B&P Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot – Great Pheasant Load

Description

The usual complaint about a 20 gauge is that it runs out of authority on big birds. The B&P Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot is a direct answer to that. Number 5 is a large pellet by upland standards, and pushing it at 1255 feet per second gives a small gauge shell the downrange energy to handle a late season rooster properly.

• Why 5 shot in a 20 gauge
• Full specifications
• The case for a 20 gauge in upland cover
• Honest notes before you buy
• Choke matters more with a small payload
• The bottom line

Why 5 shot in a 20 gauge

A 7/8 ounce payload does not hold many pellets, so the temptation is to go small and fill the pattern. That works on quail and fails on pheasant. The B&P Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot goes the other way, using fewer and larger pellets so that each one arrives with enough energy to break a wing bone at thirty five yards.

Pheasants are deceptively tough. A bird hit with too little pellet energy sails off and is lost, which is the outcome nobody wants. The B&P Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot trades pattern density for penetration, and on a big bird late in the season that is the correct trade.

Full specifications

• Caliber: 20 gauge, 2 3/4 inch shell
• Bullet weight: 7/8 ounce of nickel plated chilled lead, 5 shot grain
• Bullet: 5 shot, nickel plated chilled lead
• Muzzle velocity: 1255 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: 20B78UP5, 25 rounds per box

Nickel plating on the shot is the detail that makes the pattern work at this payload. Plated pellets deform less going down the bore, and round pellets fly straight while deformed ones scatter. With only 7/8 of an ounce to work with, keeping every pellet in the pattern matters more in the B&P Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot than it would in a heavy 12 gauge load.

The case for a 20 gauge in upland cover

A 20 gauge double weighs a pound and a half less than a comparable 12, and after eight miles of cover that is not a small thing. The old objection was ammunition, and loads like the B&P Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot have largely removed it. You give up some payload and you get a gun you will actually carry all day.

Mounting speed is the other advantage nobody mentions. A lighter gun comes to the shoulder faster, which matters on a bird that flushes underfoot and is gone in a second. Paired with the B&P Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot a 20 gauge is a genuine upland gun rather than a compromise.

Honest notes before you buy

This is a 2 3/4 inch shell, the standard modern 20 gauge length, so it fits any current 20 gauge and any older gun chambered for 2 3/4. If your gun is a vintage 20 with 2 1/2 inch chambers, this is not the right shell and you want a short shell instead.

Two limits. This is lead shot, so it is not legal for waterfowl anywhere in the United States and is banned outright on some public land. And 5 shot is too large for quail or woodcock at close range, where the thin pattern will let birds slip through. For those, the 7.5 shot version of the B&P Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot line is the right pick.

Choke matters more with a small payload

With 7/8 of an ounce of large shot you have limited pellets to spare, so choke selection does real work. Modified or improved modified will hold the B&P Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot together out to the distances 5 shot is capable of. Open chokes that work beautifully with 8 shot will leave gaps in this pattern at thirty five yards.

Pattern the gun before the season rather than guessing. Shoot the B&P Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot at a sheet of paper at the range you actually expect, count what is inside a thirty inch circle, and you will know whether your choke and this load agree. It takes ten minutes and it settles a lot of arguments.

The bottom line

For pheasant and other large upland birds out of a 20 gauge, the B&P Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot is the load that makes the small gauge genuinely adequate. 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 Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 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 Upland Game 20ga 7/8oz 5 Shot is a sensible place to start.