I was sceptical about them until I broke down and purchased the Nitro shells and a rhino choke. They are worth every penny if you are a perfectionist and want the best pattern you can get. Every thing you have read about them is true, yes there alot of pelets with 2 1/4 oz. of shot and majority of them are 7's. With my rem. 870 and 3 inch nitro's my pattern is about the size of a softball at 15 yards and stays in an almost perfect circle out to 50 yards (that's as far as I patterned it) at 40 yards I've got 287 pellets in an 11''x11'' turkey target with 36 pellets in the skull and vertebrae only(not the whole head and neck) Give them a try and you will not buy or shoot another ammo or choke!!