Just received a post from Dogs and Doubles on Facebook showing a Ruger Red Label 28G being sold for US$2000, which got me wondering why shotguns in gauges smaller than 12 are so popular in the used market but almost never seen new, the exception being cheap .410 guns, which is the opinion of many experts is a gauge near-useless for successful hunting but great for wounding. I'm a 12G guy myself, but I would very likely go for a 28 as a luxury tool for when I get tired of carrying a cannon around with me, the thing is to just try and find one. Is it just one of those things about human nature that make no sense?
Why are smaller gauge shotguns so thin on the ground?
- Thread starter Big Bad
- Start date
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
The fine little RRL in 28 gauge is considered by many experienced shotgunners to be the most proportionate to gauge/weight for upland game.
Even the RRL in 20 gauge is considered a bit too heavy.
If I didn't already own a 20 gauge SKB O/U, I would search hi and low for a RRL 28 gauge.
Edit: It's very hard to be disappointed with any SKB shotgun.
Even the RRL in 20 gauge is considered a bit too heavy.
If I didn't already own a 20 gauge SKB O/U, I would search hi and low for a RRL 28 gauge.
Edit: It's very hard to be disappointed with any SKB shotgun.
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gunrunner100
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- NW Ontario
I've had RRL's in 12, 20 and 28 gauge. Something about the RRL seems almost club-like. I currently have an SKB 100 (20g) and am taken by it. Well made and beautifully balanced.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
12 and 20 gauge guns are the most popular and plentiful but most makers do make a 28 gauge and many make a 410, I expect that ammo cost and availability may be a major factor in the amount of guns that get made and sold each year.
I've had several 28 gauge guns in the last couple of decades and it's my first choice for upland bird hunting. I've also shot a lot of sporting clays with a 28 gauge and earlier last summer purchased a dedicated sporting clays gun in 28 gauge. My average sporting score with a 28 gauge is about 10% lower than with a 12 gauge so that gives you some idea of the potency of the caliber while using a lot less pellets!
I've had several 28 gauge guns in the last couple of decades and it's my first choice for upland bird hunting. I've also shot a lot of sporting clays with a 28 gauge and earlier last summer purchased a dedicated sporting clays gun in 28 gauge. My average sporting score with a 28 gauge is about 10% lower than with a 12 gauge so that gives you some idea of the potency of the caliber while using a lot less pellets!
browninggold
CGN Regular
- Location
- Essex County, Ontario
Pretty much all I buy now are sub gauge, simply a joy to shoot. Let’s be honest, shooting a decoying duck at 30yrds with a 3” 12g is overkill, and can be easily done with a 20 or 16g. Buy some bismuth loads and you’re pretty much at 12g levels anyways
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
A few years back I really needed to scratch that 28 gauge itch.
I lucked out discovering a slightly used M37 Ithaca built in 2010 thru Epps. Funny enuf I happened to be calling Itaca Gun Company for address of Canadian parts dealer.
He must have been very bored, because he offered to research the serial number.
Disclosed to me it went to an FFL dealer in Florence, Tennessee. How often does one get that much info, from a shotgun traveling from Tennessee to Ontario??
Is my one & only 28.
Weird.
12s and 20s sell way more units than all sub gauges combined. The masses prefer 12 for everything.
Fewer subgauges on the market drive the price up. It's supply and demand
As for someone who hunts small game with a 410 I can assure you it's more than enough if loads are matched to the game and choke if the skill of the shooter allows proper gunning
Fewer subgauges on the market drive the price up. It's supply and demand
As for someone who hunts small game with a 410 I can assure you it's more than enough if loads are matched to the game and choke if the skill of the shooter allows proper gunning
I recently needed to scratch the 28g itch also, well I should have just left the itch alone. Killing performance I experienced with the 28 was at most 50-60% kills for shots fired, marginally better than a .410. Vs 90% kills per shots fired with my 20g on grouse, approaching 12g like performance. My recommendation is buy a lightweight 20g and don’t look back. Some people claim they don’t notice much difference in performance between 28 and 20g well I cannot say the same.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
The secret to killing or breaking targets with a 28 gauge is to use tight chokes in order to get a high pellet count on the target, same with a 410. The pellets are traveling at the same speed as a 12 or 20 so the only difference is the number of pellets used, tightening the choke will put enough pellets on the target to do the job.
The "killing power" of any shotgun is related to/proportional to the number of pellets in the load, the size of the pellets, the speed they are exiting the barrels at and how well the gun patterns that specific load. The gauge matters not a bit, with one exception. A larger diameter barrel will tend to pattern a specific load better than a smaller diameter barrel. It's simply ballistics.
In common usage, the larger the barrel, the bigger the gun which usually means a bigger load. Most of the perceived better killing power of larger gauges is simply the larger loads they can be fed.
Brybenn has nailed why sub gauges, in particular 28 ga, are so much in demand on the used gun market. There just aren't very many of them.
In common usage, the larger the barrel, the bigger the gun which usually means a bigger load. Most of the perceived better killing power of larger gauges is simply the larger loads they can be fed.
Brybenn has nailed why sub gauges, in particular 28 ga, are so much in demand on the used gun market. There just aren't very many of them.
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I can concur with this. Seemingly my 28 prefers a modified choke, and the 410 is best as a small game gun in full choke.
The most dismally performing shotguns on game i owned, a 12 gauge riotgun cylinder choke and a 410 also with true cylinder.
sillymike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I'd venture to say that the masses are buying 12's (and 20's) because
- That's what most shop carry on the shelves
- That's what their father used, and what they learn on
- And since more of them are sold, ammunition is easier to find as there is a bigger demand
Same (opposite) logic would apply to the sub gauge.
The 28 gauge has been my go to for upland for the past 10 years or so. It's light to carry, doesn't destroy birds with closer shots, and is totally adequate when hunting over pointing dogs. My go to for skeet, are the 28 gauge and 410, but I don't hunt with the 410. I purchase 28 gauge hunting loads by the flat, and I load my 28 and 410 skeet loads.
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Some 28ga have nice proportions, others are obviously a 20ga with a 28ga barrel. Had a Browning BPS in 28ga, on a 20ga frame, very club like. Ammo and reloading is hard to find.
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
The Ithaca M37 is on a proper sized 28 frame.
Mount Sweetness
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Ontario
Keep an eye out for a 28ga Savage Milano.
I'd bet if there was more of a demand for subgauges the gun companies would be pushing them harder
12s and 20s dominate the clays games. Only skeet has sanctions for 28 and 410.
Most duck hunters take a 12ga over all else. Same as majority of shotgun deer hunters and turkey hunters. The mentality that's been pushed is for longer shells with higher payloads and that is highlighted in 3.5" 12ga and 3" 20ga.
I think they're will be a slight shift as it's showing up now for a new wave of subgauges as the baby boomers can't boom with they're heavy 12ga guns and loads. A trend that will surely die with the baby boomers.
Look around at the new age shooters. Anyone under 35 wants camo synthetic semi auto with a long chamber or a tacticool black shirt barreled gun. Subgauges especially doubles are sought after by the older generation
Places like the Dakota's or Carolinas where upland bird hunting is popular may vary but the trends I see it's obvious the new younger shooters don't care about doubles unless they're into clay games
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Sometimes I do carry a 12 gauge if I am venturing into brand new hunting spots.
Otherwise it's the 28 for early bird season & as soon as the snow flies out comes one of my 20 gauges.
Very occasionally a 410/22 Hornet in case I bump into Wile E, during late season.
Otherwise it's the 28 for early bird season & as soon as the snow flies out comes one of my 20 gauges.
Very occasionally a 410/22 Hornet in case I bump into Wile E, during late season.
Very true but if the 28g still does not perform properly with a full choke, what is the next step, extra full turkey choke, do they even make such a thing. The fact of the matter is that a larger bore diameter will generally produce more uniform patterns than a smaller bore size, that is why a .410 is such a poor performer in this regard. My 20g will produce better patterns with a 7/8 oz load than my 28g will with a 1oz regardless of the choke being used. IMO and this is only my opinion of my experience, going hunting with a 28g you are seriously handicapping yourself vs using a 20g. That being said we all use what we like and works for us, but for me the 28g doesn’t cut it.
