Steel for Pheasants?

[Gary O]

sorry; should have mentioned that I shoot a 16 ga O/U////

[Gary O]

I have a TriStar Hunter EX 16 gauge O/U with screw chokes. The folks at TriStar suggest that steel is fine as long as I install a modified choke as my tightest choke; I have about decided to try Kent bismouth #5's on those local roosters...
Thanks for all your council...

[sdnative13]

When shooting steel a mod choke is equivalent to a full choke shooting lead. Steel does not compress like lead so if you don't open your choke you run the risk of blowing out your barrel.

[Long View]

I use #4 Kent steel out of an IC choke from the bottom barrel and a modified from the top barrel.

[tamalpias]

Yeah, and drop down a choke if possible. Club birds die easy, so #6 or #7 will kill them quick, especially with a dog holing them close. They are going to flush at your feet, so you'll get the whole pattern on them. Wild birds are a different story - much tougher to kill. #4 would be a good bet, or larger.

spot on advice. I was going to say the same thing having hunted both wild and farmed pheasants.

For farmed birds i would recommend using a wider choke and smaller shot due to them flushing closer and you don't want to make soup with a close shot. at least 25% of the time when hunting farmed birds i just step on them and twist their necks instead of shooting them they bed down that close or spun that much where they don't bother to flush. Why put pellets in them if you don't have too?