Well, I have hunted rail--not in the "low country", but out here in the "Heartland", where you walk them up in marshes, preferably behind a good Lab to help with the flushing and retrieving. Talking mostly soras, occasionally Virginias. I shot them with 9's and skeet choke back when it was still legal to use lead on them. (Don't know if nontox is required everywhere for snipe and rail, but it is in Iowa--and hard to find nontox small enough for those little critters!) Would've been happy to use 10's if I could have found some. Our rail fly low, slow, and you want to let them get out a bit so you don't blow them up--and then the little devils have the disconcerting habit of sitting down while still in range!
I've killed enough grouse with 9's early in the season, but I don't think I'd want to go to 10's. The problem with 9's, on either grouse or woodcock, is more pellets in the meat than I care to pick out.
