Extreme range pheasants.

[LordGamebore 0]

There seems now to be trend of extreme range pheasant shooting amongst game shooting circles, with most of the birds being shot past 60-70 yards, even 90 yards in some circumstances! Now my opinion is that no one can kill a pheasant cleanly at 90 yards no matter what shot size they are using or what choke they're putting it through. I imagine a 90 yard patten would have such huge gaps in it that a pheasant could easily pass clean through, or more worrying be wounded.

A few shoots now offer this extreme range shooting with Whitfield being the most notable. Whitfield offer a day with all birds being presented between 60-100 yards. The cartridge/kill ratio typically being 15/1.

 

It'd be good to hear opnions on this.

 

Maybe I'm just crap shot?

 

 

LG

[mattydski 560]

not for me..........

[Pink or stink 162]

I think it can be done but it's a fluke and nothing like consistent. A AAA at 90yrds had the ft/lb age but who on earth goes on a Pheasant shoot with this in their armoury? Doesn't do a lot for the sport to advertise such extreme range shooting.

[JohnGalway 1,043]

not for me..........

 

Same as the above. What the OP describes is just blasting away.

[sounder 9]

90 yards pheasants ya right, luck is only one word for it,i have shot pheasant out at far but i say 50 yards would be tops, some shooter are like womens clothes size if they say there a 14 there a 16, 10 there a 12, 8 =10 all is added to make it sound better imo

sounder

[dicehorn 38]

I personally think these high bird claims are a bit overdone.The problem being that when you look up in the air it becomes difficult to gauge height unlike judging distance horizontally. Yes we can see a 'high bird' flying over the top of beech or oak trees, but when you work out that the average beech or oak is 60 feet tall and add say 3 yards for the bird over the top of the tree then the high bird ends up being less than 25 yds high.

 

If you are standing at peg in a valley that is 300 feet deep and the birds are coming over you from the top, yes they are 100 yds high when they start. however, by the time they reach you overhead they have contoured down and usually end up around 40 - 50 yds over your head. Stand on the end of the line and watch the birds coming from high to the opposite end of the line and you will clearly see them flying down hill. It is just an optical illusion when you stand under them.

 

I'm surrounded by Devon 'high pheasant' commercial shoots - shot on many of them, shot at Selby in N Yorkshire off the the beach where the birds lift off the cliffs at a height of 470 feet - most of the birds were killable.

[sounder 9]

[The one 8,477]

Not for me either im only after a few for eating .But the paying guest's rule which would be okay if they where all crack shots but at those ranges there must but a lot of wounded birds left.

[Deker 3,478]

It doesn't matter what the tool, there are always those that want to push the boundary...actually most of us if the truth be known......

 

Know your limits and have some respect!

[Groach 7]

I have shot 3 pheasants that have been genuinely over 50 yards so far this season but not by much. 1 have been 50 hards high it took 2 barrels as first didn't kill it but second did. 1 was a 50 yard crosser folded with the first barrel. Finally was one that was touching 60 yards and was folded with first barrel and actually shot yesterday. I dont claim to be an exceptional shot by any means but for me the last was an exceptional shot and I would not normally shoot that far. Now this is using a 30g 6 Eley VIP through my 25 inch barrel churchill so im not one for 'heavy artillery' and I personally would not take it any further than that but regularly practice at 50 yard clays and can hit them well so am confident in shooting out to that range. As for any further its just not for me as has been said I don't think you can kill cleanly and regularly at that sort of range unless you're George Digweed.

 

George (not digweed )

[LordGamebore 0]

I have shot 3 pheasants that have been genuinely over 50 yards so far this season but not by much. 1 have been 50 hards high it took 2 barrels as first didn't kill it but second did. 1 was a 50 yard crosser folded with the first barrel. Finally was one that was touching 60 yards and was folded with first barrel and actually shot yesterday. I dont claim to be an exceptional shot by any means but for me the last was an exceptional shot and I would not normally shoot that far. Now this is using a 30g 6 Eley VIP through my 25 inch barrel churchill so im not one for 'heavy artillery' and I personally would not take it any further than that but regularly practice at 50 yard clays and can hit them well so am confident in shooting out to that range. As for any further its just not for me as has been said I don't think you can kill cleanly and regularly at that sort of range unless you're George Digweed.

 

George (not digweed )

 

No one cane kill a bird regularly past 50 yards, even if they are George Digweed. To get an effective pattern (75% of the pattern within a 30 inch circle) at 40 yards you need to use full choke. At 50 yards that drops down to 50%. It doesn't matter how good a shot you are, any birds shot past 50 yards are just pure luck . At 50 yards you need at least number 5 shot to cleanly kill a pheasant, so a load of about 42g would be needed to be consistently kill at 50 yards.

 

I've spent untold hours at the pattern plate trying out different cartridges and choke combinations, and at 50 yards you are well past optimum in terms of pattern, even if using super full choke, and at 60 yards the pattern is almost gone. There is also a world of difference between breaking a clay with small size shot and cleanly killing a pheasant aswell.

[william slater mcgregor 2]

i once loaded for an american gun on scone estate,who was shooting with an over and under classic double [winchester] he was firing 31 shots for 30 birds and most of them were at 50 yards, or more when i asked him how does he manage to be so consistant his reply was practice,practise and more practise,so it can be done regularly

[Lab 10,979]

I have shot 3 pheasants that have been genuinely over 50 yards so far this season but not by much. 1 have been 50 hards high it took 2 barrels as first didn't kill it but second did. 1 was a 50 yard crosser folded with the first barrel. Finally was one that was touching 60 yards and was folded with first barrel and actually shot yesterday. I dont claim to be an exceptional shot by any means but for me the last was an exceptional shot and I would not normally shoot that far. Now this is using a 30g 6 Eley VIP through my 25 inch barrel churchill so im not one for 'heavy artillery' and I personally would not take it any further than that but regularly practice at 50 yard clays and can hit them well so am confident in shooting out to that range. As for any further its just not for me as has been said I don't think you can kill cleanly and regularly at that sort of range unless you're George Digweed.

 

George (not digweed )

 

No one cane kill a bird regularly past 50 yards, even if they are George Digweed. To get an effective pattern (75% of the pattern within a 30 inch circle) at 40 yards you need to use full choke. At 50 yards that drops down to 50%. It doesn't matter how good a shot you are, any birds shot past 50 yards are just pure luck . At 50 yards you need at least number 5 shot to cleanly kill a pheasant, so a load of about 42g would be needed to be consistently kill at 50 yards.

 

I've spent untold hours at the pattern plate trying out different cartridges and choke combinations, and at 50 yards you are well past optimum in terms of pattern, even if using super full choke, and at 60 yards the pattern is almost gone. There is also a world of difference between breaking a clay with small size shot and cleanly killing a pheasant aswell.

Yes but your not swinging the gun at the pattern plate are you.......thats the difference when shooting birds. Get swinging and you'll knock them down quite constantly.

[danebrewer10 6]

same here, 90 yard pheasants? if you want to go target shooting, go to a clay ground!!, and as for practicing, I'll bet there's no clay ground with a 90m tower, what's the point?

[LordGamebore 0]

same here, 90 yard pheasants? if you want to go target shooting, go to a clay ground!!, and as for practicing, I'll bet there's no clay ground with a 90m tower, what's the point?

 

 

Have a read of this: http://www.fieldsportsmagazine.com/articles_shoot_towering_targets.php

 

One bloke reckons he can bring down birds at 90 yards!