I hunt in Kansas and our birds are just as tough as anyone's and the last week of the seasonI can easily kill pheasants with 7/8 oz 7 1/2 20 guage shells at that. Your choke tube pattern is more important then the shell you're shooting. Pattern your gun. You'd be surprised at how different guns and chokes are. I have a Benelli super 90 with Briley tubes and it will murder pheasants at 40 yards all day with the shells I described above.