I think we all know someone who has killed a pheasant with a 410 or 28 gage but while these smaller gages are great for dove, grouse, woodcock and other small birds they are far from what most would consider the perfect pheasant gun. Planted birds are one thing but in open country with truly wild birds my choice would be a 16 or better yet a 12 gage with no less than #6 shot and plenty of choke. You can bet none of the hunters in the late seson Kansas hunt below wished they had a smaller gun. For thoes new to this site you can see the rest of the story at the link below.
http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthr...ghlight=kansas