Todd, I’m glad you are doing some analysis on #10 shot. Your findings will be interesting and I hope you write them up for Parker Pages.
There is no doubt that the old time grouse gunners, probably to a man, were using sub size shot. Spiller, Schaldach and Foster used #9’s and the old time gunners I knew, my grandfather included, used #10’s.
All of the books, articles and gun company recommendations available to me as a 13 year old boy, beginning a lifetime of grouse shooting, recommended 7 ˝ shot for Ruffed Grouse. My wisdom as a 13 year old told me that my grandfathers and others were wrong. I bought a box of high brass 7 ˝’s to begin my first grouse hunt. My grandfather looked at them, chuckled, and said that we’ll go Larry’s (the local sport shop owner) and get you a few boxes of partridge loads before you hunt.
There was an article in Outdoor Life the following year, written by a guy that switched from 7 ˝’s to 9’s and claimed that his birds to hand increased significantly. I thought to myself, maybe those old boys were on to something. I wish I still had that article.
However, the conventional wisdom of old timers is not always correct. We’ll see, but they sure took a lot of birds, myself included, with sub size shot.
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