I've used vintage double muzzleloaders for doves, and wild quail occasionally, since about 1984. I have never shot a charge of any propellant but real black powder, and never will. On a decent dove shoot it is no problem to take a limit of 15 with one. I have no problem with the "slowness of reloading". If you can load fast enough to kill 15 doves you're loading fast enough, IMO. Also IMO, if you choose to limit yourself to using m/ls you should not be overly concerned with the time it takes to reload. It just goes with the program. So what if you miss out on a shot at a dove, quail or duck, because you have to spend more time reloading? If it was about numbers you wouldn't be shooting a m/l.
My usual load for doves or quail is 1 oz. of 7 1/2s or 8s over an equal volume of FFg black. There is no handicap using an original m/l double shotgun for doves, as long as you understand that you have no choke and you need to keep that range at about 25 yards or less, as mentioned by Lorne.
SRH
