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Buzz - prepared properly, sharptail are a delicacy. They are delicious early in the season. They are equally delicious late in the season. All you have to do is take one look at the dark, rich meat to know that you can't cook them the way you would a lighter-fleshed bird, like a pheasant or ruffed grouse, or (God forbid) a commercially raised chicken. They have to be eaten rare, with a sauce or glaze (sweet or savory) that complements their rich flavor. I know guys who shoot stuff (sharptails, for example) that they have no intention of eating. For form's sake, they take them home, throw them in the freezer till they get freezer burn, then throw them out the next year. Game wastage is illegal in Montana, though nearly impossible to enforce. Still, it pisses me off when people shoot stuff they don't eat - especially beautiful native birds like sharptail grouse. If you don't enjoy eating it, just don't shoot it - it's that simple.
In answer to the original question that began this thread: 16 ga RST 1 oz # 6's: for everything, early and late: ruffed grouse, blue grouse, huns, sharptails, pheasant, chukar.

I seem to recall having read that in times past small gauge guns using #10 shot was a favorite of Rail shooters along the South-Eastern coast. They were a very small bodied bird & hunted by poling a boat through the shallow from which they would jump from the vegatation at close range.

Number tens would work just fine for marsh hens (rail), but there'd be lots of shot to go through while eating them. By the way, there are several types of railbirds down here. I think the one Miller has in mind is the Sora, which is pretty small; on the other hand, the Clapper, Virginia and King rails get on up to near pheasant size. Surprisingly, they are all very good to eat, having meat midway between 'quail white' and 'dove red'...Geo

Geo;
Yes it was the Sora I recalled that about. Having never hunted them or in that area, I only know what I have read about them. As I recall the #10s were used only in small gauges with light shot loads. I once had an opportunity to buy an old box of 20ga shells loaded with 3/4oz of #10 shot, probably were 2�" ones. Don't know why I didn't buy them, they were offfered real cheap.

Well, yeah . . . but some choices work lots better than others. I would not choose 3/4 oz 9's for pheasants, nor 1 1/4 oz 4's for woodcock.

Right you are Larry. I just don't see that the difference between an ounce and an ounce and a sixteenth, between 6 shot or 5 shot,3 drams or 3.25 drams equivalent and on and on, is really the issue so often made.

Early season pheasant I use #6. Mid season I use #5. Late season I switch to #4.

For Dove and Bob White Quail 7 1/2 shot.

When the Doves are flying High No 6 shot.

I use No 6 on Blue Quail from time to time also.

clayws, How do you cook the sharpies to make them delicious? I fried some Sept birds that were not too bad. Also, I hunted the Louisiana Atchafalaya basin last year for woodcock and a French chef prepared the birds, I believe baked with a French sauce and cooked them rare. They were pretty good, but clearly not as delicious as quail or ruffed grouse. Also, I used B&P comp 2000 #8 shot, 1 oz loads on the woodcock and couldn't have asked for a better shell. #9 or 8 1/2 shot undoubtedly would have been good too for those small birds. That was my first purely woodcock hunt (there was not anything else for me to hunt pups on last year with the drought), and it was interesting, but I would much rather hunt ruffed grouse or quail. Where I hunt ruffs, I generally let the woodcock fly off because I don't like to eat them very much and my little pointer grouse dog does not care for them much....she does not like to pick them up and it seems like she will hardly even point them.....and she is a way above average grouse dog. Odd!!

I don't like anything smaller than 7 1/2 (too many small shot to pick out of birds), use these on dove/quail and sometimes on chukars.

Real preference for chukars is #7.

Pheasants early, #6; later #5 (I stay with #6 in 16 gauge and lower; use 5s only with 1 1/4 oz loads in 12 gauge @ 1200 fps).