Partridge loads

[Signa427]

I was doing some skeet shooting this past weekend, burning off all the old shotgun shells from years past. I found myself shooting skeet with a variety of shells. 7 1/2, 4, 8, 2 1/2, the list goes on. I do alot of Partridge hunting in the fall, and was wondering what the best load for 12.Guage Partridge hunting was.

 

[Jose]

Grouse are not hard to kill. An ounce of 8 in 12 or 16 gauge or 7/8 oz of same in 20 will kill them dead.

 

[Signa427]

yea i know, all i have is a 12 guage shotgun. And traditional pheasnt loads dont deliver enough pellets.

 

[Madball13]

yea i know, all i have is a 12 guage shotgun. And traditional pheasnt loads dont deliver enough pellets.

Grouse are easier to knock down than pheasant. I would use whatever you have on hand for grouse size 5 all the way to 8 at any speed

 

[boilermaker]

I would use 7 for partridge

 

[Jose]

Grouse are easier to knock down than pheasant. I would use whatever you have on hand for grouse size 5 all the way to 8 at any speed

This

OP, you are overthinking it.

 

[Jose]

I would use 7 for partridge

7s are hard to find unless you find some British cartridges.

7 1/2s and 8s are much more common, that's why I mentioned them.

 

[MisterHappy]

Shoot what you have - if you do your job, any of your "skeet" loads will work.

The last 2 partridge that my dad shot were taken with a .30-'06

 

[boilermaker]

7s are hard to find unless you find some British cartridges.

7 1/2s and 8s are much more common, that's why I mentioned them.

Good to know about 7s. I won't spend a lot of time hunting around for them if I ever go grouse hunting.

 

[Signa427]

Who makes the shells with the special wadding? I think it says nitro piston on the side or something. I had a couple of thoes in the bunch, they seemed to have worked the best. The wadding itself flew about 100 yards. It may have been remmington but im not sure.

 

[J.M.]

I think low brass 7 1/2 shells are about the best for grouse. I have killed them with 6 and 8 shot too. The six shot is good late season when the leaves are down and birds flush wilder. The eights seem to be too lite and didnt knock them dead as much. The 7 1/2 seem like the best all around shell, and will also work if you get into woodcock.

 

[44marty]

PATTERN your shotgun and see what it likes. 8's are ideal as long as there are no gaps in the pattern. Some guns shoot 6's or even 7 1/2's well but don't do well with 8's - others just the reverse.

 

[pcgod]

PATTERN your shotgun and see what it likes. 8's are ideal as long as there are no gaps in the pattern. Some guns shoot 6's or even 7 1/2's well but don't do well with 8's - others just the reverse.

Marty hit the nail on the head..... I have shot grouse with 6, 7.5 and 8. It all depends on what the particular gun liked. I find that most of my hunting is done with 7.5, woodcock, grouse, or pheasant seem to fall.

 

[timbo]

As a kid, I used to hunt partridge with my marlin .22...I didn't have a particularly high kill rate but when I did connect, those CCI stingers made a satisfying sound hitting the bird. For every 10 birds I shot at, I probably hit 3-4. I got my 12 gauge at when I turned 17 and with that, loaded with 7 1/2 shot, it was like shooting fish in a barrel, comparatively speaking.

 

[Signa427]

must have been fun trying to take a bird in flight with a .22!