IM: I have read that the 28 and 16 gauges are both more ballistically efficient than the 20 -- that if one of the three is redundant and should never have been introduced, it is the 20. However, the 20 was introduced, is the most firmly entrenched, and will be the last of these to go away. Of course, the smaller the gauge, the less forgiving it is and the better your aim must be. I have shot doves and planted chukars with a 28, and they're certainly a pleasure to carry, but I still see the 28 as sort of a novelty gun. When I'm doing serious hunting for wild birds, I try to give myself a greater advantage by using a 16 or 12. I carried my "new" 20-ga. Model 37 Ithaca on Thanksgiving morning and emptied it at a rooster without ruffling a feather. I know that the problem was 95 percent user error, but you can bet I was also trying to convince myself that I was undergunned! Happy hunting. TT
