cat, how far would you say your average shot is on roosters???
We get all kinds of advice on them from your 7/8 oz. loads to the 1 3/8 oz loads..
I feel better with 1 1/8 - 1 1/4 oz. loads at around 1200- 1220 fps.
All of my birds are put up by my golden retrievers... So unless I just happen to flush one really close, the shots tend to be longer than say a guy hunting with a good pointing dog.. I am not talk about super long stuff, but the few times I hunted with a good pointer, my shots came much closer than with my dogs..
I had one that was a deadly pheasant dog.. BUT since he didn't point I had to keep up with him. I used to say he was a full choke dog.. Once he figured the game out when he was about four, when he hit a track that bird was going to fly.. He was fast and it was tough to keep up, but we killed many birds.. So I usually used # 5's..
I have often thought the way we hunt is a great influence on the guns and loads we use..
