Have a budy who prides himself in not driving pellets up the rear end of pheasants. Remarkable how many he kills with head and neck shots. So 'knowing where your pattern is" is his key to success. He prefers 6's over smaller shot. Conversely, he still uses BBB's and even T's on cranes, swans, and giant Canadas, while I maintain that going for head and neck shots with 1's results in fewer lost birds.