My first shotgun given to me was a Winchester model 12 in 28 ga., Skeet, with a case of 1 ounce loads when I was 11. I loved that gun and the 28 like it was magic. With that gun I killed more quail, dove or ducks than either of my older brothers did with their A5 or model 12 12 ga.
We hunted ducks over decoys, in a narrow creek, off a river mouth about half a mile from the Chesapeake Bay. With it I took canvasbacks, black ducks, mallards and countless smaller ducks. It was not often the cheesie had to chase down one of my wounded birds like he did for my brothers. They would just claim I missed cleanly. I think a combination of tighter chokes and heavier shot loads makes up very little for better pattern placement and not sky busting so much.
The only time my father told me not to shoot my 28 at game was the day I came home with two Cananda geese. He thought, and rightly so, that I was under gunned for geeses and would wound more if I used it again. But that day was one of those weird days you get on the marsh. We had fog on the water up to maybe five feet then clearing to clouds that were about 20 yards up. You could not see the creek or much above 20-30 yards up but could look level for a mile in any direction. Birds would drop down out of the cloud cover, within easy range and pop right back up into cover. I heard geese and started calling them as a lark. Two dropped into view and I made a perfect true pair double at about 15-20 yards. All head and neck shot which killed them like Thor's hammer. When I skinned their neck out there must have been thirty pellets in each. But back then, when a father told you not to do it again that was the end of my using a 28 for geese. And he was right. So since lead is frowned upon for ducks I'll pass on those 1 ounce loads because now I understand recoil and know a simple 3/4 or max 7/8 ounce load will take whatever I need with the 28.
