
I've been shooting west side pheasants for several years now with whatever loads I had left over from duck hunting. The same loads I liked for ducks seemed to do best on the pheasants. 2 and 3/4 inch in my 2 favorite guns.
I did have a couple boxes of "Expert" #4 that worked ok on pheas at close range, but too many fringe hits at longer range. I didn't like them for ducks either. Used them up on pheasants because they're usually closer/easier to kill.
Have used up to #2 successfully. I actually like the bigger sizes more than I thought I would. More quick kills at longer ranges. And not so many pellets in the meat. Most of the are "pass throughs"