doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com the pros an cons of 28 ga guns...

Nice. What make is that? my eyes stink.

Other than the weight for all day carry in the woods for woodcock and quail, the cost effectiveness of reloading it separates it from larger gauges. Gil

Looks to me like a CSMC Fox 'cause Ansley never made a 28.

I was skeet shooting once a week for some time using a 20 ga. Winchester 101 with 26" barrels that I bought in Germany and sent home. When I got married my wife wanted to shoot also but the 20 gauge reoil was hard on her. For Christmas in 1970 or '71 I bought her a Beretta BL-4 28 ga with 26" barrels, this had some recoil also and after she didn't enjoy shooting it or shooting at all. The Beretta weighed 6 lbs.8 ozs. and the Winchester was 6 lbs. 1 oz. I still own both but haven't shot the Winchester in quite a few years, the Beretta about 5 years ago at skeet.
I hurt my right shoulder years ago and was shooting different L.C. Smith's, mostly old hammer guns and I started loading 3/4 oz. loads, what a pleasure to shoot hardly any felt recoil and as the saying goes "if I do my part they will do theirs". Carrying in the field I would rather carry the Beretta or the Winchester for the amount of shooting that is done and miles walked, but I do like the one hammer gun in particular that now has the original 25 3/16" barrels and 4 others that now fit this gun. The latest set is from a Specialty Grade 32" with a ventilated rib and screw in chokes.
There is nothing magical about the 28 ga. Years ago I killed more than my fair share of pen raised pheasants most of which you have to wait for them to get out there.

On the topic of 28-gauge weight... My newest one weighs a touch under 5 lbs 7 ozs. Shooting four rounds of Trap with it Saturday was definitely not a recoil-flavored event, not with 3/4-ounce #8 Skeet loads. Except...

There were a couple of shots in my last two rounds where the launcher pitched the pigeon high and way off to my right. (I shoot right-handed.) I clearly remember being surprised when my shoulder got firmly thumped when I went after those, after a couple-three boxes of what had seemed like shooting a .22LR biathlon rifle standing, unsupported. I'm guessing I let the buttplate come off my shoulder a bit. I also sense that shooting this thing repeatedly at porcelain penguins would be a markedly different experience were its weight somehow magically-reduced to under 5 lbs. Physics wins most arguments.

My only 28 gauge. I’ll shoot it more, someday, when I’m old.

Best,
Ted

The 28 gauge is for relief of boredom. A 20 ga. with 3/4 Oz. loads neutralizes any need for a 28 ga. Yes, it's a hair smaller across the breech face, and yes, the shells are a wee bit smaller in the pocket. Nothing really worth much. There are some really slim and trim 20 gauge guns that will match a 28 gauge's handling qualities. Otherwise, it's just a boutique gauge with guns to match. It serves no other practical purpose. But since when does practicality matter to anyone who wants a 28 gauge?
JR

Mister Schefelbein, there are things sticking out of it when it's open! Please wear Kevlar gloves and eye-protection! Keep your nails trimmed!

It must cost you a fortune in high-pressure grease. Nothing but flats, for all the eye can see.

(I've never handled or even seen a Darne on a table, but I'd love to someday. And I'd be delighted to start with that one. What an interesting, lovely piece of kit.)

Interesting perspective.

I've never even fired a shot out of a 20-gauge. Have never wanted to. I have a quartet of wildly-dissimilar 12s and and a brace of 28s. Extremes of commercially-available, practical practicality. And that's why I have them.

Not bored. Interested in the differences? Yes.

Ed,

I use my aya#1 28 on grouse, quail, woodcock and shot some released pheasants. I use my Rizzini o/u 28 on hairs, ptarmigan and a few grouse. I have a new Beretta A400 upland auto, I used for the first time this year on ducks and honkers.

If you're on your game the 28 kills just as good as your 20 or 12.

I was using boss 3/4 oz of 4s through the beretta. 1 goose, 3 wood ducks and 1 green wing. Pass shooting between the ponds.

For all the other birds, 8 or 7.5 shot AA loads. Doves I have been running RTS 9s. Pheasant I believe I was using 6s.

I'll be running some TSS patterns to see how the beretta throws a pattern for this years Turkey season.

RJM