40 yards, 30" circle, one ounce, IC= 50% gives you 205 pellets of 8's. F=70%, giving you 158 pellets of 6's. I have more shot at 40 with IC 8's than you do with F 6's. And that's not even choke for choke. I understand the difference in penetration, and at some point it comes into play, but not at 40 and in. The vitals of a dove are small and they don't get bigger with distance. But the spread between shot pellets certainly does.
You “observation was, you will run out of pattern with 6’s before you run out of lethality with 8s” Which is BS, because it ignores the extra penetration and energy of heavier shot.
And your assertion is baseless because it ignores that you have run out of pattern density "at distance" (whatever that is). But since by your own admission you are fine with having birds fly through your pattern when you have pointed the gun correctly, I guess it doesn't matter. But a 6 that doesn't hit a vital area can cripple too and a thin pattern makes a hit in a vital spot less, not more, likely. Inside 40, I agree, doesn't matter, either shot size, same choke, same result. Beyond 40, better have a tighter choke and a closer-to-perfect point.
If I was shooting at 70 yards plus as Digweed is, yes, I would use bigger shot because at those distances downrange energy is a factor. But I would have to be choked down to a fare-thee-well to make it work. And I will add that we don't know how many birds Digweed cripples at those ranges either. Those shots can be left on the cutting room floor.
