which is the best shotload for pheasant shooting?
81386
Ask VP Dick Cheney for that one.
856368
Best rifle for what? Target? Varmint? Plinking?\n\nIt really depends on what the rifle will be used for.
408006
game fowl, maybe.  I'd just call it pheasant meat.
1175576
the effin 50 cal....i have personally used it...such a powerful thing.yesssssss!!!
325456
remington 870 pump, it's very versatile.  it can be yours for the low price of around $250.  you can hunt just about anything common in north america.  deer, quail, doves, turkey, pheasant, ducks, clays, etc.
964159
forget the .44, its still just a pistol round. fine to 100 or 150 yards but beyond that no. 30-30 is good to 200 yds and has killed about as many deer as any round, its cheap and easy to shoot but its not the flattest shooting thing out there, you need to know your rifle. 30-06 and .308 are almost clones ans both are fine calibers, the 06 will handle heavier slugs better however due to the longer neck. 7mm is also a fine round, flat shooting with more that enought power but for your uses its almost overkill. other cartridges to consider- .243, flat shooting and easy recoil, accurate and powerful enought for any deer- 8mm, .303 , 7.62R close matches for the .308 and 06. and enjoying a comeback as surplus rifles are getting easier to find. an out of the box round to think about is the 7.62x39 soviet in an SKS. cheap gun that with a change of sights is useably accurate and effective to 200yds for deer, about = to the 30-30 and there's some good ammo being made for it. for those that want knockdown power there's the 45-70 and the marlin .450 in the guide gun. \n   as to rifles there's not a lot of real differences between any major brand. its more what you like, can afford, and can find easily. i have used about every action and each wil work well. the bolt is the strongest and may be the most accurate but for 200yds any action is accurate enought. pumps, levers, and auto are faster for the second shot and may be shorter and handier in brush. whatever floats your boat. BTY savage arms makes some of the best shooting guns today and as i said the SKS is a much better gub than most prople think. don't think you have to own a high priced rifle when there's many less expensive ones that will do just as well.
791969
Bound's hubby here:\n\nFirst, do not zero with ammo you are uncertain about! My biggest question, why zero at metric distances? Most shooting in the US is in multiples of 100 yards!\n\nThe only windchart I have handy at the moment for .308 Match is for the 168 grain Sierra MatchKing ... loaded to the equivalent of Military Match M852 (the sierra 168 MatchKing loaded to 2550 fps). Since 100m is only 10 yards greater than 100 yds, you can use this to "get on paper". \n\nUsing 168gr HPBT commercial ammo (Remington, Winchester, or Federal), zero you your rifle to shoot 1.3" high at 100 yards, then you should be very close on at both 200 yards and meters.\n\nI may be jumping at conclusions, but I would suspect you purchased a Springfield Armory M1A, either an "issue" style, or maybe a target grade rifle. You may want to limit your ammo selection, if you are shooting "target" to 168 gr Hollow Point Boat Tails (HPBT) for distances to and including 600 yards, and 175 gr HPBT beyond 600 to 1000 yards!\n\nGood luck!
20733
Black bear are best taken (in my humble oppinion) with a .30-06 180 gr. Some good brands of ammo out there include Hornady's 180 gr with super shock Tip and Norma 200 gr oryx bonded for when you need just a bit more bang for your buck.
859416
I bought mine to shoot trap.  It has a back bored barrel(I think that is what they call it) to reduce recoil.  It is the AL390 Silver Mallard.  You can get it at discount stores to save some money.  Never had any problems with it.
855343
As several have already advised, you want to use small shot and relatively low powered loads.  Extensive testing has been done with all variations of shot and shell that you can imagine for both law enforcement and civilian use.  I have reviewed and participated in many trials using typical housing materials and human ballistic compatible materials to simulate the effects of many different weapons, including shotguns, in a home environment.   Even with low brass, target or inexpensive field loads (#7 - #8 shot), the terminal effects were devastating within 2-15 yards.\n\nIn this range the shot pattern has very little chance to open up more than a few inches and thus most of the pellets and energy of the round is concentrated in a very small area of the target.  Total penetration of the pellets depended slightly on clothing, but typically ranged from several inches to more than 8".  In many of the trials the ballistic simulant was either cut in peices or turned into mush.  The small, soft lead shot also had a lessened tendency to penetrated both sides of a typically constructed home interior wall after passing through the target.  Most of the energy that remained after exiting the target was dissipated when the pellets hit the building materials and deformed due to their soft consistencies.\n\nSteel shot and even larger soft lead shot, proved to be much more apt to over penetrate or ricochet than small, soft lead pellets and I would not recommend steel, hardened or large diameter shot for home defense.  It is important to note that even small,soft lead  shot can't be called safe when discharged inside a building due to many known and unknown factors.  Known factors include, but aren't limited to pellets that miss the target and strike walls or ceilings without first passing though the intended target, weakened or varied building materials that the pellets may strike, distances and number of walls between bystanders and simply the innumerable dangers posed by discharging a weapon in such close proximity to others in an uncontrolled situation.  \n\nWith that said, if choosing to use a shotgun for home defense, I would stick with small shot and low powered loads.  There are even several rounds available in less than 2 3/4” sizes for all gauges of shotguns that provide ample terminal effects, but help reduce collateral damage even further.  Please remember that no matter what weapon you choose or what ammunition you pick, any can and will be lethal to humans under the right circumstances and should always be treated as such.  The opinions I have expressed here are simply to demonstrate how you might choose a relatively "safer", but effective loading than others mentioned in other answers to your question.  \n\nAgain I emphasize that that there is no load that is truly safe and could be relied upon to not seriously harm or kill another person either intentionally or unintentionally.  Even low powered loads and small soft lead pellets, can travel though walls, windows or any other housing material and still kill a person on the other side. Make sure you get some training and advise of a Certified Firearms instructor not only  to increase your safety and proficiency with your weapon of choice, but to help you with the weighty legal aspects of this topic as well.
957264
Shooting skeet and clay pigions is probly the best way to gain accuracy.....also....practice, practice, practice....you can have someone tell you how to shoot all they want, but you will not gain anything until you shoot....its going to take time and lots of shells....you will also find a day and the shooting range a good way to have a good time and also spend time with your family(if they shoot also)\n\n1.  Make sure you are using the same gun everytime....each gun will shoot just a little differant.\n\n2.  Make sure to shoot the same way every time....practice rasing the gun to the same position on your shoulder and holding the gun the same way every time you pull the trigger....this will keep you consistant, which is very important when shooting accurate....\n\n3.  Try to use the same type of shells....different types of shells will have different speeds and loads....affecting the way they shoot.....also remember dove loads will usually be 7 or 8 shot....and they will shoot differant than say a 4-5 shot you would use for pheasant....\n\n4.  Do not get frustrated if you miss....that will only make things worse....enjoy shooting, and practice, you will get better with time..\n\nThey answer before mine also makes a good point....flying birds are a lot different that targets....so once you have the basics at the range you will still need practice at the real thing so do not get discouraged if you hit 9 out of 10 clay targets and then only hit 3 out of 10 birds....you will get better with time...\n\nand don't listen to all those anti-hunters....dove is great on the table and fun to hunt....just eat what you shoot or make sure you know someone who will take the meat if you don't like it.....most of all enjoy the time outdoors and respect the game laws and ethics of hunting....and GOOD LUCK on a great hunting season.
196068
Your best bet for trapshooting is usually going to be a 12ga. 2-3/4" shell w/ 1-1/8oz of number 7-1/2 or 8 shot.  This load with a improved choke tube will usually do just fine out to about thirty yards or so, depending upon your level of skill and level of comfort with the particular gun.  If you are going to be shooting longer distances, you may choose to use an modified choke tube, or go to a size 6 shot which should so just fine to forty plus yards.  You will have to play around with ammunition from various different manufactorers to determine, if your gun shoots better with a specific brand, or if you just like a brand in general.  Personally, I would reccommend looking at Winchester AA target loads, or Kent all purpose loads.  I have had the best luck with either of these two, but I will usually shoot anything that is of good quality and realatively cheap.  Once you have figured all of this out, have fun and be safe.
70296
#7 birdshot.  Minimal drywall penetration and good stopping power.  Only reason to move to 00 buckshot is if you are defending over a longer distance or in winter when bad folks might wear very heavy clothing.
653883
i looked a little for ya, it is a confusing and vast subject, but This link may help with the ammunition;\n\nhttp://members.aol.com/vaquero760/ammo/amain.htm\n\nas for the guns them selves, as basic as it gets,\n\nshotguns = bird or deer hunting as well as "skeet/sport" shooting. There are 3 different types, "side by side" (2 barrels next to each other) "over-under" (2 barrels 1 on top of the other) and a "single barrel", this can be in "pump" (like in movies they manually pull the fore-grip back to re-load) or semi-auto (as a bullet is fired the gun re-loads itself. There are many "gauges" today typically they are 12ga. 16ga. & 20ga. (gauge is just a different term for the size of the bullet) They fire slugs (solid bullet) or "shot" (this is where it gets it's name, think of it as a bunch of BBs they come in different size as well)\n\nrifles= target, hunting, most any game other than birds. basically the bigger the caliber (or bullet size) the bigger the target i.e. deer vs brown bear.\n\nhandguns = personal defense, hunting, target. Basics, 2 types "revolver" (re-loads as you pull the trigger) this is your "cowboy" type gun, typically 6 bullets & \n"semi-auto" (re-loads it's self after each bullet) these are the firearms most police dept carry, and are used in most movies, they offer larger capacity, some up to 15 bullets typically these are easier to shoot for "first time shooters" calibers range just as rifles, different size for different job\n\nHope I didn't overwhelm you. If you would like someone to answer any questions, e-mail me direct I would be more than happy awtcw@comcast.net  :-)
813798
You can target shoot in your woods if you have the permission of the owner. Don't shoot in populated areas, and make sure there is some sort of backstop behind your target, like trees or a hill. .22 or .177 is personal preference. Crossman makes good air rifles.
59800
There are two issues at hand.  One is energy.  The other is momentum transfer.  \n\nHere are some muzzle energy for factory loads of the two rounds.\n\n30-30 factory loads:\n150 grain round - 2,390 fps - 1,902 ft. lbs energy\n170 grain round - 2,200 fps - 1,827 ft. lbs energy\n\n7mm factory loads:\n140 grain round - 3,400 fps - 3,593 ft. lbs energy\n160 grain round - 3,200 fps - 3,637 ft. lbs energy\n\nThe 7mm clearly has the uupper hand here.  However, that energy needs to be delivered to the deer to be effective.  Or more correctly, the momentum of the round needs to be transfered to the deer. \n\nThis is where, for example, hollow points are preferable to full metal jackets.  The hollow point will cause the bullet to mushroom giving it better momentum transfer properties (and therefore knockdown power).  FMJ rounds tend to go straight through causing somewhat less damage because of less momentum transfer.\n\nYou want a careful balance here.  Too much energy in too small an animal will make things, let us say, much messier.  All you want is a clean take.
84772
20 ga. shells. The shot can be from double ott buck shot to number 9 bird shot.