HoJoe. The Marines would give you a can of lighter fluid and a kbar type knife. Squirt, light, stab them when they came out for the crabs you are alluding to.

One reason for sky busting is most hunters are terrible at judging distance. 40 yards is a decent long shot. 60-70 is beyond any hope for all but 1/2 of 1%, myself excluded. I have killed birds at such distance but only when young using heavy lead shot loads or in desperation on birds already hit hard but flying off to die beyond any hope of recovery.

Steel shot, unless extremely large, does not have enough energy to kill birds at 60-70 yards unless they hit exactly in the right spot. You see the same thing when a single dove flies down the field and gets shot at a dozen times. A Golden BB might kill it but no aimed shot will. By the end it will be 65-75 yards away from every shooter.