I am shooting the Longbeard XR's as well and have added a red dot scope b/c the pattern is so tight. I consistently put 70 pellets in the head and neck at 40 yards on paper. That doesn't mean I would shoot much over that. I would rather let a bird walk off to hunt the next day as cripple him at 50 or 60 yards and let the coyotes eat him.
If ya don't mind me asking what gun/choke set up are you using? I am still in debate on getting rid of my old mossberg and getting a new set up for next year with a red dot.
I typically limit myself to 40 yrds but I did misjudge one last year and it ended up being 65. I put a stalk on him using a fan from one I shot the day before. I was way off in distance because of the heat of the moment and the wide open dirt field.