28 gauge for upland birds ?

I find myself shooting at more pigeons over the dog's with my 410 anymore. Gonna try it on grouse this year if I can find some. But something I think is probably more fact is that a 3/4oz load from a 12ga will give a better pattern, if you check them, I don't, than a 28 with the same 3/4oz load. What the 28 will do far better is carry all day! When I shot a 12ga the heaviest loads I ever used the last ten years or so were 1 1/2oz target's loads, I adjusted the size of the shot! In my 16ga, I like 1 oz target's loads with heavier shot. I don't shoot and haven't in a lot of years a 20ga, just never turned me on. My 28 get's 3/4oz loads of either 7 1/2's or 6's.haven't started loading the 410 yet but use a lot of 1/2oz #6 loads and they work fine! If I were to hunt pheasant with my 28, never know, I might jump up to 5 shot. Less shot but heavier takes less shot to make a clean kill! Oh, and I only shoot birds over pointing dogs!
 
Thanks for replies , I'm hoping I can get a 28 gauge before this fall hunting season and get some practice with it !
 
Buffered 28 gauge load data.

Tom Roster's Buffered Lead & Bismuth Reloading Manual has some excellent pressure tested 28 gauge 7/8 ounce buffered load data
 
Back to basics

When we pattern our shotguns and analyze those patterns it's important that we remember how the smaller bore diameter affects the pattern.
I think it's the analysis of those patterns on paper that require our memory to be "jogged"

A quick google search will reveal this. Look at high speed photography of shotgun patterns.
The pattern is 3 dimensional, as bore size decreases the pattern becomes "longer" in relation to it's overall diameter.

In addition the weight of each individual pellet varies slightly. This of course also contributes to the "length" of that cloud of shot.

We could choose to shoot 20 gauge guns on the trap field if we wanted to. The Max. size of the shot payload can be easily met with 20 gauge.

Very few folks shoot 20 gauge guns for trap. It's the pattern that is lacking.
 
Any grouse I hunt flush from really close. A 410 works fine if I am quick enough. I seem to get a little more range with my 20 ga. I do not use a dog.

Never used a 28, but if a 410 will do it ...

David

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"I want one." is a reason. No excuses required.
28 gauge ammo is currently on sale at Midway. Cheap enough(Fiocchi at $7.99 per 25) to be able to try several brands. You probably won't find it just anywhere.
 
Academy will deliver for free and sells Win AA for $8.99/box. Buy when Winchester has its $2/box rebate and now you are at $7/box. Sell those empties to a skeet/sporting reloader at .12/ea and knock another $3/box off making your cost for factory Winchester AA top of the line ammo $4box
 
FITASC said:
If you reload, ClayBuster wads makes a 20 gauge 3/4oz wad that works great (They also make a 3/4oz wad for 12 ga)
Otherwise, if you buy a flat (or up to 5) of Winchester AA ammo from Academy during Winchester's rebate time, your cost is $7/box. If you know skeet/sporting shooters who reload, hou can easily sell the once-fired hulls for .012 each so knock another $3 off per box, making your final cost $4/box
Click to expand...

What wad do you change out the claybuster for? I have a hard time loading my shotguns because the data for them seem's to be really hard to come by and choosing wads can be a pain in the buttocks!
 
Those Claybuster wads are 3/4oz; there is no substitute. Now if you want to use CB wads for 7/8, 1, 1-1/8, they make subs for Rem, Win and Fed wads
 
RMcL said:
Tom Roster's Buffered Lead & Bismuth Reloading Manual has some excellent pressure tested 28 gauge 7/8 ounce buffered load data
Click to expand...

If I wanted a 7/8 oz load I'd either go 20ga or to a 16ga 1oz load. Lot of people get the lighter gun because it's easier to carry then up the shot charge and up the recoil at the same time! One cancel's out the other!
 
I have never seen one of the newer Ithica's but I understand they are spendy. I have an older mod 37 16ga and never shot it. Was thinking about putting a short barrel on it to use for some grouse hunting but the action needs some kind of up grade to accept the new barrels. I'd get mine out but it has a 28" full barrel and just to much choke and than I'm really big on my SxS's. My favorite upland gun is a 28ga SxS!

I had an 870 Special /field 20ga that was really nice on grouse but didn't track well on open shots. Was thinking about it with my mod 37. Think it had a 21" barrel and I'd had it opened to Imp cyl not long after I got it. Still think about maybe cutting the barrel on the mod 37, lot nicer action than the 870!
 
My go to shotgun for many years

Nothing left to hunt here bird wise so all my upland scatter guns are gone.......and yep, I'm still kicking myself for selling my 870 28ga I bought the first year they came out.

The single advice I'd give a new 28ga shooter is use or buy one with chokes no looser than a Modified.

I can say about NOW but at one time 410s and 28ga patterns were still for a 30 inch circle......but at 30 yards, not 40. I've had a half dozen 28s and 2 410s, skeet chokes are worthless in the field, at least IMO. Maybe for a close range bunny gun but not birds.

I've taken five quail on the a covey rise more times with a 28ga than any other gauge and the single time I've been grouse hunting (after driving to N. Wis) I took 3 out of 5 shots walking the hunter trails at Park Falls, modified choke 7.5 shot.

No knowledge of other guns but the LW Wingmaster and one O/U but both were LIGHT and FAST coming up on dogless flushes.

The main reason to buy a 28ga is they are just dang fun! I personally stuck with loads of 1300fps. I think originally all 28ga field loads were advertised at that velocity.

I've also shot more 25 straight or 24 / 25 on the skeet range with a 28ga and 1300 fps 9 shot loads than any other gauge. I shot 'low gun" style with butt touching my hip when calling for a bird. Others didnt but I was shooting practicing for hunting, not to compete, yet won more often than not. Yep.....made some old geezers mad at me. lol

I'd have to "re-learn" the muscle memory now in my older years but the light weight would be my friend more now than then.

When quail hunting I took a half dozen ringnecks with a 28ga at close range and before the lead free laws for waterfowl, I shot a truckload of ducks jump shooting them off the ditches and low flying (30 yards) birds. Still the mod barrel but 6 shot in my loads.

In my golden years and more time to shoot...... thinking of buying another 28ga Wingmaster (but price make me gasp looking at the old silver lifter models like mine was!) and saying the H with it, and going back to Park Falls.

DANG that was fun!

Been gone awhile, but back. I looked, whoa.......2010? I need to catch up!
Been on another forum....and got tired of the bickering and name calling so.......ya'll got stuck with me for a bit anyway.

God Bless
Steve
 
We use to keep 3 bird dogs, trained on Grouse. I never used a 410 or 28 when
we had dogs and there was a lot of Grouse. Used 20s & 12s because we had
quality shotguns in those bores. It use to be no trick just to walk up a limit of
Grouse. If your no using dogs some days the small bores will get you by. On
those days when they are flushing at 30yds plus , even a 20 is a Handi cap.
With a dog it is apples and oranges. Any gun you can shoot well will do. In
this area my best Grouse gun for all situations is a Rem 1100 20g SF with a
21"FC vent rib barrel. I had a couple 870 28g FC VRs and a O/U. Both would
do the job on grouse with no problem if they are flushing close.
 
Drm50 said:
We use to keep 3 bird dogs, trained on Grouse. I never used a 410 or 28 when
we had dogs and there was a lot of Grouse. Used 20s & 12s because we had
quality shotguns in those bores. It use to be no trick just to walk up a limit of
Grouse. If your no using dogs some days the small bores will get you by. On
those days when they are flushing at 30yds plus , even a 20 is a Handi cap.
With a dog it is apples and oranges. Any gun you can shoot well will do. In
this area my best Grouse gun for all situations is a Rem 1100 20g SF with a
21"FC vent rib barrel. I had a couple 870 28g FC VRs and a O/U. Both would
do the job on grouse with no problem if they are flushing close.
Click to expand...

I think my old 870 special Field was a 21" barrel. for grouse it was amazing, just point and shoot! But not so good on more open country birds!
 
A 20 or 28 is not a handicap at 30 yards; not if the ammo and choke are proper and you know how to shoot. We used 28s on wild chukar out West and they performed just fine with Fiocchi Golden Pheasant ammo.
 
A lot of guys in my neck of the woods used sawed off 12g guns for grouse and
rabbits in the thick stuff. They worked good there but they weren't good in
the more open cover, with longer shoots.
 
I was looking into a 28ga recently but the cost of shells put me off.

Store I was looking at had the basic Winchester/Remington el cheapo 12 and 20 loads for $5.99---similar loads for the 28 were $16.99. Had to pass and got a 20ga.
 
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