As of now, I am shooting 3.5" Win. HV #6s at 1300 fps and getting good patterns. I am thinking of trying Win. XX #6s at 1150 fps, for the additional 1/4 oz. of shot.

Shooting #6s, I do not plan on taking shots greater than 40 yards, but if I estimate my yardage wrong, I don' t want to cripple a bird b/c it doesn' t penetrate well enough due to the loss in velocity.

My question is, will the loss in velocity make that much of a difference in real world situations?