For the handful of people that maybe shoot at 5 wild birds a year, run what ya brung.
Confidence will help you more than cartridge choice.
Just follow through, and try to hit them in the front.
Ass packing pheasants is considered bad form. (Too many runners when they get raked from behind).
Even in the glory days of ringneck pheasant hunting in the U.S., the majority of shots presented were at flushed birds who were quickly trying to fly away from the dogs or the hunters, not toward them. You could stand there in your tweeds and breeks, and wait for the beaters and drivers to send an incoming bird or crossing shot your way. But it would be a very long wait. Early in the season, or on rainy days,when the birds were more prone to holding tight and flushing up close, it wasn't a big deal to get on a departing bird at under 20-25 yards, and # 6 shot dumped even big native birds handily. At those ranges, an open choke worked very well. Later in the season, I would often switch to # 5 shot, at least for the second shot.
I do recall one hunt with a couple buddies near a local swamp. We had only walked into the field about 50 yds, when a big ringneck went up right in front of the guy in the middle of the line. He knocked it down from the rear, seemingly dead as a stone. The range was under 30 yards. We went over to admire the long plumage before resuming our hunt. We went maybe another 100 yards when I noticed him yelling, frantically jumping up and down, and swatting at the game pouch in the back of his jacket. I walked over just in time to see the bird stick his head out, very much alive. I quickly grabbed it and gave his neck a quick twist, and ended the excitement. I don't think shooting from the rear was the problem, so much as where the pattern was centered.
