I agree with Richard, Bruce and Bill. I think the most important thing in shooting wild birds is shooting a gun that you shoot well whether it is a 28 or an 8 ga. Personnally I started hunting wild birds in SD with a 12 F/F, gradually dropping down to a 20 and now carry a VH 28 exclusively for the simple reason it is a dream to carry all day. I am fortunate to have a great dog and I will draw much criticism in saying that I shoot nothing more than 3/4oz of 7 1/2's. Under 40 yds. it is a deadly load. If you are not hitting these birds in the head and neck area you are going to chase cripples no matter what you are shooting. Even when I carried a 12 I passed up any bird over 40 yds. for the simple reason that truly good pheasant cover is dense and even with a good dog retrieval is problematic. The bottom line is learn to shoot well, whether it is by shooting skeet, trap, sporting clays or a combination of all. Then use plenty of choke. The birds we hunt deserve this respect.
Daryl
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