Re "why would you need a firearm so big? Also is the fact that if one has a firearm then one has the responsibility to be skillful with it and not just OK."

Not everyone's experience is the same. I shoot thousands of shotgun shells per year, but haven't fired a Mk II in several years. Therefore, given the choice of what to have with me in an unpleasant situation, I'd prefer a shotgun. Pretty much that simple.

You may be "more than OK" with a Mk II; I happen to be "more than OK" with a shotgun. I don''t have a pilot's license or a flight bag and my BoB is in the truck, so why wouldn't I want to add an 870 to my truck kit? (Wouldn't mind a MK II, too, but the wallet can only stretch so far, so fast.)

Being a shotgunner doesn't make anyone "wambo" any more than than being a lover of the .22 makes anyone a gentleman, a sportsman or a marksman.

To each his own.

And as to gathering small game, I'm fairly sure that pheasant will be on the menu in the homes of my family and friends come Thanksgiving. If I can't put it there, my brothers can! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />