B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot – Great Load

Description

A quarter over an ounce is what a good 12 gauge field load carries. The B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot puts that payload in a 20 gauge three inch hull and sends it at 1300 feet per second, which is a great deal of shell for a small gauge and exactly what a late season rooster calls for.

• A 12 gauge payload out of a 20
• Full specifications
• Late season, long shots, wild birds
• Honest notes before you buy
• Your gun needs a three inch chamber
• The bottom line

A 12 gauge payload out of a 20

Standard 20 gauge field loads run 7/8 or 1 ounce. The B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot carries 1 1/4, which is a forty percent increase over a 7/8 ounce load and matches what most 12 gauge upland shells throw. Combined with 1300 feet per second, this is the load that removes any argument about the 20 gauge being undergunned.

Number 6 shot in a 1 1/4 ounce payload gives you roughly 280 pellets, each carrying enough energy to break a pheasant wing at forty yards. The B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot is a genuine long range upland shell rather than a close cover load, and that is what it is for.

Full specifications

• Caliber: 20 gauge, 3 inch shell
• Bullet weight: 1 1/4 ounce of lead, 6 shot grain
• Bullet: 6 shot magnum hunting load
• Muzzle velocity: 1300 fps
• Muzzle energy: not published for shotshells ft-lbs
• Ballistic coefficient (G1): not applicable to shotshells
• Case: reloadable boxer primed brass
• Quantity: 20 rounds per box
• Part number: 25 rounds per box

1300 feet per second with a heavy payload is where the recoil comes from, and it is worth being honest about that up front. This is a magnum shell in a light gun. The B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot is not something you will shoot a hundred of at clays, and it is not meant to be.

Late season, long shots, wild birds

Early season roosters hold for the dog and flush close. By December they get up at forty yards and put the wind behind them. That is the B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot situation, where a standard 7/8 ounce load simply does not have the pattern density or the pellet energy to finish the job cleanly.

Wild birds on public land behave the same way from opening day onward. If you hunt pressured birds rather than preserve birds, the B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot is the shell to have in the gun even early in the season, because the shots you get are the shots the birds decide to give you.

Honest notes before you buy

Recoil in a six and a half pound 20 gauge with this load is substantial, closer to a 12 gauge field load than to what 20 gauge shooters expect. A good pad helps. So does carrying only a handful of the B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot for the long shots and something lighter for the rest of the day.

Two limits. This is lead shot, not legal for waterfowl anywhere in the United States and banned outright on some public land. And it is far more shell than a close flushing quail or woodcock needs, where it will damage meat and cost you nothing but recoil. Match the B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot to big birds and long shots.

Your gun needs a three inch chamber

This is a three inch shell and it requires a three inch chamber. Most modern 20 gauges are chambered for three inch and will handle the B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot without issue, but a great many older 20 gauge doubles are 2 3/4 only. Check the barrel marking before ordering rather than after.

Choke should be modified or improved modified for the ranges this shell is built for. With 280 pellets you have enough to hold a useful pattern out to forty yards, and the B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot is wasted through an open choke at that distance. Pattern it on paper before the season and see for yourself.

The bottom line

For late season pheasant out of a 20 gauge, the B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot gives you a 12 gauge payload in a gun you can carry all day. You can read more about the bullet design at swiftbullets.com, or browse the rest of our stock on the MAG5 Firearms ammunition page.

MAG5 Firearms keeps the B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot in stock and moving, and we are glad to talk through bullet choice before you order. If you are working up a load for a new rifle, a single box of the B&P Heavy Pheasant 20ga 3in 1 1/4oz 6 Shot is a sensible place to start.