As per usual, my "Jawja" amigo- you are right on the money. I try to use 2&3/4" 1&1/4 steel loads (No. 2) in my full choked M12 12 gauges- But I have also used the same loads in my Mossyburgh 835 Ulti=Mag, with the Mod. choke tube installed. Pattern testing at- 30-35 yards shows almost identical density of patterns from these guns. But, IMO anyway- patterning on paper at measured distances at a static target is waaay different from actual field conditions- wind, weather and "eye-ball" measurements for distance and height.
You can kill geese in the air "dead-nutz" with head shots, I prefer incoming shots, and if I stand up to shoot as the bird(s) approach my hide- they tend to flare, which slows their forward momentum, places their heads in a somewhat upright mode, then the old "Butt-Belly-Beak- Bang principal works well-
Being somewhat of a cheapskate at heart, I seldom use 3" steel loads in the Sept- Dec bonus seasons here in our flyway- I may use them in the later Winter "bonus" seasons. Love to hunt geese- and a few mallards are "extra frosting on the cake--" Since steel shot became the law, I pass up teal and woodies--if I were to hunt those smaller birds, I'd opt for 1 oz. Steel no. 6 shot-- RWTF
