doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 28 gauge. A viable hunting option????

"Depends on your skill level"...Everybody who owns/shoots a 28 claims to be a good shot or an expert. Funny, every expert I ever met or read about, from Digweed to Delany, used a 12 everytime it was allowed, used a 12 to make their name, and made no appologies about it. Just my observation. I don't own a 28 anymore, (I took one on trade years ago, it was here for maybe 2 weeks) as only a fool with more money than common sense would pay the price for those cartridges asked even at Walmart, when the 12s, 16s and 20s sit next to them for much less. Don't give me any "reloading is cheaper" crap either, not for that gauge it isn't. I guess somebody has to buy the gold plated car name emblems, big, silly polished wheels and tires, and the 28 gauge stuff.
Best,
Ted

"NO good one ounce load exist for the 28. They end up too slow and pattern too poorly to be effective."


I've never patterned my 28 with any load, so you may be right about the patterning. And I've never checked the muzzle velocity, so you may be right on that one, too. But the 'effective' part? As I said earlier, my success rate with the heavy 1 oz. loads would rate 'excellent' on just about anyone's scale. Point, shoot, dead.

I haven't done the math but I'll bet a 1 oz. load in a 28ga. is not much further from 'good' than a 1 oz 20 ga load - and no one is griping about that one.

I think a great deal of dissatisfaction with ANY gun or load comes from lack of familiarity. A guy uses a 12 every year for thousands of rounds, picks up a 28 and misses a bunch - the gauge is no good. A guy shoots 28" barrels for years then picks up a 26" barreled gun and it feels 'funny', so 26" barrels are too short.

If a person shot only a light 24" 28ga. gun with 1 oz. loads, in a year he would swear there was nothing better. Th problem lies not with the gun but the with shooter's noggin 99% of the time.

Don't give me any "reloading is cheaper" crap either, not for that gauge it isn't.
Ted, the primers are the same, the powder is the same, the shot is the same, so that leaves wads, what are we talking here? In the long run it's cheaper, more powder, shot to the shell than a 12 ga.
Yes the 28 ga does cost more off the shelf if that's the way you want to go. If you are only shooting this gun as an inbetween gun, then it's not so bad paying $8.99 a box. What about the waterfowler who buys, $15.00+ a box.

JDW.......is right on. It costs no more to load a 28ga.

Ted......I guess you have met every 28ga. Well I for one don't know you and I also don't claim to be a expert 28ga. shooter. Also not everyone hunt or shoot waterfowl. If you don't own a 28 ga. seems hard to justify its unworthyness! Hell i shoot a 32ga. sxs for local quail and do just fine over points and birds at reasonable distances. But when I travel to Kansas or Oklahoma I take my 28ga. repro. Yes it's a pheasant killer too!
Cheers,

On hunting with rifles I have gone to a very light rifle that I can shoot extremely well. I feel shot placement is more inportant than the size of the shell.
I am in the market for a 28 bore gun but am not certain about using it on game. I will see how well it shoots clays before I use it on game. If it works well then I will try it on birds, if not I will give it to my daughter.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I may have come across as knocking the 28ga. That was not my intention. It is just another size, smaller than all the common gauges, (.410 is not a gauge). Actually one of my fondest memories is of a 28ga, an old H&R single bbl, wt just over 4lbs. I am, I guess, just somewhat putoff with all the "Myth & Magic" some try to bestow upon it. It works because it is not too dificult to get a killing pattern out of even the standard 3/4oz load out to around 35yds. Due to the spreading of the pattern every time you tack on another 5yds requires either considerable more shot, or a much denser pattern. Nothing magic, just geometry, if you double the size of a pattern it takes 4 times as much shot to give the same density. In the 20-35yd range a 28ga is a great little gun, almost the equal of a lite 20ga load. They can be light, & many find them "Cute". Just to like them should be reason enough justification to own one. I think many simply, after paying a premium for the gun, premium for the shells etc, have to convince themselves some "Magic" which they can't really explain makes it "Superior" to the more common 20ga.

T'is an interesting thread. I shoot lots of 28 at wild game here in NC, mainly doves, woodcock and quail(when they can be found!) Also note that box birds have 2 gauges, 12 and 28. I am a tad old and slow but have not had too much trouble with box birds in 28 using nickel plated #7 in Cheddite hull and Longshot powder from a low gun start. Must admit scores fall off back at the 32-33 yard line. It's a fun gauge, but not a "silver bullet" by any means. It's a good excuse to own more guns! Best, Dr. BILL

TT, I didn't "slam" the 16. I said what I said. The market pretty much backs my opinion up, but it's just my opinion. Millions, well, thousands maybe, of people who hunt only and don't reload, love the 16, especially in the southeast. Nobody is trying to convince anyone else that they shouldn't love their 16, nor should they. That's why they make chocolate and vanilla.

Jim: Maybe "slam" was too harsh a word, but it was a pretty darn long list of reasons you think the 16 is redundant for me to have to digest, just when I was all ready to hit the sack. I happen to prefer the 16 over the 20 (but own some of both) and you happen to prefer the 20 over the 16 (but probably own some of both) ... the important thing, as you suggest, is that we both love ice cream, don't we? Ironically, we've turned a question about the 28 into a debate over 20s and 16s, and I'd take either over a 28! You mention reloading as a problem, and many of your issues with the 16 are ammo-related, whether store-bought or home-made. I've only observed the market for about 10 years, but am under the impression that the ammunition situation is at least improving for the 16 gauge. That's good news, if true, because I believe a 16-ga. side-by-side is ideal for upland hunting, and if built right (many aren't), more comfortable and attractive than a 12. Of course, I could say the same about 20s, I suppose ... if I was so inclined. Best to you. TT

I shoot at everything with them,quail,grouse woodcock and on pen raised birds(pheasant)there dead in the air.I think like every thing else it is a matter of what you feed it.3/4 oz Remington are my choice for most stuff,but have shot a pile of birds with 1 oz loads(Nobel)awhile back a friend gave me some nickle plated #4!Gave real meaning to overkill of quail,but worked well on bigger birds like Pheasant,like Harry said "You got to know your limitations"
Hampton