RE: What's your favorite load for Pheasant?
My favorite pheasant load is 1-3/8 oz of #5's. The load in my old Winchester loading pamphlet lists the Blue Magic hull with the AA red wad and W571 powder. The published velocity is 1330fps, but this load registers 1425fps out of my 24" Benelli! This load is absolutely LETHAL on pheasants!
As my stock of Blue Magic hulls and W571 powder dwindled, I had to find an alternative pheasant load. I discovered that Longshot powder is terrific for fast 1-1/4 oz loads in readily available AA hulls. My chronographs clocks this load at 1450fps, which is also much higher than than the published velocity for this load.