Brass shells for pheasants?

[shooter12]

Hello fellows

Does anyone use those brass shells for a hunting or clay shooting here?

The reason I am asking is , I have a good 12 gauge S@S shotgun that will be used for a birds this season pheasants/huns .
But it has 30 inch barrel and tight chokes , full and full I believe.
I've used it for a late pheasants season and love it a lot as it can reach quite far away .I've killed couple of birds at around 60 yds with $ 4 lead shells with this gun.

I was thinking of using the same gun for the whole upcoming season , but many shots will be taken pretty close as well ,as I will be hunting with a pointer
( she is only 3 month old right now , but growing very fast)

Ideally I would want to have a good pattern at around 20-25 yds with a brass shells from the right barrel , which is not really achievable with this particular gun and bought from the store ammo.

What are your thoughts?

Get a new gun for an early season or play with those brass /powder/shot reloading components?

Thanks

S12

[elkhunter11]

Have one barrel opened to IC, and the other to IM, and you have all practical upland ranges covered.

[catnthehat]

One of my guns is full and full , I use it with no issues on pheasant and Shsrptails as well as the odd Hun covey .
No issues at all .
I shoot brass and black , brass and low pressure smokeless, paper hulls , and also no toxic shot fir waterfowl
Some of our guns are F/F , CYL/MOD ,IC/MOD, MOD/MOD and CYL/CYL
I have always maintained that many people spend far more time trying to figure out choke choices than need be.
I know many very good shooters that use one gun only and the are invariably 23 gauge and MOD/FULL and they use these guns over pointers or flushers with no issues
Cat

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

One of my guns is full and full , I use it with no issues on pheasant and Shsrptails as well as the odd Hun covey .
No issues at all .
I shoot brass and black , brass and low pressure smokeless, paper hulls , and also no toxic shot fir waterfowl
Some of our guns are F/F , CYL/MOD ,IC/MOD, MOD/MOD and CYL/CYL
I have always maintained that many people spend far more time trying to figure out choke choices than need be.
I know many very good shooters that use one gun only and the are invariably 23 gauge and MOD/FULL and they use these guns over pointers or flushers with no issues
Cat

Then again, you aren't the average hunter. You have the skill to hit birds at close range with a small pattern, as well as the patience to let then get out a ways before shooting. Many shooters don't have either, and hit more birds, and ruin fewer birds , by using a much more open pattern. My go to upland guns have fixed chokes, and I rarely change the chokes in my other guns, so I don't mess around with chokes much either, but if I had a SxS with two Full chokes that I planned to use as my go to upland gun, I would have at least one choke opened up a bit.

[coyoteman]

Better to buy a new gun,light weight--12 or 20ga--changeable chokes--IC---for the 1st shot and mod for the 2nd--hard to beat a over under---keep a few steels on hand for a stray duck or goose---I picked up a canada last season at hopewell comeing off the field with two pheasant--The mod ragged dolled em .

[catnthehat]

At 25 yards with #5 or 6 shot , brass cases and fibre wads , the pattern will not be overly tight fir upland birds with a full choke
Nice Shot or Bismuth can also be loaded fir incidental waterfowl shots.

Cat

[shooter12]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

One of my guns is full and full , I use it with no issues on pheasant and Shsrptails as well as the odd Hun covey .
No issues at all .
I shoot brass and black , brass and low pressure smokeless, paper hulls , and also no toxic shot fir waterfowl
Some of our guns are F/F , CYL/MOD ,IC/MOD, MOD/MOD and CYL/CYL
I have always maintained that many people spend far more time trying to figure out choke choices than need be.
I know many very good shooters that use one gun only and the are invariably 23 gauge and MOD/FULL and they use these guns over pointers or flushers with no issues
Cat

Well,

I patterned this gun at 40 yds in a 30 inch circle and I am getting 85% pellets from the right barrel and 90% from the left.
At 20 yds the bird will be destroyed almost guaranteed if aimed for a body.
So I would not want to use this gun for released birds until the pattern drops.
Also I have a spot with a wild birds and its quite a different story.
Very often birds will run and flush at 40 yds and shot could be at 50 or even more yds.
And this is were this gun is a pleasure to use as it will reach there , no problem.

I was hoping to get away without opening the choke by using shells that decrease the pattern.
But if that will not work probably will have to open one barrel as Elk suggested.

[stob]

make or purchase spreader wads

[catnthehat]

You are getting 85% with brass cases at 40 yards ?
Personally I wouldn't worry about it if I were on released birds or not .
If you shoot the gun properly you won't be tearing birds up
Cat

[shooter12]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

You are getting 85% with brass cases at 40 yards ?
Personally I wouldn't worry about it if I were on released birds or not .
If you shoot the gun properly you won't be tearing birds up
Cat

Not with a brass cases.
With regular plastic cases 85% and 90%.

[catnthehat]

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=146411
Cat

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by shooter12

Well,

I patterned this gun at 40 yds in a 30 inch circle and I am getting 85% pellets from the right barrel and 90% from the left.
At 20 yds the bird will be destroyed almost guaranteed if aimed for a body.
So I would not want to use this gun for released birds until the pattern drops.
Also I have a spot with a wild birds and its quite a different story.
Very often birds will run and flush at 40 yds and shot could be at 50 or even more yds.
And this is were this gun is a pleasure to use as it will reach there , no problem.

I was hoping to get away without opening the choke by using shells that decrease the pattern.
But if that will not work probably will have to open one barrel as Elk suggested.

My own SxS guns have an IC and an IM choke. The IC covers everything out to about 35 yards, and the IM works well to as far as I can place the pattern on the bird. With two triggers, you can instantly choose either barrel, which is why I prefer a SxS with two triggers. The only issues I ever have with tearing up birds, is during dog tests, when a bird flushes towards cover, and has to be shot at very close range before it reaches the cover. During tests, the priority is a dead bird, regardless of whether there is anything left to eat, and o matter how carefully you plan the flush, even planted birds don't always co-operate.

[covey ridge]

Kent makes a nice spreader load mostly for in your face sporting targets. I have tried them in 16 yard trap targets and they work fine. Should work for close flushing birds as well.

[catnthehat]

If you are loading brass cases , spreaders are very easily made out of stiff construction paper or even milk carton .
I have also split a nitro card wad in half and simply put it into the shot column befire I glue in the overshot wad.
Cat

[shooter12]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

If you are loading brass cases , spreaders are very easily made out of stiff construction paper or even milk carton .
I have also split a nitro card wad in half and simply put it into the shot column befire I glue in the overshot wad.
Cat

I don't load brass cases right now, but I used to do it long time ago in the Old country with pretty good results and trying to achieve now performance needed for my type of hunting with a long barreled , fully choked gun without doing any changes to the gun itself , if it is possible of course.
If I can bring percentage of the pellets at around 55-60% with this gun I would be happy!
I will give a try to those Kent loads that covey ridge recommended ,( will pattern them of course before using)
S12

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by shooter12

I don't load brass cases right now, but I used to do it long time ago in the Old country with pretty good results and trying to achieve now performance needed for my type of hunting with a long barreled , fully choked gun without doing any changes to the gun itself , if it is possible of course.
If I can bring percentage of the pellets at around 55-60% with this gun I would be happy!
I will give a try to those Kent loads that covey ridge recommended ,( will pattern them of course before using)
S12

You asked originally about brass cases and shooting a F/F SxS
Now you are talking about shooting factory Ammo ?
With all due respect , quit double talking, changing the questions and shoot the damned gun and quit worrying about the Ammo, Chokes and whatever else you want to obsess about
You asked originally if anyone shoots brass cases and F/F guns and myself and several friends do just that and have for many years with great success
I am not sure what you after now as far as information goes so I am done here,
If you want any information in the future you will be getting it from someone other than Myself because I obviously cannot help you
Cat

[shooter12]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

You asked originally about brass cases and shooting a F/F SxS
Now you are talking about shooting factory Ammo ?
With all due respect , quit double talking, changing the questions and shoot the damned gun and quit worrying about the Ammo, Chokes and whatever else you want to obsess about
You asked originally if anyone shoots brass cases and F/F guns and myself and several friends do just that and have for many years with great success
I am not sure what you after now as far as information goes so I am done here,
If you want any information in the future you will be getting it from someone other than Myself because I obviously cannot help you
Cat

I am not sure why you react like that
But I thought that I explained what I am trying to achieve very clear.
And even I was asking about brass cases, another members recommended different options like buying another gun , opening up the barrel or using spreader loads( I did not even knew they exist) and those options I would consider also as well as your link to reloading brass shells, thank you.

S12