I felt the same way about needing a 28ga and bought a Parker Repro. Tried it for a while on desert quail in place of my Parker VHE 20ga in which I hand load 3/4oz loads (same as 28ga). I know there will be those who say it isn't so, but the 20ga was so superior with the 3/4oz loads to the same loads in the 28ga with respect to desert quail I sold the 28ga. The weight difference of a couple ounces was not worth the money for the second gauge.