I hear ya Steve. I pick up a 12g on occasion when the birds are big, wild, and scarce.

If all the "crippler" guys were really worried about it and were true to their tone, they'd never pick up a shotgun. 12g guns have and will continue to cripple more birds than any other gauges combined in the U.S. no matter the best intentions and skill of the operator. I saw an episode of a show on TV where it was clear than Tom Knapp wounded a bird with a 12g. They cut most of it out. How many of the "crippler" opponents to small gauges shoot as well as he?