I’ve been universally disappointed with the patterns of 1 1/4 of 4 shot out of 12 gauge guns with less than a modified choke. I like the idea of #4 shot running into pheasants, I don’t like the idea that there are but 168 pellets in that load.

Some Setters aren’t good downed game finders. Some are splendid, and a few can make a lab look incompetent on retrieve. That said, I’ve spent a lifetime comparing the nose on a typical Setter to anything else that runs, and have made my own decision on which is best. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve put a Setter in a field a lab just worked, and ended up moving birds.

YMMV.

Best,
Ted