Now, for the fly in the ointment. Do you want a more open choke or a tighter choke? This is the question because the patterns are statistically the same at a few yards difference in range. So, you can have the same pattern with soft as with hard by adding a few points more choke. Or, you can open your choke a few points by shooting soft shot. Shotgun patterns are Rayleigh distributed - so far, nuttin' has changed that.
Agree. And it's a big fly. I don't even know how we, as individuals, can control this variable to answer the question. Insofar as shot sizes #6 and up are concerned, I think there is no difference in killing effectiveness whatsoever between hard, soft, plated, eieio Pb shot on upland birds.
Deformation reducing penetration seems more plausible with the smaller shot sizes......especially when we push them to maximum distances/bird sizes. But pattern density is the elephant in this room.
Sam
