Hopefully, Debbi has moved-on and Stan's world is OK.
What's the story again on 7s and then 7 1/2s? I know English 7s are different but American 7s should be slightly bigger than 7 1/2s, right? I certainly hope so, as I just had RST load me some 2 1/2-inch 16-bore shells in 7s. Historically, RST 7s have been very effective for me (in my Brummy 16) on Nowhere, Minnesota ruffed grouse hunts.
From unscientific in-field studies (conducted by me, for the last 15-years) shot size does seem to matter. Longer shots with my 16BLE seem to have better results with No. 5s (over 6s). More normal shot-distances work just fine with 7 1/2, but...I seem to get cleaner kills with the 7s. Also, 7/8-ounce shells seem to work fine (I prefer 1-ounce for hunting) but 3/4-ounce shells don't always. Go figure? My chokes are quarter and half. In a more-perfect world my 16's left-tube would have a skosh more choke.
Accordingly, I just ordered a flat of shells from RST, mixed half & half, 5s and 7s. The 5s are 1-ounce, the 7s could only be obtained in 7/8-ounce.
Barring the unforeseen, I am going to be conducting additional "field-work" this coming Fall with an early ~6-lb 12-bore BLE. It'll be interesting to compare it to my 16 for "lethality". Purely a "nice day" gun, it's 30-inch Damascus tubes don't have much choke. I'm planning on using 1-ounce 6s and 7 1/2s in it.
Last edited by Lloyd3; 08/08/24 01:34 PM.
