You're on the right track, Dennis. Patterning the gun with different loads is the only way to know for sure. The issue of the long but patchy shot strings from .410s, mentioned by GRF are not that big a deal in your case, real though they are. You are using it on quail that, for the great majority of shots, are going away. Yes, all the shot from a long shot string don't arrive on the target at the same time. But, with a straight away shot, the difference in time lag between the front shot and the last in the swarm does not matter at all. Overall pattern size IS important to you, tho', and you're hot on the heels of nailing it down. Stick with the testing ...... it will pay off for you.
SRH
