Anyone use a short 10 for dove ?

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by CraigThompson

I actually don’t like 7 1/2’s that much . But since I started fooling with pheasents I like them for the first barrel and 6’s in the left barrel . As to dove I think they might be a skoosh better for the late season flight dove but if all I’ve got are 8’s or even 9’s it isn’t gonna stop me from going . A friend that moved to Colorado almost a year ago gave me four bags of Remington 7 1/2’s he’d had for about thirty years . I loaded some and used them for clays back before the crud hit and they broke targets very well especially the farther targets . I’ve since bought four more bags of 7 1/2’s to have in reserve . I suppose now I’ve got 10+ bags of 9’s same for 8’s and 6 or 7 bags of 7 1/2’s now . Got a couple bags of 8 1/2’s that came in a group of stuff I bought from the wife of a deceased friend , I don’t make an effort to keep 8 1/2’s but if I get them cheap enough I shoot them . Don’t ever keep more than a bag or two of 4’s or 6’s . Thirty years ago I’d buy chilled 9’s for 12 and 20 skeet loads , magnum 9’s for 28 and 410 skeet loads then for trap I bought chilled 8’s for 16 yard line and magnum 7 1/2’s for handicap and whatever I grabbed was okay for doubles all stations in skeet or trap .

Im not sure on dove but if they are similar size to our quail 9s are pretty deadly on them , then again quail are shot at almost point blank ranges at least here . Only thing I have used #4s on is squirrels and it really hammers them . I was thinking a duplex load of 6s and 8s would be interesting but from all the pattern testing ive seen duplex loads dont work out in practice as they do in theory .