I had a 30" barrel honed by Denny Tubbs so there are no imperfections in the bore and the I.D. is consistent. I also had the barrel cryoed and then I coated the bore with UBC. Denny also machined a choke (also cryoed) for me that was made to go with the wad I use (TPS). In fact, I had everything metal in my SP-10 cryo-treated. I killed a Jake last year with it on the last day at 68 yards. I hit him once in the head and twice in the neck. I couldn't find any in the body.
It is true, the pellet count is awful low when you compare it to a lead payload, but the HTL shot patterns more consistently than lead with a higher % of the load staying in the center of the pattern.
This is why I found your choice of #4s curious. Frankly, you were very, very lucky to get that many pellets in him at 68yd with #4s given the likely pattern density. Yes, tungsten will pattern tighter, on average, compared to lead other HTL shot. However, it's not enough to overcome the fact that you're shooting #4s of 18g shot, which has far few pellets per ounce than lead.
Why not go with #8s or #9s? To me, and everyone else that I know who shoots tungsten, that's the whole point of going that direction -- dropping shot size to increase pattern density and still retain adequate penetration at extended range. Tungsten #8s offer adequate penetration to 90+yd and #9s to nearly 75yd. Why handcuff yourself with #4s?
