to shoot out of an O/U. They made at one time, a load with the same shot charge but started at a much more modest velocity. Those, I like, but it has been years since I have seen them in a store.

If I reloaded for a shotgun, my load for pheasants would be a heavy payload of 5 shot started at 1050 or so. Large pellets shed velocity more slowly, a heavy payload makes for a denser pattern, and modest velocity make for lighter recoil. It's the velocity that gets squared when calculating recoil. The same load started at 1350 has 65% more recoil than if started at 1050.

 

[MTLabrador]

I almost always shoot 1 1/4 oz 5s or 4s at 1400-1500 for pheasants depending on what I can find. Wild pheasants are pretty tough birds and I’m shooting them over labs, so usually at slightly longer ranges. I’ve never thought the recoil was anything to complain about.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I have a box and change of the Fiocchi Golden Pheasant GPX 5 shot in 12 gauge that will never be shot by me. They push 1 3/8 of lead at at something like 1385fps. It's a marketer's dream but they aren't any fun to shoot out of an O/U. They made at one time, a load with the same shot charge but started at a much more modest velocity. Those, I like, but it has been years since I have seen them in a store.

If I reloaded for a shotgun, my load for pheasants would be a heavy payload of 5 shot started at 1050 or so. Large pellets shed velocity more slowly, a heavy payload makes for a denser pattern, and modest velocity make for lighter recoil. It's the velocity that gets squared when calculating recoil. The same load started at 1350 has 65% more recoil than if started at 1050.

Yep, I threw in the towel with Golden Pheasant for the same reason. Federal is also on the fast-and-furious trip with their fancy pheasant loads. The same year I had such great shooting with the low base steel dove loads I got stuck buying a box of the Federal hot shot stuff at the end of the season (a black and red box with copper painted pellets - not Prairie Storm which as I recall are loaded just as hot). At 1500 fps those shells were punching me even out of my Light Twelve auto. I think I killed three birds with the whole box.

I'm not loaded for long shots even if the pheasants are spooky. I'll wait for something better. Don't need to gut birds that badly. With great dogs those running devils still can and frequently do escape if crippled. Yesterday I carelessly took a long overhead passing shot at a rooster as it left a Russian olive ... and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I missed. He was already over the endless cattail jungle. A winged rooster in that mess is almost certainly lost ... even when I had three dogs looking for them.

 

[88man]

My daughter shoots a browning lighting o/u 20ga since she was 8 years old. It does have a bit of recoil