Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    oh, and also,
    
    I'm basically planning to use6 Rem expressss, with long modified
    barrel.
    
    I always had good luck with 3" express in my Dad's break action .410.
    
    
    and it patterned comme ca:
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    Maybe luck was on my side! ;^)
    
    My grandfather was a bicycle striper him at the Iver Johnson Arms and
    Cycle Works there him. Anyone interested in some antiques? I have some
    there me.

    
    >>>I want a lot of partridge.....
    
    Wouldn't we all.  I wish it was that easy.  If there was anything I've
    learned about partridge, it's that you can't throw money at them and
    expect to get your limit.  Buying expensive shotguns doesn't work.
    Fancy loads don't work either, to any great extent.  The best advise
    I could give you, if you want to get a lot of partridge, is to be
    a great shot, go where the birds are, and get lucky.
    
    With this said, I'll try to answer some of your questions.  As far as
    loads go, I generally use a heavier load early in the season.  The 
    reason for this is that the trees are still pretty leafy and you need
    (IMHO) some extra umph to go through them...and to the birds.  I don't
    go below 1 1/8 oz loads at any part of the season.  One ounce loads
    are ok if you are a good shot........I am not, and need all the help
    I can get.  As far as the choke/barrel goes, I don't see an absolute
    need for a modified choke on partridge.  IC works fine inside 30 yards,
    in my experience.  However, many people may not agree.  I know alot of
    people who shoot mod choke for partridge.  Most of these people only
    own one shotgun and they want it to be as versatile as possible so they
    get a modified choke and use it for everything.  With the advent of 
    steel shot for ducks being manditory, I think that will change.  IC
    will become the most versatile choke.  Lastly, as far as barrel length
    goes.....don't worry too much about it.  A 21" barrel with modified
    choke will have basically the same pattern as a 28" barrel with a
    modified choke, out at 30 yards (all other factors being equal).  A
    myth which has been dispelled recently is that longer barrels keep
    tighter patterns and have better knock power at long ranges.  The only
    thing that a longer barrel does is gives you a longer sight plane so
    you will be more accurate at longer distances.  Even this school of
    thought has been challenged in recent years.
    
    So in summing it all up.....use what you got, get out there, and PUT IN 
    YOUR TIME.  You gotta put in your dues like the rest of us :-)  Find
    out what works for you, and let us know how you do.
    
    Dave
    
    disclaimer: I have only been talking about real partridge.....the ones
    		that flush.....not the brain-dead birds up in Maine that
    	 	will let you walk up to them and beat them with your 
    		gun stock.  Chokes and loads aren't much of an issue in
    		those parts ;-) 

    First, having just recently gotten into reloading I can state that all
    of the reloading books specifically say that with the new uni-body
    plastic shells the height of the brass does not matter.  In fact the
    brass isn't even needed!  (Check out an ACTIV shell.)  As to partridge,
    I don't know - I haven't successfully gotten them (yet!).  I've been
    shooting trap for a year and I would recomend the most amount of lead
    that you can get!  You might want to try a "target" load - 3 dram eq.
    and 1 1/8 oz lead.  This yeilds a muzzle velocity of 1200 fps which is
    more than enough - even at 75 yards with a modified choke.
    
    Good luck!
    
    Mike
    

	I was reading an old Field and Stream last night. It had an article
about light loads. In a nutshell it said they pattern better than standard or 
express loads. The reasoning was that the lower fps ( approx. 1000 )
causes less shot deformation. They patterened the different loads at
40 yards and a 30" circle and found more shot in the 30" circle with 
the light load. I don't recall exactlly but the numbers went something like
268 253 and 228 for light, std and express. Of course there is the trade off 
with getting through leaves and twigs as mentioned previously.

	jim

    This is interesting. Partridge will drop easily. A glass skeet barrel is
    probably the be$t, but I don't have one and because I'm too cheap to
    buy on I end up using my modified.
    
    I'm not that good at partridge hunting as a result.

    The height of the brass does makes a difference with some reloaders. 
    My brothers, which is an older model will only take low brass shells.
    
    Jim