In my 28ga preserve pheasant experiment, I had 2 reasons for loading 7's: First, 3/4 oz 6's is a pretty skimpy load, while 3/4 oz 7's gives you about the same pellet count as an ounce of 6's (225). Second, I was using relatively open chokes: IC/Mod. 7's helped fill the pattern. (Had I not gone with the reloads, my next choice probably would have been 7 1/2's.) But, again, preserve birds. Virtually all of them pointed, close flushes. I did get a couple true doubles, but the 2nd bird in one case is a rooster that might well have escaped had he been a wild bird. He made a pretty good run as it was.
