Sounds like both you & your dog are relatively inexperienced. Everyone's gotta start sometime. Inexperienced hunters/dogs see a higher percentage of straight-away shots. It's just the way pheasants are. Whether it's a 20-yard or 35-yard straight-away shot, it takes oomph for a pellet to get through the butt & back & into the boiler room. And trust me, not all 35-yard straight-aways are created equal. Some just require a bigger bang. Why limit yourself by your shells on an otherwise very makeable shot?? I strongly recommend minimum of lead 5's or steel 3's. Fewer pellets/ounce (less pattern density) would result in fewer hits on a quail, but it'll still go down. The quail will be fine, unless he's just too close (in which case, it'd be destroyed by 7.5's too). It's the same reason lots of guys shoot steel 2's at pheasants. Plenty of energy to penetrate & break stuff at longer range & it doesn't take as many hits to put a rooster down.