Back about 11 or 12 years ago when I started shooting Sporting Clays and Skeet, I used standard factory 12 gauge target loads - 1 1/8 ounce.
I got a super good deal on a 12 gauge MEC Sizemaster and started loading my own. I downsized to 1 ounce and then 7/8 ounce and then 3/4 ounce. I then went one step further and started loading and shooting 1/2 ounce 12 gauge loads. I had them tested by Tom Armbrust 9 years ago this month. Pressure around 6,000 psi and the speed is about 1350 fps. Been shooting 1/2 ounce 12 gauge loads ever since at the rate of about 4,000 per year.
For Skeet and the Sporting Clays course at my club, there isn't a target thrown that can't be broken if you hit it. Correct, it doesn't smoke 'em but they do break if you hit them.
The old gents that I shoot with don't keep score and no big deal if you miss. More of a social event than a shooting event. I don't hunt anymore.
And I don't mind getting twice as many loads out of a bag of shot. I do shoot 20 gauge too and hand load 1/2 ounce in that gauge also.
One of our club's top notch trap shooters usually goes 25 straight in trap. I had him shoot a round with my 1/2 ounce loads. He broke 24 and didn't know if that missed bird was the ammo or him. He was delighted with the lack of recoil. Me too!
