Why are smaller gauge shotguns so thin on the ground?

Mount Sweetness said:
Haven't been able to find any 28ga Fiocchi Golden Pheasant in my parts for the past 5 years
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My experience has been that if I want to find some limited production load, I need to go to the source. Talk to the distributor and ask them who has what I'm looking for. That approach has been much more fruitful than randomly checking shops. It's not perfect but it's better.
 
Falconflyer said:
In reference to the OP's question, I don't really see sub gauges being thin on the ground. About 15 years ago one of the clubs I belong to introduced a sub gauge shoot where you get bonus points if you shoot your sub gauge against a 12 gauge, there's also bonus points if you shoot a side by side or pump. I had a 28 gauge in those days and the first year there were only a handful of us shooting them but after a few years it seemed that everyone was bringing a 28 to the shoot so I switched to a 410 side by side and they're gradually gaining ground too. It's not uncommon to go for a fun round of sporting with some friends to find there is only maybe one 12 gauge in the group! And most of my upland bird hunting friends are shooting 20 gauge guns these days too, granted there are more of those around than 28's or 410's but I seldom shoot a 12 there either, in fact I was out today with my 16 gauge side by side after pheasants.
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Well, you're in that specialized group but me, the only person I've known who consistently used a 28 gauge for game was the late great Bill McClure, an upland sportsman from this area who as far as I know only shot that gauge; he once lectured me on the gauge's excellence when I expressed wonder he was using it on the local grouse. Bill ran an internationally known antiquarian sporting books store and bred champion Brittanys, had a column in Sporting Dogs magazine, so when he spoke I listened. But I never came across a 28 gauge I liked for under $7K and usually more, not to this day.
 
sillymike said:
Speaking of shells availability... we're talking about a gun used for hunting...

- How many rounds do you folks go through on any given years?
- Do you buy your ammo 1x box at the time?
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Most of my small gauge (non 12) was bought pre-Covid, but I continue to find better than retail on 16, 28 and even .410 these days.

I would say I go thru 100 x 16; 200 x28, and 50 x .410 per year. On the other end, 50 x10 ga. Plus a few slugs of all.
 
sillymike said:
Speaking of shells availability... we're talking about a gun used for hunting...

- How many rounds do you folks go through on any given years?
- Do you buy your ammo 1x box at the time?
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One box at a time?! I buy 10+ cases at a time when it's on sale. This year I bought 17 cases. Depends on the year but in most seasons a couple cases.
 
patricksbb391 said:
Most of my small gauge (non 12) was bought pre-Covid, but I continue to find better than retail on 16, 28 and even .410 these days.

I would say I go thru 100 x 16; 200 x28, and 50 x .410 per year. On the other end, 50 x10 ga. Plus a few slugs of all.
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I purchase hunting loads by the flat, and load my skeet loads.
 
Falconflyer said:
Seriously? Prophet River advertises Citori 28 gauge guns for $2,600 but FAIR's and Fausti's can be had for that much or less but although those brands appeal to a lot of shooters maybe they aren't to your taste.
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When I said 'ran across' I meant in the field or in gun shops where I could handle one- the $7K gun was a gold inlay Browning Superposed.

Actually, I once had the treat of talking to one of the Fausti sisters and she expressed great wonder about why Canadian shooters were so fixated on the 12 G and not the lighter gauges, but things are different in Italy than they are here, for one thing Italians shoot and eat small birds like larks. They did have some of their small gauge guns at that show, but they were all fancied up too, and not for sale OTC so I just don't remember even picking one up.
 
Big Bad said:
When I said 'ran across' I meant in the field or in gun shops where I could handle one- the $7K gun was a gold inlay Browning Superposed.

Actually, I once had the treat of talking to one of the Fausti sisters and she expressed great wonder about why Canadian shooters were so fixated on the 12 G and not the lighter gauges, but things are different in Italy than they are here, for one thing Italians shoot and eat small birds like larks. They did have some of their small gauge guns at that show, but they were all fancied up too, and not for sale OTC so I just don't remember even picking one up.
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Cyprus too. It was strange to see bird hunters near the Ormophito Plaine with a string of seemingly song birds.
 
Brutus said:
Cyprus too. It was strange to see bird hunters near the Ormophito Plaine with a string of seemingly song birds.
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Nearby Ottawa, I remember recently hunting through a likely growth of trees, an aspen and maple mix along a fire access road and finding nothing but chickadees and migrant robins but then as I was walking away a couple of other sportsmen drove up in a little car, entered the same growth and fired off about 20 rounds in pretty quick order. I think that's illegal in Canada but anyway they were armed and had me outnumbered, lol.
 
yes, shooting (almost all) songbirds in Canada and the US is illegal, but Old World traditions die hard... lots of Italians, Greeks and others from the Mediterranean area have a long tradition of catching/shooting small birds for the table... As a kid living in the eastern US, local Italian guys used to pay me to shoot sparrows & finches with my pellet gun
 
Falconflyer said:
Between the neighbours cats and the Merlin’s that nest here every year the poor songbirds have a pretty tough go of it without people wanting to eat them too.
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Merlin or American Kestrel or Sparrowhawk?
They are all very close in size.

We have a pair of Kestrels near work. Lighter color body underneath. Light blue & shades of grey. Never seen thier upper feathers and/or in good light.
 
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