J. J. Pringle, "Twenty Years' Snipe-Shooting," records bagging 78,602 snipe over the course of his hunting career. Snipe being the hardest of all game birds to hit, IMHO. He accomplished this with light English 12 gauges.
As far as Bobwhite quail go, if I'm shooting pen raised birds then the 20 or 28 gauge is more than adequate. If it's wild birds I'm chasing then I'm not proud, I'll usually go with a 16 or 12. I'm just not that good of a wing shot and since I'm typically hunting off horse back, weight isn't a concern.
As an aside, AKC doesn't allow a gauge smaller than 20 in a retrieving call back.
As to the vaulted .410, great for training young dogs steady to wing and shot but that's about it for me.
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"Life is short and you're dead an awful long time." Destry L. Hoffard
"Oh Christ, just shoot the damn thing."
Destry L. Hoffard
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