Might be okay for those who participate in starling shooting.
Actually, IMO, no.
The topic of small(ish) shot for gamebirds always entails observations of birds killed with the little shot. No doubt, every bird brought to bag counts as success. But what about the flip side? Birds hit and lost? Grouse and woodcock (probably the most frequent victims of little shot) are particularly succeptible to escaping wounded with the gunner having no clue, likely convinced he missed cleanly. I once had the rare opportunity to watch a "missed" ruffed grouse fly 200+ yds and fall dead.
For a few summers I spent a lot of time shooting starlings at a dairy farm. Wide open pass shooting at any distance I wanted from 10 yards to infinity. I don't recall using 9's, perhaps because I tried them and gave them up almost immediately. I did shoot a fair number with #8 before switching to #7.5 permanently. I've never fired at a live bird with anything smaller than #7.5 since.
Birds hit with #8 often fell dead at the shot but many of them didn't visibly react to the shot only to fall dead 30, 40 or 50 yds beyond the shot.....distances far in excess of what I can typically see in the grouse woods. And rarely, if ever, did I see a feather pulled from a bird hit with #8. I found #7.5 to be better in every regard. There were often feathers in the air, birds fell dead, fell obviously crippled (seldom) or flew forever.
