doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Why a 28 gauge?

I have some B&P 28 gauge loads at 1 1/16th ounce.

My dad gave me his 28 gauge 870 which he thought was perfect for rabbits when he bought it. I don't think I would buy one for myself due to the cost of ammo, but it sure is a good gun for pen raised birds over a pointing dog.
CHAZ

I think the different gauges like the 28 are just fun. I enjoy the odd things shooting has to offer. 32, 24, 18, 14 gauges, etc., don't seem snobby , but seem fun to try . Same with the 28. All of these gauges are available in the pinfire guns, and I have quite a bit of fun shooting them.

The older I get the more I appreciate a light-carrying gun when traipsing the grouse and woodcock covers. They come up very easily and swing as quickly as I need them to. This, coupled with a softer shooting gun really makes my hunting a lot more enjoyable..... not to mention, I can miss just as easily with my 28's as I can with any of my 20's, 16's, 12's, and 10's and when I connect with a 28 - well, that's just the frosting on the cake.

My only desire for a 28 is pure Nostalgia. First shotgun i ever shot was a 28, a lowly H&R single. I do not know what loads I shot from it but I killed two rabbits with two shots that day. It belonged to an Uncle of mine by marriage (To my mother's Sister). Later in life I asked him if he would sell it to me but he refused, had been his Dad's gun & was saving it for his Grandson, which I couldn't fault him for that. He did loan it to me for a while so I could shoot it again. Only 28 gauge shells which were available to me at the time were "High Brass" with 3/4 oz shot. While I had it I weighed it & it went 4� lbs exactly, was one of the small frame H&R's. I can tell you one thing for certain; 3/4 oz of shot @ 1295 fps from a 4� lb gun "OUTKICKS" 1 oz of shot @ 1165 fps from a 6 lb gun & it don't matter what size the hole in the barrel is.
All this about the "Magic" of the 28 shooting Better Patterns, Shorter Shot Strings Etc, Etc because of its (So Called) "SQUARE" load is the biggest Malarkey that's ever been published in the shotgun world. Unless one wants, & can find, a sub 5lb 28 the 20 will beat it hands down on every count. The only Truly Good thing which can be said about the 28 s that it is better than a .410.

My standard argument:

Chasing bird dogs through hill and dale is inefficient, expensive, and irrational. No matter how rationally I selected the gun to carry in that endeavor it is still an irrational pursuit.

I like light 28 gauges because they are cute and light and their bullets are itty-bitty. I can get a whole box of them in one pants pocket and still have room for my Leatherman.

A 12 gauge shell is now mostly air. But a 28 gauge is mostly full of powder and shot. But the little shells appear tiny next to a 12, especially the 2-1/2" 28s.

In my old age I get to hunt much more than during young and middle age. It might mean less when I miss a bird now than it did thirty years ago.

So if you want some sport take out a 5-1/2 pound 28 gauge and stick a handful of 2-1/2" shells in your hip pocket and kick a couple of competent bird dogs out the truck and onto your bird lease. If you want to be rational drive to the supermarket, buy a chicken and go home and make chicken and dumplings.

My first shot gun was a Winchester Model 12, 28 Ga. Skeet gun. With that gun I shot everything for about six years. Dove, Quail, Rabbits, Geese, Ducks you name it. Was it the perfect gun to start out with? Must have been because it lit the fire in me that keeps me shooting almost fifty years later. I have had a 28 of one type or another ever since. First grand child will get the gun if they want to shoot, otherwise I'll let the kids fight over it when I am gone.

Quite the 1st gun Jon. Very nice.

Ithaca1
Bill

It's like asking why do some men prefer girls with small, walnut-cracking rear ends when there are plenty of girls out there with big, ponderous bottoms.

At one time I owned a Parker 20ga VHE 28" and bought a Parker Repro 28ga 28"; both for purpose of hunting quail. I normally loaded 20ga 3/4oz loads for quail. After just a few quail hunting trips using both guns it was very apparent the 20ga was clearly superior for me in dead quail and few cripples. Crippled Gamble, Scalies and Mearns quail have a significant loss rate. Sold the 28ga. Bought a second 20ga for backup and for sporting clays practice. Twenty eight gauge lost its sex appeal quickly for me.

I have been gunning grouse & woodcock for 35 years, and I have hunted with a 20, a 2" 12, and 28 and a .410. My lightest 20 is 5# 2 oz, and my 2" 12 is about the same. But my lightest 28 is 4# 5 oz. Three quarters of a pound does not sound like much, but it does add up at the end of the day, or at least it does for me. I often carry my gun for miles and shoot it all too infrequently.

I have a .410 that is 5 ounces lighter yet, and it is OK for pointed woodcock, but I feel that I need a bit more than 1/2 oz of lead for some of the shots that I want to take at grouse.

So bottom line, a featherweight 28 is the lightest weight double that is effective for me.