Pooch,
I shoot some pen raised birds several times a year. Like you said, it's better'n golf...especially for the dogs.
I don't wanna stop you from buying your next dream gun in .410, but I do have a neat little solution to your desire to reduce the howitzer effect. There's a neat little 12ga round made by Aguilla that's about 1 3/4" long and holds 5/8 oz of 7 1/2 shot. They have a full column shotcup type wad and pattern like a summer cloudburst. They ain't cheap, but they're not as much as a 3" .410 either. Besides, you can shoot em in your vintage 12ga, no matter what the warning on the box says...these little shells don't put out much pressure to get 5/8 oz to move 1200 fps. Try a few boxes, they're as much smallbore fun as you can have with a 12ga.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/255579/...-shot-box-of-20
