Rufus, you've convinced me. Buckshot is better, but it looks like heavy bird shot wouldn't do a bad guy any good if that's all you had. Thanks.
I certainly wouldn't want to get shot in the face with 7 1/2s or 8s. Some human targets are going to quit when you shoot them with anything. But if you run into the guy who's not going to stop unless vital body functions shut down, giving him a really hideous flesh wound (as opposed to punching holes through him) might not be enough to accomplish what you are trying to do. There's certainly a whole bunch of variables that no one can predict ahead of time, but I honestly see no advantages to bird shot to offset the obvious disadvantages.
