I use #5 shot all the time.....best compromise between amount of pellets of the #6 shot and distance/punch of #4 shot

X2 I use #5 too... #4 tears em up too much, and #6 leads to a lot of cripples. its just right for the type of hunting out here in iowa

I hunt without a dog, so when I knock them down, I want them to not Bury themselves. Usually #6 with the first shot and #5's the next two shots. 7 1/2 seems way to light for me. I think the birds would laugh as they flew away and wonder if someone was shooting at them or it was beginning to rain.

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.

In Nebraska I prefer #5 shot, my father likes #6 magnums. If we are in an area where quail and pheasants are a possibility, my first shot in the O/U is usually a 7 1/2.

1 1/4 oz of 4's at 1300fps is great for me and the 1100

I would like to reload some 1 3/8oz loads with 4's in them but don't have any blue dot laying around.

I like 4's because I know the bird is gonna be dead when it hits the ground and I can really stretch out and hit the long shots since my pointer ranges out there sometimes I just gotta have them 4's........

Another South Dakota boy here and I too wouldn't use anything less than 6 shot. I use 4 shot all season. I don't like taking the chance of having a runner. If I hit them, they are down for the count over 90% of the time. When someone does have 7.5 shot, we politely ask them to put it away. It has become part of our "safety talk" before each hunt to our customers. If anyone needs a place to hunt but doesn't want to pay, there is plenty of public ground in S.D. and we have had a very good hatch. Numbers are really good this year.

12 ga mod choke with 2 3/4 inch and 7.5 size shot.. works pretty good for me.

I run eastern CO and western KS with 3 GSPs and shoot a 28ga Ruger. I shoot 3/4oz loads of 6s then 5s.

I like using #6 shot with a modified choke on them..