28 gauge choke advice?

be2man

be2man

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I'm considering ordering an RBL 28 gauge SxS from Connecticut Shotgun. I plan to use it as a woodcock and grouse gun primarily with some skeet and game farm pheasants and chukar occassionally. I've not had a 28 gauge before and am looking for some advice on chokes. Be shooting 3/4oz loads of 7 1/2's to 9's. Majority of shots will be under 35 yards and likely under 30.
I shoot upland currently with an old 12ga AYA SxS I've had opened to cylinder and I.C. and that combo seems great at the above yardages with 9's to 6's, 7/8 to 1 1/8 loads. As the 28 will come with fixed chokes, I'm thinking about .004" and .012", a tight skeet and mod in 28ga, would be a good all 'round combination? Not sure how much choke I need with the lower pellet count to get the same pattern density I'm getting with the bigger shot charge in the 12ga with cylinder choke? I'd like a nice workable pattern for the first shot in the 15-20 yard range with the right barrel.
Any advice from the 28 gauge fans out there appreciated
 
I would love to try a nice 28 ga. But not on Pheasant. Is it hard to find 28 ga shells?
 
Your .004 and .012 rates of constriction sound very good for the clays and the grouse, but not for the pheasants.To achieve the same pattern density with the 28 ga. and the 12 ga., you still end up with a smaller pattern with the 28 ga. Here in eastern Ont. there are still a few independant sports stores that sell 28 ga. or you can order them through SIR.
 
28 ga

Your choke constriction choice is right on, in my opinion. don't let anyone tell you that your patterns will be smaller with a 28! the 28 pattern is the same sixe as a 20 or 12 but sess dense. I'v shot many preserve pheasants with 28 --- 34 to 40 yard max will kill em dead. I hunt over a pointing dog and most times you have to wait for the birds to get up and out a bit so that you don't blow them up. 4/3 oz in a 28 to 7/8 in a 20, not much difference.
By the way, your choice of guns is excellent & you can buy 28 ga at CDN Tire - the RBL action is based on the SKB -- tried & true -- Tony produces a quality product for the $
Luck/Enjoy, John
 
Thanks for the advice. I don't have wild pheasants here in Ontario so the pheasants would be game farm birds over a pointing dog, generally short range shots. As for loads, I think some of the target loads out there offer the best quality components. Win AA, Rem STS, Challenger in 7.5s to 9's, English 7's would definately be something to try as well. I can buy target loads by the flat from BPS, Hummason's and a local Challenger dealer. Expensive though, may buy a reloader.
My understanding of pattern size is that it is the same diameter for a given degree of choke at a given distance regardless of gauge. The difference is the pattern will be less dense, for a given degree of choke in the smaller gauges due to the smaller shot charge, hence the intent to tighten up from my 12ga.'s Cyl. and I.C.
 
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My 28 guage briley tubes have srew in skeet chokes , and I have no problem with letting a low house 7 or a high house 1 get way out before breaking it with
AA skeet loads.
I use the same tubes for ruffies, and made some super long shots alst year.
I also have used it on the trap field with no problem as long as IO shoot fast.

I handload for the 28, and there are some very good long range components loads from Ballistic products.
John Barsness recently did an article on the 28 , and in it discribes how he actually surprised himself at how well it kills.

You can throw 7/8 oz of shot or even 1oz if you choose in a 2/34" case, but I prefer to shoot a lighter shot charge.

Cat
 
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I shoot a lot of 28 for targets but haven't hunted with it much. As you noted the problem isn't the size of the pattern but the distances at which holes open up. I don't worry about the size of my pattern as much as whether I have sufficient pellets in the pattern to do the job.

When I did hunt preserve pheasants with my 28 I felt more comfortable with tighter chokes and put in light modified and improved modified. They worked fine.

According to the Briley chart .004 and .012 in 28 gauge are a loose skeet and light mod. That would be a great selection for grouse but I'd opt for something tighter for pheasants even those on a preserve.

Here's a link to the Briley website's choke chart.

http://www.briley.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=51
 
I would say that those chokes would be good choices for the game you spoke of.My favourite all around choke for the 28 gauge is the modified.

I know a few guys who use 28 gauge shotguns to hunt pheasants in the valley.They swear by the 28 gauge with modified and full chokes using number 6 shot with the Winchester one ounce load for pheasants.


When I first started using the 28 gauge years ago I wanted a tight choke.Over the years I went the other way to an open ckoke.Have now moved back to preferring a tighter choke but not as tight as when I started.This has been my experience with chokes in the 28 gauge over the years.

My favourite partridge (ruffed grouse) load is the Remington Express 7 1/2.I like the Challenger but they are not always that easy to find in my area.

You are correct in your view of pattern.It is just as wide just less dense.


I must warn you that the 28 gauge can be very addictive.There is no such thing as owning only one.:)I am sure you will be most happy with how the 28 gauge performs.
 
Thanks for that Briley chart Claybuster. Looking at the Sk designation it is .005" constriction for all the gauges. I'm sure Briley knows what they're talking about , but to me, relative to the the bore diameter .005" of choke is tighter in a .550" 28ga bore than in a .729" 12 ga bore. I was looking at this chart from colonial arms which has relatively less constriction for the same choke designation as gauge gets smaller.

http://www.colonialarms.com/chokespecs.html
 
Your rates of constrition of .004 and .012 are good for grouse and clays, but i think a 28 ga. is on the light side for pheasants. All things are equal, in that the 28 ga. with the same pattern density as a 12 ga. will still have a smaller over all pattern. IMHO they out perform a .410 and are c loser to the performance of a 20 ga. They are a sweet little gun to shoot.
 
12Mag, I think were on the same page. I agree to have a killing pattern with a smaller shot charge I'll have to tighten up some in choke and therefore will have a smaller pattern than my 12 to get the same pellet density.
 
be2man said:
Thanks for that Briley chart Claybuster. Looking at the Sk designation it is .005" constriction for all the gauges. I'm sure Briley knows what they're talking about , but to me, relative to the the bore diameter .005" of choke is tighter in a .550" 28ga bore than in a .729" 12 ga bore. I was looking at this chart from colonial arms which has relatively less constriction for the same choke designation as gauge gets smaller.

http://www.colonialarms.com/chokespecs.html
Click to expand...
Choke charts are like snowflakes. No two are alike. ;)
 
Personal opinion only, the usual IC/Mod combo (also in a 28ga) appears to work rather well for me for Upland.

I've also found the Mod performance as superior for some reason and I notice that impression as quite common in various gun talk Forums.

In fact, some weeks ago, I tried Sporting Clays (my first time) with a 28ga o/u field model with 26in bbls that I had deliberately equipped with IM/M for evaluation - my hit ratio was 50% and almostly entirely due to operator issue alone :) The only thing I found lacking that day were longer bbls for the range use. I thought those tighter chokes worked very well when I was doing my part right :)
 
Cz Pheasant side by each comes in 28ga with an assortment of chokes.In this months Handloader magazine and yes he wacks pheasants with it out to 30 yards.Harold
 
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