doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com tell me about the 28 Gauge

To compete with a 20 the 28 would have to be used with loads to an ounce. Loading the 28 with an ounce load makes just about the same sense as loading the 20ga to approximate 12ga game loads of 1 1/4oz. Just doesn't work as well as it should. For pen raised quail or game farm pheasants it would be okay, but for really wild quail, as in desert quail species or wild pheasants, you will likely be wounding even more than usual. I have used both fairly extensively including on Korean pheasants and no think birds that large are proper targets for a 28ga.

thanks guys I will point out the price of cartridges the Kemen 28g are selling for slightly less than WInchester premium 12g so they are not that bad I allready have several 12g guns and really enjoy shooting the 20g (I've hit clays with that as far away as other shooters using there 12g's) this is just a play gun I like using things slightly different I think it messes with other shooters heads when you hit targets with a little gun they can't hit with a 12g
FWIW I never use more that 7/8oz with the 20g if I need more shot I use a 12g

For those touting the 28 as doing anything a 20 will do . . . really? How about if you have to shoot nontox? If you've got a 3" 20ga, you can do OK with steel. You can get by on smaller or closer birds with 2 3/4" steel in a 20. With a 28, you're screwed. I say all of this while having made my longest consecutive run ever on pheasants with a 28ga and 3/4oz 7's I loaded up. But they were preserve birds over very good dogs. I've never made it a habit to take particularly long shots, but I've killed far more wild pheasants than any other bird, and I just don't think of the 28 as a gun for wild pheasants. There are those days when you only get a marginal shot or two, and I'd rather take those with something packing more punch than a 28 will throw.

Mike, I hear you about the training thing . . . but would there be any difference in recoil if those kids were shooting 3/4 oz 20ga loads? My "Shotshells & Ballistics" book says there should not be any difference.

Lots of good points of view. But chosing a gun/gauge is more than just about efficient killing. If killing was the only goal, we wouldn't all be fascinated by doubles. A gas jack in 3" 12g is far better killing machine than some extractor, exposed hammer 2" damascus gun that has to be fed 4000 psi party poppers. Heck, some 12g autos can be as light as anyone would want.

A man should shoot what makes him feel good, not what someone else tells him to.

True, Chuck, about shooting what makes us feel good but doesn't that throw this wonderful discussion to the winds? What makes me feel good is clean kills, maybe follow-up shot or two. One bad day about 25 years ago with the 20 on ducks put me off the 20 in the blind for 15 years. ( With 3-inch, it's my go-to gun now.) The 28ga in any form is off my list. I'm scared of a repeat on wild pheasants and ducks.

King,
I know what you mean. I would not even attempt waterfowling with my .410s. Even the mighty 3" .410 can't hold enough of that non-tox stuff to do a good job.

The 28 will do "Anything" the 20 will do!!!

Like Larry I greatly question this statement, but let's go a little further,. If it be true, we can likewise say a 20 will do anything a 16 will etc all the way up to an 8 doing anything a 4 will do, taking it one step at a time. bottom line is in effact one is saying 3/4oz of shot will do anything 4oz from a 4" 4 gauge will do. Do you Absolutely & Honestly believe that???

If adding shot to the charge at any level makes no difference then no amount can be added to make a difference. Each step may make only a small difference, but its there or an accumalation would have no effect. The best word I can come up with to describe the statement "It will do anything a 20 will do" is Ludicrus.

The first shotgun I ever shot in my life was a little 28ga H&R small frame single which weighed just a couple oz's over 4lbs. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the 28. never-the-less I recognise it for what it is, a nice little gauge for the uplands, & while I have no experience with wild pheasants it certainly would not be my pick should I ever have an opportunity to hunt them.

Miller,
Gotta agree with you on the quantity of shot thing.

On wild pheasants, little gauges have limits. Littler, more limits. Still, it can be very rewarding shooting small gauges, much like bowhunting is more rewarding to me than rifle hunting.

I recall meeting guys that still shoot longbows with woodshaft arrows and even saw something about a guy that was hunting with handmade stone arrowheads.

It's all good stuff

I recently picked up a Beretta/Orvis O/U 2 barrel set....28 and 20. I am really enjoying shooting the 28 at targets...although yes...shells cost more.

As one who is seriously considering getting 28ga tube sets in my damascus 16 soon, are 7/8 and 1 oz loads in a 28ga horribly inefficient, or are they worth considering for smaller upland birds (huns/chukars) and/or released pheasants?