Some tips that could make all the difference
The right shotgun cartridge and choke combination for pheasant shooting could transform your days this coming season.
There have been some major advances in shotgun cartridge technology in the past couple of years. To protect the environment shooters should use fibre wads. The Eley Hawk VIP Game cartridge comes in 28, 30 and 32gram load in both fibre and photodegradeable wad. Then there’s the Hull High Pheasant fibre wad, another top cartridge for pheasants.
To protect the environment shooters should use fibre wads
Right shotgun cartridge and choke combination for pheasant
Getting the right cartridge
- Find a shotgun cartridge brand you like and stick with it.
- Side-by-sides and over-unders are both catered for by the top brands .
- Start your pheasant season on No.6s.
- Move to No.5s and even No.4s as the season continues and the pheasants get older and tougher.
- Many people say their gun can’t take bigger shot size but it is the weight of the shot and the length of the cartridge, not the actual shot size, that will affect your gun.
- Clean out last season’s mixture of cartridges from your bag and stick to what works for you. This will give you consistent shooting and confidence.
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Using the right choke combination
- Half choke is good for all-round shooting.
- If you have a multi-choke gun and want to shoot high pheasants later in the season, put in the full choke to keep your shot pattern at these extreme ranges.
- If you have a fixed choke gun and you are lucky to shoot a full range of pheasants this season then get your gun multi-choked.
- Teague Chokes are a preferred brand and they can be fitted into all types of shotgun.
- Confidence is one of the major factors in making you a great shot.
- So take time to find the best shotgun cartridge and choke combination for pheasant shooting this season and stick with it.
Some thoughts on pheasant shooting
- Pheasants form the bulk of gameshooting in the UK, accounting for 80% of all gamebirds shot.
- Equally cherished by roughshooters and driven shooters alike, there is nothing quite like the first cackling and crowing cock bird of the season breaking cover and hurtling into the sky.
- In some conservation circles, pheasants are much maligned as being non-natives, but they have actually been around for a long time, probably at least since the Normans and maybe even since Roman times.
- They are very much part of the landscape of our rural heritage.