Adam Johnson brought down a brace of pheasants with his 28-gauge shotgun. Photo by Tim Lesmeister.

It was early season, the wind was calm, and pheasants were flushing close. There were six of us split into two vehicles, and as we pulled into the second field, I could already sense what was going through Adam Johnson's mind. Johnson and I had both packed Model 1100 Remington 28-gauge shotguns and it was time for a little light-gauge action.

Johnson and I had been debating the ballistics of today's shotshells and we came to the conclusion that the only big difference in the loads we were using in our 12-gauge shotguns compared with the 28-gauge was about 100 feet per second and a few more pellets. Well, make that much more pellets, but that shouldn't make a difference if you are a good shot.

During the debate, we peppered the conversation with stories of our shooting prowess and embellished tales of ancient relatives who settled for nothing less than a headshot, even on a flying bird.

I reminisced about my father who hunted with nothing more than his trusty .410 and seldom missed a fleeing rooster. We came to the conclusion that the only reason most of us feel compelled to hunt with a 12-gauge shotgun is because we have more confidence in that big, bad load. We also concluded that most hunters don't spend much time practicing, so their wingshooting prowess requires the additional buckshot.

Johnson dropped the first rooster with one shot. It was a layup, so it proved nothing. Then I missed one with my first shot, but knocked it dead with the second, proving that a semi-automatic may be forgiving, but it sometimes produces a lazy first shot.

I never got another chance, but Johnson did. He led a dropping-quartering rooster perfectly and made a textbook perfect kill. Is this a testimonial to the efficiency of smaller gauge shotguns? Sort of. Would we recommend hunters use lighter gauge shotguns for pheasants? Not really. Most hunters need as much shot as they can get. Was this plenty of fun? You bet it was. But around opener when pheasants are flushing close and providing layup shots, you can get away with using a 28-gauge or a .410. During the late season when birds are flushing at 30, 40 even 50 yards out, you need 3-inch magnum shells in a 12-gauge.

This year we've decided to test our skill with .410s. I have a side-by-side and Johnson is contemplating the purchase of an over-and-under. We'll push a few cases of shells through the barrels before taking the guns into the field.

When there are plenty of birds, it's fun to play. Fortunately, the last few years in Minnesota have provided a large pheasant population. According to Kurt Haroldson, the Minnesota DNR pheasant biologist with the Farmland Wildlife Populations & Research Group, there are two reasons this happens.

"What we usually look at to predict the pheasant situation is how much habitat we have compared to other years and how the weather has shaped up," Haroldson said. "In the past few years, we had all positives in those categories.

"However, this season may be different. We have a positive on winter weather but negatives on habitat abundance due to negative spring weather. So, it's not as rosy as it has been the past few years when we had all three positives in those categories."