Description
BP Heavy Dove and Quail 12ga is exactly what the name says and nothing more. It is a field load in 9 shot, built for small, fast birds taken at moderate range over open ground, and it makes no attempt to be a do-everything shell. That focus is why it works.
Why 9 Shot for Dove
Most American dove loads come in 7.5 or 8 shot, so a 9 shot upland game load looks unusual at first glance. The logic is straightforward. A dove weighs about four ounces and has no armor to speak of. What kills it is hitting it at all, and hitting a fast, jinking bird at 25 to 35 yards is the actual difficulty.
The 9 shot in BP Heavy Dove and Quail 12ga puts roughly 585 pellets in a 1-1/8 ounce payload against about 410 for 8 shot. That is a substantially denser pattern, and density is what converts a marginal lead into a bird in the bag. Within normal dove range those pellets carry plenty of energy. Past about 40 yards they run out of steam quickly, which is the honest limit of this shell.
Quail work is similar. Birds flush close, the shot happens fast, and a dense pattern out of an open choke forgives a hurried mount better than a sparse one does. This is not a pheasant load and should not be treated as one.
BP Heavy Dove and Quail 12ga Specifications
BP Heavy Dove and Quail 12ga is a 1255 fps 12 gauge shell in a 2-3/4 inch hull carrying 1-1/8 ounces of lead 9 shot, packed 25 rounds to the box. That velocity sits just above standard target speed, which is a sensible place for a field load. Fast enough to shorten your lead on a crossing bird, slow enough that a long afternoon in the sun does not leave you sore.
Made by Baschieri and Pellagri in Italy, this belongs to a family of Baschieri Pellagri hunting loads that has been refined over decades on European driven shoots and Mediterranean dove fields. The company has been making shotshells since 1885 and its hull and crimp consistency is a genuine strength.
Consistency is not a small thing with BP Heavy Dove and Quail 12ga when you are shooting a lot. Dove season means volume, and a shell that varies in crimp depth or hull length will eventually stop a semi-automatic mid-flight. These feed reliably in gas guns rated for standard field loads.
- Gauge: 12 gauge
- Shell length: 2-3/4 inch
- Shot size: 9
- Shot weight: 1-1/8 oz
- Shot material: lead
- Muzzle velocity: 1255 fps
- Primary use: dove, quail and small upland birds
- Rounds per box: 25
- Manufacturer: Baschieri and Pellagri
- Country of origin: Italy
Chokes, Range and Where Not to Use It
Open chokes suit BP Heavy Dove and Quail 12ga best. Improved cylinder covers most dove work over a field, and skeet or cylinder is better yet if birds are decoying into a water hole at close range. Modified is as tight as you want to go, and even then only if you are shooting a pass where birds cross high and wide.
The limitation worth stating plainly is range. Nine shot sheds velocity fast because each pellet is light. Somewhere around 40 yards the pattern is still dense but the individual pellets no longer carry the energy to reliably put a bird down, and you will cripple more than you kill. If your dove field routinely gives 45 yard shots, move up to 7.5 and accept the thinner pattern.
Lead shot also means BP Heavy Dove and Quail 12ga is not legal for waterfowl anywhere in the United States, and some public land and state dove fields now require non toxic shot as well. Check your local regulation before the opener. A lead field load is perfectly legal for dove on most private ground, but the exceptions are growing and the fines are not trivial.
Dove and quail hunters who want BP Heavy Dove and Quail 12ga for dense patterns from a well-made Italian field shell at normal upland ranges over private ground where lead shot is permitted.
If your season includes waterfowl or public land that requires non toxic shot, the Dual Bismuth 12ga 3 Inch is the legal alternative from the same maker, and for preseason clay practice the Next 12ga 8 Shot keeps your gun on familiar Italian hulls.
Buy BP Heavy Dove and Quail 12ga by the case if you shoot a real dove season. Volume shooting is where consistent lot numbers pay off, and a case of 250 rounds is a realistic weekend for two hunters over a good field. Store the boxes indoors and out of the heat rather than in a truck bed between hunts.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.