Originally Posted by Ted Schefelbein
I met Don Zutz at a skeet shoot at my local club, when I was a 30 something, and bought a few of his books. He had written what I had spent my time discovering to that point, a 1 ounce load of 6s out of something that you would hunt in the upper Midwest was about perfect.
IIRC, Mr. Zutz used #6 to hunt grouse without a dog because #7 was not available and #7.5 was inadequate. He did quite a rant in "Handloading For Hunters" about the rise of #7.5 and the fall of #7. Either way, he preferred shot larger than #9.

Caution: Hunting and fishing stories told here. Protective footgear may be required.