The largest shot I had with me was No. 5. In a 3 inch turkey load, I figured at 40 yards and under it would work fine. I will probably go with no. 4 buck from here on out for better penetration though. My brother is skinning it out and talking to his friend about preserving the hide and fur. It should look nice, it wasn't shot up at all. I think I caught him in the head with the bottom of my pattern. We have a lot of reds here in the southeast and I think the gray's are more prevelant up in the mtns in the top half of the state where I got this one. There are red's there as well. My brothers buddy got 30 reds last year hunting local farms around where we live. This predator hunting is growing on me quick.