What's up with 28 guage guns

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popcan

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Now that I am thoroughly in over my head in shotguns,

Just wondering why everyone raves about 28 g shotguns for just about every purpose, yet there are not a whole lot of 28g choices out there to choose from, compared with the usual 12/20/.410 guns offered on the market today by the "usual" manufacturers.

Rarely do you see one on the exchange, and if you really want one, it seems you'd have to order it and wait. Not the sort of thing that you can walk into your favorite gunshop and handle off the rack.

Let's hear some further discussion about this gauge - what is it best for -(clay games, or hunting, and what type of hunting, on and on).
I heard one fellow at the club rambling on how the 28g is some sort of mathematical enigma in that it patterns better than any other gauge, and you don't need chokes, blah blah blah.
 
i have a 28 guage sxs I LOVE IT great for busting clays and smaller birds like partridge. also when teaching a small child or female very low recoil.
 
28 gauge is the smallest readily available shotshell that will deliver a proper pattern out to 35 yards. The .410 will not do that. 28 ga. ammo is light to carry, ruffed grouse cannot tell the difference between the 28 and a 12 gauge, and the lightweight shotguns which use the gauge are a joy. Sporting clays with a 28 gauge is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. I have not found ammunition availability to be a problem, just don't expect to find it in the hardware store in Owlseye.

Oh, on the square load thing - the 16 gauge 1 oz. load and the 28 gauge 3/4 oz. load are the only natural square loads, that is the length of the shot column is the same as its width. This is supposed to produce even patterns. You still need choke. In my experience the 16 and the 28 do pattern well, the 16 equalling the 12 gauge on many occasions.

Sharptail
 
The 28 ga. is a joy to shoot skeet and close-course Sporting Clays with, and I couldn't conceive of a better upland gun than a 28 side by side double for quail, grouse & woodcock.
 
My first encounter with the 28 gauge was when I owned a three-barreled skeet set (20, 28 and .410.) What I learned from shooting this set was that everything said by the fans and occasional detractor about the 28 gauge is true.

It hits clays better than a little cartridge should. I scored just as well with the 28 as the 20 and the only thing I got out of the larger gauge was more recoil. I quickly became a fan. So much so that I sold a bunch of guns including the three barrel set to acquire a 28 gauge target gun from the same manfacturer as my 12.

The downside to the 28 gauge is ammo cost and selection. There are no cheap loads and premium target ammunition is about 50 per cent more than comparable 12 or 20 gauge. Reloading is definitely worth the effort. However having just gotten into reloading 28 I've learned that the cartridge requires a little more care and attention to load than the 12.

There is a comparatively narrow selection of factory ammo for the 28 gauge and accessories can be hard to find. Unlike the .410, there is no buckshot, nor are there slugs unless you want to reload them. I also learned recently that finding a forcing cone reamer for a 28 gauge is a challenge. Brownell's doesn't offer one but does in all other common gauges.

Where the 28 comes into its own is as a gauge for new shooters. Most 28s come on 20 gauge frames (Rizzini, Ruger, certain Berettas not withstanding). This means a gun lighter than a 12 that has less recoil than a 20 but hits targets equally well. Just the ticket for a new shooter, particularly women. If I were going to get into introductory clay target instruction on a regular basis I'd buy a 28 Remington 1100. It would be the best choice until Beretta decides to make a 28 gauge 391 if they ever do.

Since falling in love with the gauge I got rid of my 20s. No need for them really. Another plus is that while the 12-20 burst is commonly known, lesser known is a 20-28 burst. Put a 28 gauge shell into a 20 gauge gun and it may well jam in the forcing cone and leave enough room for a 20 gauge to be chambered. Having come within a hair's breadth of a 12-20 burst a few years ago it's nice to know that if I inadvertently drop a 28 gauge into my 12 o/u it will fall out the muzzle.

What the 28 isn't is a trap cartridge. I've shot some wobble trap with it to know that it can be done although I'd much rather have my 12. But for skeet and sporting it's a delight. My best moment with the 28 came when a squad member picked a high 45 yard edge on crossing target. He offered me the loan of his 12 because he didn't think the target could be hit with a 28. I proved him wrong 8 times out of 10.:D

Now if only I could find an excellent condition pre J-lock Wingmaster or even better an 870 Skeet in 28 gauge.
 
Sharptail said:
Oh, on the square load thing - the 16 gauge 1 oz. load and the 28 gauge 3/4 oz. load are the only natural square loads, that is the length of the shot column is the same as its width. This is supposed to produce even patterns. You still need choke. In my experience the 16 and the 28 do pattern well, the 16 equalling the 12 gauge on many occasions.

Sharptail
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I did not know that. I've always considered the 16 & 28 to be mainly collector and enthusiast gauges, no more or less useful than the 12 & 20. I'll have to check one out now.
 
I ahot my first goose with a .410 and I don't see why people call it a poorly patterning gun seeing as this goose was hit about 75 yards in the air.
 
tony238 said:
I ahot my first goose with a .410 and I don't see why people call it a poorly patterning gun seeing as this goose was hit about 75 yards in the air.
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Assuming this story is true then you are either among the most magnificent shotgunners that have walked the face of the earth or a grossly unethical hunter who for one instant was an extraordinarily lucky son-of-a-#####.

You can choose your answer. I've already chosen mine.:rolleyes:
 
Claybuster said:
Assuming this story is true then you are either among the most magnificent shotgunners that have walked the face of the earth or a grossly unethical hunter who for one instant was an extraordinarily lucky son-of-a-#####.

You can choose your answer. I've already chosen mine.:rolleyes:
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I'm afraid I'll have to second that opinion.....
 
They're a bit of a fad right now, that's about what it boils down to. They are nice and light, but they're more popular than they should be. This doesn't bother me too much though because I'm a 16b nut.
 
short shot string

A 28 has a shorter shot string in the standard load than anything but a 16. Most people don't realize that a shotgun pattern has three dimensions and not just the two seen on a patterning board. The third dimension is length and has to do with the time it takes for the front and back end of the target to move through the cloud of shot. A short shot string means more shot on a moving, quartering or crossing target. A long shot string, no matter how dense, means the back end of the string may not arrive in time to hit the back end of the bird, but just fly by. 12 gauge has a long string and three inch and 3 and a half inch are the worst offenders.

It is true that the 28 pattern is not as dense as a 12, even though with a similar choke it will give a similar percentage.

On a still target or a straight oncoming or outgoing target a 12 will just have more pieces of shot in the total pattern and will kill better, no doubt. The third dimension does not matter. The front and back of the string always get to the target.

Having said that, I shoot all my upland game and waterfowl and clays with a 28 except for geese and turkey. I just love the little elegant guns. I use a Ruger Red Label with a straight stock and 28" barrels.

BTW in my 12 ga. I only use 2 3/4 as it has a shorter string than the longer shells and more than enough density to kill anything. 3' and 3 /12 inch shells are marketing gimmicks cleverly created to get people to buy new guns and give a false sense of power and range. Learn to shoot and know your limits and you can cleanly and predictably kill any legitimate shotgun game with a 2 3/4" 12 including turkey, deer and geese and kill all the rest with a 28.
 
Snowball, welcome and congratulations on an excellent first post. For the record, I agree with what you have written. I also believe that long shot strings have a detrimental effect on the observed 2 dimensional pattern, as more turbulent air affects more pellets in the cloud.

Lightweight 28 gauge game guns are simply delightful, but for late season sharptail or pheasant, where the shots are long, I revert to the 16 or 12 gauge guns with tighter chokes. There is also pleasure in using the right tool for the job.

Sharptail
 
tony238 said:
I ahot my first goose with a .410 and I don't see why people call it a poorly patterning gun seeing as this goose was hit about 75 yards in the air.
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Hmmmm, I had (I thought) a good hit on a goose, crossing overhead about 40 yds up, Using 12g with steel shot, and all it did was ruffle his feathers. The bird just seemed to shrug and carry on. You dropped one at 75 yards with a .410?
Wow!

(I didn't even know that .410 loads came in steel, or maybe you don't have that restriction where you shoot).



Ditto the other comments on your post Snowball, very informative thanks.
 
tony238 said:
I ahot my first goose with a .410 and I don't see why people call it a poorly patterning gun seeing as this goose was hit about 75 yards in the air.
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Suprising what buckshot will do? :p By the way, how does one judge 75yards? In the air? Anyone?
 
Very informative posts......I have been thinking of trading one of my 20ga for a 28 but couldn't get around to making up my mind as I never handled one so far.

canadiankestrel said:
Suprising what buckshot will do? :p By the way, how does one judge 75yards? In the air? Anyone?
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Use a .410 for high flying Geese :D :D......I remember using .22 shotshells at snipe on the ground from a distance of less than 10 feet and missed, twice :p
 
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the 410 on a goose story

This must be an old story. All migratory birds are federally regulated due to international treaties. In Canda the feds mandate the use of non-toxic shot for all migratory birds exept woodcock. No way will steel shot have enough energy to kill a goose--even hitting it in the head-- at 75 yards true measurement. The laws of physics do not allow steel shot to have enough retained energy.

Forward motion continues after a goose flying at 40 MPH is shot and it will easily fall 20 or 30 yards beyond where it is hit --even if it dies immediately.

I do think we should all not let the facts get in the way of a good camp story. Give me a few beers around the ol' woodstove and I will nod my agreement to this story too. too bad I ain't drinkin' this fine Sunday morning.

Jim
 
snowball said:
I do think we should all not let the facts get in the way of a good camp story. Give me a few beers around the ol' woodstove and I will nod my agreement to this story too. too bad I ain't drinkin' this fine Sunday morning.
Jim
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Positive sportmanship attitude. Come to think of it, I've witnessed extraordinary feats performed during hunting although such events were more out of the norm :)
 
This is a very interesting thread.

Welcome snowball. Looking forward to hear from you often.

Eons ago, I bagged my first bird during my first hunt by using a 28 ga single shot borrowed from a friend...I always bought and used 12 and 20 ga since then, but I will never forget my first kill with that 28 ga...


I have read an article where the author was saying that the length of the shot string is a determining factor in obtaining a "clean kill".

For example, a bird hit simultaneously by 3 pellets will be killed more "cleanly" than the same bird being hit by the same 3 pellets reaching the target within a fraction of a second of each other..... This is due to the "shock" effect. Pellets hiting at the same same time creating a greater "shock" effect than the same number of pellets hitting at different times...

Unfortunatly, I am unable to find that article. I would appreciate your comments on that subject.
 
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