Shot size for Quail?

brewman · December 13, 2011, 06:18 PM

Ok so I have my first quail hunt coming up next week and the guy who is taking me said # 8 or 9 shot is best for the range we will be getting most birds, being about the 15 to 20 yard mark with maybe with the odd long shot out to 30 - 35 yards.

I will be using a 12G U/O with 30” barrels and screw in chokes.

I ended up getting Some Federal 7/8 oz in #9 but now looking more into it I'm not sure as a lot of people recommend mainly 7.5 in 1 1/8 oz loads for a 12G so I’m having second thoughts on the light loads I bought.

Do you think #9’s will be ok?
&
Do you think 7/8 oz is enough shot?

Cheers!

IdahoHombre · December 13, 2011, 06:44 PM

I shoot #7 1/2 for quail. I like to have the energy coming out to make sure to knock down the birds. But at 20 yards, I don't know there's a big difference between them and #9's. I would bring a box of something bigger. Once you get the feel of what different shots will do, you'll figure it out. Some times it takes some experimenting. I use much smaller shot for ducks than most folks, but I knock 'em down all the same.

Enjoy. Quail hunting is one of my favorites.

Scorch · December 13, 2011, 06:58 PM

7-1/2s or 8s, they will still have enough energy at 40 yds to down a bird. 9s are a little too light for the farthest birds but may work OK due to dense patterns.

Art Eatman · December 13, 2011, 07:11 PM

I don't know if your quail are near the same size as ours. I've always used #8 on the bob-whites, and for the larger, scaled (blue) quail I use 7-1/2. Either will work when the common range is no more than around 35 yards.

A quail is a point-and-shoot, rising bird. Don't try to actually aim, and don't shoot under them.

Deja vu · December 13, 2011, 09:37 PM

I use 6 shot but I use that for about every thing. If you don't have to make real long shots (for a shot gun) the 9 shot will work.

Pahoo · December 13, 2011, 09:44 PM

Been so long since I've seen any quail to shoot and the last covy I saw, I passed on. Just didn't have the heart. ....

I still have some 7-1/2 and 8's ......

Be Safe !!!

egor20 · December 13, 2011, 09:47 PM

The Wife uses 7 1/2s. I'm a lousy bird shooter, I just throw rocks at them

nate45 · December 13, 2011, 10:00 PM

I load my quail 12 ga shells with 1 1/4 ounces of #9 shot. I don't shoot past about 30 yards, but with that load and a skeet or improved cylinder choke, I usually hit the ones I do shoot at though.

Saltydog235 · December 14, 2011, 07:48 AM

8's or 9's will do on Mr. Bob White all day long. As said earlier its a point and shoot bird, you think too ling about the shot and you won't have one. Light, fast handling guns with shorter tubes are best, especially on a covey rise. I gues with 30" barrels, you can always swat them out of the air. My go to quail gun is a Browning Citori Superlight in 20ga, english stock and schanble forearm with 24" pipes. Light and fast.

warbirdlover · December 14, 2011, 10:18 AM

Those things (quail) move too fast for me. I used to hunt with a guy about 6' 3" with long legs and he and his dog could cover ground like I've never seen. He must have took 10 yard steps!!

His shotgun was the old Winchester semi-auto with the nylon barrel and metal sleeve in it... sawed off just legal. No choke. He'd shoot from the hip and never miss those things. I never got the gun up before those little rockets were gone.

Oh yeah. We used #7 shot size

Water-Man · December 14, 2011, 10:25 AM

6 or 7 1/2 work best for me.

jimbob86 · December 14, 2011, 10:40 AM

I've used 8's, 7 1/2's, 6's, and even 5's on quail ....... but I don't usually set out to hunt quail specificly .....usually, I'm hunting something else (pheasants, turkeys, or even pushing deer to my kids) and happen to bust a covey ..... they are not hard to kill (like turkeys) or even hard to hit (like doves) .... the hard part is having the prescence of mind to get a good shot off after stepping on a "feathered landmine". I don't have a dog, so the fist indication that there are any quail in the tall grass is when they explode into the air from 2 feet in front of me.....

#9 shot .... I don't think I've ever even seen that outside of a skeet range.

December 13, 2011, 06:18 PM	#1
brewman Member Join Date: November 19, 2008 Location: South Australia Posts: 54	Shot size for Quail? Ok so I have my first quail hunt coming up next week and the guy who is taking me said # 8 or 9 shot is best for the range we will be getting most birds, being about the 15 to 20 yard mark with maybe with the odd long shot out to 30 - 35 yards. I will be using a 12G U/O with 30” barrels and screw in chokes. I ended up getting Some Federal 7/8 oz in #9 but now looking more into it I'm not sure as a lot of people recommend mainly 7.5 in 1 1/8 oz loads for a 12G so I’m having second thoughts on the light loads I bought. Do you think #9’s will be ok? & Do you think 7/8 oz is enough shot? Cheers!

December 13, 2011, 06:44 PM	#2
IdahoHombre Member Join Date: December 9, 2011 Location: IDAHO Posts: 18	I shoot #7 1/2 for quail. I like to have the energy coming out to make sure to knock down the birds. But at 20 yards, I don't know there's a big difference between them and #9's. I would bring a box of something bigger. Once you get the feel of what different shots will do, you'll figure it out. Some times it takes some experimenting. I use much smaller shot for ducks than most folks, but I knock 'em down all the same. Enjoy. Quail hunting is one of my favorites. __________________ www.idahoman.com

December 13, 2011, 06:58 PM	#3
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	7-1/2s or 8s, they will still have enough energy at 40 yds to down a bird. 9s are a little too light for the farthest birds but may work OK due to dense patterns. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

December 13, 2011, 09:37 PM	#5
Deja vu Senior Member Join Date: March 14, 2010 Location: Border of Idaho & Montana Posts: 2,584	I use 6 shot but I use that for about every thing. If you don't have to make real long shots (for a shot gun) the 9 shot will work. __________________ Shot placement is everything! I would rather take a round of 50BMG to the foot than a 22short to the base of the skull. all 26 of my guns are 45/70 govt, 357 mag, 22 or 12 ga... I believe in keeping it simple. Wish my wife did as well...

December 13, 2011, 09:44 PM	#6
Pahoo Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2006 Location: IOWA Posts: 8,783	Once upon a time in Iowa. Been so long since I've seen any quail to shoot and the last covy I saw, I passed on. Just didn't have the heart. .... I still have some 7-1/2 and 8's ...... Be Safe !!! __________________ 'Fundamental truths' are easy to recognize because they are verified daily through simple observation and thus, require no testing.

December 13, 2011, 07:11 PM	#4
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	I don't know if your quail are near the same size as ours. I've always used #8 on the bob-whites, and for the larger, scaled (blue) quail I use 7-1/2. Either will work when the common range is no more than around 35 yards. A quail is a point-and-shoot, rising bird. Don't try to actually aim, and don't shoot under them.

December 13, 2011, 09:47 PM	#7
egor20 Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2010 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 1,824	The Wife uses 7 1/2s. I'm a lousy bird shooter, I just throw rocks at them __________________ Chief stall mucker and grain chef Country don't mean dumb. Steven King. The Stand

December 13, 2011, 10:00 PM	#8
nate45 Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 3,746	I load my quail 12 ga shells with 1 1/4 ounces of #9 shot. I don't shoot past about 30 yards, but with that load and a skeet or improved cylinder choke, I usually hit the ones I do shoot at though. __________________ "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."- Thomas Jefferson ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ (>_<)

December 14, 2011, 07:48 AM	#9
Saltydog235 Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2010 Location: Pawleys Island Posts: 1,563	8's or 9's will do on Mr. Bob White all day long. As said earlier its a point and shoot bird, you think too ling about the shot and you won't have one. Light, fast handling guns with shorter tubes are best, especially on a covey rise. I gues with 30" barrels, you can always swat them out of the air. My go to quail gun is a Browning Citori Superlight in 20ga, english stock and schanble forearm with 24" pipes. Light and fast.

December 14, 2011, 10:18 AM	#10
warbirdlover Senior Member Join Date: December 13, 2009 Location: central Wisconsin Posts: 2,324	Those things (quail) move too fast for me. I used to hunt with a guy about 6' 3" with long legs and he and his dog could cover ground like I've never seen. He must have took 10 yard steps!! His shotgun was the old Winchester semi-auto with the nylon barrel and metal sleeve in it... sawed off just legal. No choke. He'd shoot from the hip and never miss those things. I never got the gun up before those little rockets were gone. Oh yeah. We used #7 shot size

December 14, 2011, 10:25 AM	#11
Water-Man Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2008 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 2,126	6 or 7 1/2 work best for me.

December 14, 2011, 10:40 AM	#12
jimbob86 Junior member Join Date: October 4, 2007 Location: All the way to NEBRASKA Posts: 8,722	I've used 8's, 7 1/2's, 6's, and even 5's on quail ....... but I don't usually set out to hunt quail specificly .....usually, I'm hunting something else (pheasants, turkeys, or even pushing deer to my kids) and happen to bust a covey ..... they are not hard to kill (like turkeys) or even hard to hit (like doves) .... the hard part is having the prescence of mind to get a good shot off after stepping on a "feathered landmine". I don't have a dog, so the fist indication that there are any quail in the tall grass is when they explode into the air from 2 feet in front of me..... #9 shot .... I don't think I've ever even seen that outside of a skeet range.