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Q:
Anyone tried Federal's Prairie Storm ammo. My buddy and I tried it out on a recent Pheasant hunting trip in Kansas. It worked very well for us. The first day of the trip we used Kent Upland rounds and had a few runners(dog tracked 'em down though). Then the next day we used Prairie Storm and every thing we hit went down for good. Very impressive! Just make sure you take good shots, because at almost a buck a round you don't want to miss.
Question by GetOutThere. Uploaded on January 24, 2012
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Answers (7)
Thanks, I appreciate the first hand feedback and the real in-the-field field test.
Just remember to use an IC choke with those shells because of the full choke pattern created by the wad cup they use. Great shells, but also very tight patterns at ranges you may not want a full choke..like say closer in shots at 25 yds and less over good pointing dogs. Good clean kills are also a product of good shooting. Don't get the barrel out ahead of the beak, and the hit is in the south end, and all pheasants will end up wounded.
I bought a box because they were cheaper than the regular Hi-Velocity copper-clad Federal ammo. Go figure! They worked very well! I used them through a modified choke but my flushing labs were usually putting them up at twenty-five yards so no problem blowing them up. Had a number of them kicked up off point very close but I just waited for the birds to get out there a ways.
They are indeed deadly. I don't recall any cripples with that box but by then I was on my game pretty good anyway. I also used some Black Cloud waterfowl ammo for pheasants (have to use steel on federal refuges) and did fairly well with it too, but nothing like the Prairie Storm. Two years ago I used the Federal Hi-Velocity loads and I think they were every bit as deadly as the Prairie Storm. Again, I think it's a "speed kills" issue, more than the wad construction. Any lead 2.75" shells that shoot 1 1/8 oz at 1500+ fps will probably give the same mortality rate no matter what the brand or gimmick.
Most of the shells I see marketed as "upland" loads are not terribly fast. Perhaps not a big deal hunting huns, mountain grouse, or sharptails but pheasants are tough. And pheasant cripples are hard to find even if you have a good dog ... or three like I do.
I'm sorta onboard with Honker on the speed kills issue. When I last was in So. Dakota, I picked up a flat of Kent Fastlead #5's. 1 3/8th's oz @ around 1500 fps. It killed 'em dead at 15 or 50, provided I did my part.
What I'm having a hard time being sold on is the Saturn shaped pellets being any better than perfectly round spheres. You ventilate a pheasant just right, he ain't gonna know the difference either.
What's interesting about those Prairie Storm loads is that they mix the pellets up. Unlike Black Cloud, Prairie Storm has part silvery saturn-shapes and part copper-clad. I think it's just a marketing gimmick. And I don't think the copper-clad shot in the Hi-Velocity shells are any more effective than ordinary lead.
Kent is not to be outdone by Federal's psychedlic-colored shot. They have "diamond polished" their "Ultimate" lead shot. Brother! Just give us speed and forget the goofy gimmicks.
I grew up in South Dakota and have shot hundreds of pheasants. Among my four brothers, we've accounted for thousands. I've never seen an issue with standard lead shot as long as you hit the bird within 50 yards (I shoot #4s). All types of shot seem to perform the same on misses too.
I guess if you only shoot one bird a year, it doesn't hurt to increase the anticipation by mortgaging your house for a box of shells.
I paid sixteen bucks for a box of Prairie Storm. Didn't think that was really break-the-bank. Federal Hi-Velocity copper-clad pellets (same fps as Prairie Storm) were a buck more a box. Sorry, DakotaMan, but I did see a helluva difference by moving up to higher velocity. Again, the kind of dogs used makes a big difference. If I was hunting plentiful birds over a pointer I could probably use trap loads and an IC choke and do fine (but certainly not out at 50 yards!). Hunting spooky birds with flushers is a different ball game. You won't be kicking roosters in the air with labs. And I'm sorry, but I started out hunting this fall with a box of wimpy Remington "upland" loads and that was real frustrating. I can say without exageration that shifting up to 1500 fps doubled my batting average ... and the hunting conditions only got worse not better. More importantly, it seemed to kill the birds better instead of just knocking them down.
Post an Answer
Thanks, I appreciate the first hand feedback and the real in-the-field field test.
Just remember to use an IC choke with those shells because of the full choke pattern created by the wad cup they use. Great shells, but also very tight patterns at ranges you may not want a full choke..like say closer in shots at 25 yds and less over good pointing dogs. Good clean kills are also a product of good shooting. Don't get the barrel out ahead of the beak, and the hit is in the south end, and all pheasants will end up wounded.
I bought a box because they were cheaper than the regular Hi-Velocity copper-clad Federal ammo. Go figure! They worked very well! I used them through a modified choke but my flushing labs were usually putting them up at twenty-five yards so no problem blowing them up. Had a number of them kicked up off point very close but I just waited for the birds to get out there a ways.
They are indeed deadly. I don't recall any cripples with that box but by then I was on my game pretty good anyway. I also used some Black Cloud waterfowl ammo for pheasants (have to use steel on federal refuges) and did fairly well with it too, but nothing like the Prairie Storm. Two years ago I used the Federal Hi-Velocity loads and I think they were every bit as deadly as the Prairie Storm. Again, I think it's a "speed kills" issue, more than the wad construction. Any lead 2.75" shells that shoot 1 1/8 oz at 1500+ fps will probably give the same mortality rate no matter what the brand or gimmick.
Most of the shells I see marketed as "upland" loads are not terribly fast. Perhaps not a big deal hunting huns, mountain grouse, or sharptails but pheasants are tough. And pheasant cripples are hard to find even if you have a good dog ... or three like I do.
I'm sorta onboard with Honker on the speed kills issue. When I last was in So. Dakota, I picked up a flat of Kent Fastlead #5's. 1 3/8th's oz @ around 1500 fps. It killed 'em dead at 15 or 50, provided I did my part.
What I'm having a hard time being sold on is the Saturn shaped pellets being any better than perfectly round spheres. You ventilate a pheasant just right, he ain't gonna know the difference either.
What's interesting about those Prairie Storm loads is that they mix the pellets up. Unlike Black Cloud, Prairie Storm has part silvery saturn-shapes and part copper-clad. I think it's just a marketing gimmick. And I don't think the copper-clad shot in the Hi-Velocity shells are any more effective than ordinary lead.
Kent is not to be outdone by Federal's psychedlic-colored shot. They have "diamond polished" their "Ultimate" lead shot. Brother! Just give us speed and forget the goofy gimmicks.
I grew up in South Dakota and have shot hundreds of pheasants. Among my four brothers, we've accounted for thousands. I've never seen an issue with standard lead shot as long as you hit the bird within 50 yards (I shoot #4s). All types of shot seem to perform the same on misses too.
I guess if you only shoot one bird a year, it doesn't hurt to increase the anticipation by mortgaging your house for a box of shells.
I paid sixteen bucks for a box of Prairie Storm. Didn't think that was really break-the-bank. Federal Hi-Velocity copper-clad pellets (same fps as Prairie Storm) were a buck more a box. Sorry, DakotaMan, but I did see a helluva difference by moving up to higher velocity. Again, the kind of dogs used makes a big difference. If I was hunting plentiful birds over a pointer I could probably use trap loads and an IC choke and do fine (but certainly not out at 50 yards!). Hunting spooky birds with flushers is a different ball game. You won't be kicking roosters in the air with labs. And I'm sorry, but I started out hunting this fall with a box of wimpy Remington "upland" loads and that was real frustrating. I can say without exageration that shifting up to 1500 fps doubled my batting average ... and the hunting conditions only got worse not better. More importantly, it seemed to kill the birds better instead of just knocking them down.
Post an Answer