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

That's pretty good to average the limit of 4 birds a day for 28.75 days.
We all should be so blessed to get to hunt that often.
What is the possession limit, or did you do the right thing and give them away every day?

Wasn't any problem carrying a scorecard, LD. I flat missed the first one I shot at, didn't let any get away after that, including a couple doubles--although I did need a 2nd barrel on 2 or 3 birds. So all I had to do was count dead roosters. To tell the truth, I haven't shot all that many preserve roosters compared to the wild ones I shot. Your total is only a little below what I bagged one year in Iowa--all wild, and most taken close to where I used to live. Considering Iowa was the #1 pheasant state in the nation more years than not (beating out SD) from the mid-80's to the early 2000's, I had plenty of opportunities to put theory into practice.

And Don, you made a nice list of the limitations of the 28--which is the subject of the thread. You don't need to shoot nontox; quite a few people do, in quite a few places. You limit the gun to appropriate targets; I don't think it's an appropriate choice for wild pheasants unless you want to limit your chances (and I think I may have shot a few more of those than you have). I think it's just fine for grouse and woodcock, bobwhites, and I've even used it with good results on early season prairie grouse. But you start talking longer shots and/or bigger, tougher birds . . . you need more shot than you can stuff into those little shells. Inside 30 yards--maybe 35 on easier to kill birds--and it works fine. But it is what it is. And what it isn't is equal to a 20, any more than a 20 is equal to a 12.

Wasn't any problem carrying a scorecard, LD. I flat missed the first one I shot at, didn't let any get away after that, including a couple doubles--although I did need a 2nd barrel on 2 or 3 birds. So all I had to do was count dead roosters. To tell the truth, I haven't shot all that many preserve roosters compared to the wild ones I shot. Your total is only a little below what I bagged one year in Iowa--all wild, and most taken close to where I used to live. Considering Iowa was the #1 pheasant state in the nation more years than not (beating out SD) from the mid-80's to the early 2000's, I had plenty of opportunities to put theory into practice. (Hard telling what my total that particular year would have been, if I'd been able to shoot the KS limit of 4 a day rather than Iowa's 3.)

And Don, you made a nice list of the limitations of the 28--which is the subject of the thread. You don't need to shoot nontox; quite a few people do, in quite a few places. You limit the gun to appropriate targets; I don't think it's an appropriate choice for wild pheasants unless you want to limit your chances (and I think I may have shot a few more of those than you have). I think it's just fine for grouse and woodcock, bobwhites, and I've even used it with good results on early season prairie grouse. But you start talking longer shots and/or bigger, tougher birds . . . you need more shot than you can stuff into those little shells. Inside 30 yards--maybe 35 on easier to kill birds--and it works fine. But it is what it is. And what it isn't is equal to a 20, any more than a 20 is equal to a 12.

Larry;
Extremely Well Said.

I agree.

You could knock 5 yds off the limits above in comparing the .410.

Larry, no relation, is right-on in my books. As for strings, I've never lived in places with such opportunities for roosters. I have done some remarkable shooting that seemed so much like magic---and lots dreadful---that I believe accounts of wonderful hunting particularly from members of this distinguished board; no questions asked.

What a reserved crowd...2 pages of 28ga discussion before someone said "magic."

Mike, my father believed in miracles and magic and now---maybe a reflection of age---so do I. I once knocked two crows out of the air at 100 yards with two shots with a M700 25-06 and even after I picked them up I wondered if I was dreaming. That these things happen is the magic of our sport. Gunning makes strange and wonderful things.

That's just darned good shooting!

Now, two with ONE shot would have made the cartridge magic and the 700 would have been a wand in your hands.