you got to hit them right...I had 9 pellets in the head...when I cleaned up the skull for a skull mount it broke in to. A pellet went through the skull into the brain..2 pellets barely went into the neck..I use the modified choke..Remington 3 inch..I understand the 2 3/4 are better...less pellets mean a faster speed. I won't use my 3 1/2 18 pellets mean a very slow speed. They are in the post rut.