The WAD Stays IN....

[gold40]

Over the weekend, I was pheasant hunting with a friend, when my dog went on point. As we moved in, I could see the rooster, and his head was pointing toward my friend, on the other side of some brush. We thought the rooster woud go toward him, and I stepped back.

He released his dog to flush, which it did, but the rooster did a 180 on the rise, and came back over me. I shot quickly, and too close, at about 8 yards. Bird went right down, with a puff of feathers. Dog retreived, and I put the dead pheasant in my vest.

When I cleaned it later in the day, I was very surprised to find the wad lodged inside the breast of the rooster, and a lot of meat damage. I n many years of hunting, that is the first time I ever had a wad penetrate, and stay in a bird.

[Nulle]

I guess I can't remember this happing either and I have shot a ton of birds with re-loads and factory

[Tater]

According to my Grandpa the wad alone will drop a bird as far as 10 yds out. He shot several pheasant a year in Montana while he was still able to hunt and said he had one every couple years with the wad in the bird. I have never had that problem but I've only been upland hunting for the past few years and only dropped 2 pheasant.

[fabsroman]

At 8 yards I would imagine so. I'm surprised that there was anything left of the bird that could be eaten, unless it was used as hamburger.

What choke were you using? Hopefully, something like skeet or cylinder, but I would doubt that for pheasants.