I know guys that shoot 1 1/4 oz at grouse on occasion, but I'd say there are darned few times you'd need that heavy a load. And I agree with Jack that 7 1/2 is almost always going to be big enough. Lots of experienced grouse hunters--as evidenced from above posts--use smaller shot sizes (although not 10's!) successfully. In the current issue of Pointing Dog Journal magazine, Steve Smith quotes the late Gene Hill as having said: "Pheasants aside, you can shoot just about everything in North America with an ounce of number 7 1/2's." If we're talking upland birds, I'd agree with that statement.
Pheasants . . . I'd say that most wild ringnecks, shot at typical ranges, could also be taken with that same load--and an even greater majority of them could be killed with an ounce of 7's or Brit 6's. Note that I'm speaking here of ranges at which pheasants are successfully shot, not SHOT AT.
