Stan, I think it's just one of those shotgun oddities that can't be explained "by the numbers". I always thought Brister made an excellent choice for the title of his book: "Shotgunning: The Art and the Science". And the examples he gave are very good ones. Both McIntosh and Gene Hill also commented on that old 12ga 1 1/4 oz pigeon load. And I think there are plenty of 16ga fans who will say there's some sort of magic in the combination of that gauge and a 1 oz load.
Stan, per the above, I think I may be the guilty party who first mentioned "magic" in this discussion--although it was not in reference to the 28ga. But it's hard to overlook the mental aspect when it comes to shooting. Which can mean that if you believe your combination of gauge, choke and load is magic, the extra confidence that gives you may well result in better scores on targets and/or fewer misses when you're hunting.
