I just had a telephone conversation with Dean, whom I have high regard for and have always had much in common.
I told Dean an interesting anecdote. Last Tuesday hunting out in SW Kansas I was using a C Bernard 16 ga with 7/8oz #5 shot at about 1150 fps, a low pressure handload. I shot two pheasants from a fair distance , well knocked down, and lost both, never could find them, yet I got a good shot on them. I don't like to lose birds, yet most of us lost at least one bird that day, late season, hard feathers, long shots.
The next day I switched to my fluid steel P 16 with factory max 1 1/8 loads, then for the next two days did not lose a single bird. They were tough birds, one I hit in the head and body, it dropped both legs and flew for 200 yards, shedding feathers. Then it went straight up, typical of a head shot, and at the apex of its climb, dropped straight down dead, whereupon a hawk was on it immediately until Charlie got there before I did and chased it off. I feel that going to heavy and max loads made the difference and again, I hate losing shot birds.
To me, there are times when you need all the capabilities the gun will give you. Much of the time you can get away with reduced recoil loads, and to me reduced recoil means reduced shot load and/or speed from max. Sometimes I need all that I can get.
I think that Dean and I may be able to work out a FAQ answer that takes all that into effect and gives a complete answer to this question about "what can I shoot" that we get every couple weeks. The answer will deal with a check the condition of your gun issue also.
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