doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Best chokes for 28s?

In my RL O/U usually have Sk/IC, with my SxS with 30" barrels the chokes are fixed ICxF. Usually use the SxS for game birds and that choke combo works well for me.

Easy. The chokes you left in the truck will be perfect for what you encounter. Until you change them. Then, whatever was in the gun before will be perfect.

Best,
Ted

My Merkel 280EL 28ga. came with .008 /.018 and I have never felt the need to alter the chokes shooting 3/4 .oz for sporting clays or hunting. After patterning the gun after it's purchase at the appropriate distances, I felt I would leave well enough alone.
If you forget about the gauge and let the gun do it's job, you'll be surprized at what it can do within reason of course.
Karl

I shoot ruff and blue grouse over a pointing dog, using 3/4 oz. of #7 shot loaded in RMC brass hulls from the IC & Mod barrel of my 2- barrel set Parker Repro.

Compare the 12ga 1� oz load with a 28ga 3/4 oz load. 3/4 oz is 60% of 1� oz. 30 yards is 60% of 50 yards. "IF" however you think the 3/4 oz load is equal at only 30yds in comparison to the 1� oz load at 50yds you are badly mistaken. The comparison is more on the order of being proportional to the √ of the shot charges. Thus √3/4 � √1 1/4 = 77�%. The 3/4oz load will essentially do anything at 40 yds that 1� oz will at 50 yds.
it is extremely easy to get a shotgun which will kill anything you properly point it at at 30 yds. As the range is extended a lot has to be added for every increment of increased range. The further you extend it the more that has to be added for each increment. As range increases the shot size has to be increased to give adequate penetration. This results in thinner patterns so the charge weight or choke has to be increased to ensure adequate pattern.
I am well aware that when adequate sized shot was used occasional "Lucky" kills have been made by one pellet hitting a vital spot & also that the absolute center core of the pattern will kill beyond what the overall pattern will. Be honest though can does anyone here feel reasonably comfortable that they can get 1 shot in a vital zone or always put that absolute lute center core of the pattern on a fast moving bird often enough to greatly extend the range of the shotgun. I am well aware that I Cannot. Inside of about 35 yds there is really not that much to choose from between a light loaded 12, a 16, a 20 or a 28.
Although I do not own one a 5 lb 28 gauge firing 3/4 oz loads would be a joy to carry & would cover the vast majority of my needs. I have absolutely no desire for a 28 weighing more than about 5� lbs nor firing more than 3/4 oz of shot. If it goes beyond that I'll just take a bigger hole down the barrel.

Had a Miroku Daly 28 with 0.000"/0.000" constrictions. Evidently, this was their idea of a skeet gun back in the late '70s. Well, no 3/4 oz factory load in #8 (or larger) could produce a 20 yd pattern lacking woodcock sized voids at pattern center. Some loads would let a grouse through.

I bought some 15/16 oz B&Ps in #8. Those got me all the way to 25 yds, just barely. But at that distance Rem 3" .410s in #7.5 through a "mod" M-42 looked better. So ended up selling the Miroku.

Larry's notion of 0.005/0.010 sounds good for a Maine woods 28 ga double. Unaltered M-12 28 ga skeet guns usually have constrictions close to 0.010" - that number would be my choice for a repeater.

Lloyd,
Spent some time patterning today. Thought you may like this.

I bought a bag of sg28II wads to experiment with 7/8oz loads for my NH grouse hunt next month. I compared my normal 3/4oz load #8's to the 7/8oz with #8's as well.

The gun is a WC Scott choked .010 and .013. I would have just opted for a 20ga with 7/8oz, but the Scott fits me like a glove and I shoot it the best of all my shotguns.

I was using 24" square craft paper as that was something my wife had available, and I'm looking for a comparison and pattern density at 30yards not what the choke is.
From the right barrel, the pellet count for the 3/4oz load was 114. The pellet count for the 7/8oz load was 148!
From the left barrel the pellet count for the 3/4oz load was 127. I was disappointed with the pattern from both barrels with the 3/4oz load at 30yards. Just to thin.
The 7/8oz load looked so good that I shot the left barrel with 7/8oz of 7-1/2's. Pellet count was 137 and well dispersed. A grouse couldn't get thru the 8's in the right barrel or the 7-1/2's from the left.

I'm going to try the 3/4oz at 22/23 yards tomorrow with 8's in the right barrel and see what that looks like. If it's to tight I might try the Polywad "tacks".
So far so good.

Moral or the story... you can get good patterns with 7/8oz loads.
AA hulls
23.7gr lilgun (actually used 22.2)
sg28II wads
7/8oz
1225 fps
9600psi
From the Hodgdon site (confirm the load before you use it)
Thanks Builder!

Hope this helps!

Hi Bill,
Nice hunting load. it is on the Hodgdon site though.

Opps, corrected above

Thanks Builder.

http://www.hallowellco.com/choke_chart.htm
JR