BC,

I also went through this very frustrating journey and what I've found is that the choke matters most. Unforutnely they are expensive to try because once you fire a load through them they can't be returned. Not to mention they are between $40 and $60 each. An old buddy of mine patterned his remington with a very high end choke, approx $60, with the Remington heavy shot to put a ton of pellets in the head and neck at 60 yards.

I've seen him shoot a bird at 63 yards and it was literally a boom flop! Literally.

Try some different chokes if you need better performance. I settled. Haven't lost a bird yet. 5 so far.

Tom