Ed, what I've noticed with the increase to 7 rounds in mag is just more rounds shot with same number of mag changes. Makes it a little harder for me to keep up with reloading. Gotta agree with the leather bumper thing, does seem pretty gamey/wussifying.
hp246, another change has been tactical reloads are now legal. And Model 12 shotguns have been legal for a while now, you might already know that.