28 GAUGE SHOTGUN ?

[diver dan]

I never heard of this gauge before, and whats it used for ? I saw one at a shop the other day,seems like you should use a 4;10 or 20 gauge just because of ammo availability ? When did this come to market ?

 

[erasure]

It's an obscure Brazilian revolver cartridge. link

 

[84VETTE]

28 gauge has been around for a long time. I can't tell you what year they came to market but it's been decades at least. I have an uncle that collects Beretta Over/Unders in 28ga for pheasant hunting.

 

[Lee11b]

Someone finally bought one around here....it's official.....Walmart's in Fort Wayne and Columbia City have dust free (and ammo free) shelves!!!! They had all had between 6 to 8 boxes of 28 gauge on the shelves since March. Someone must have got desperate enough.....signs of the times.

 

[Whip_McCord]

Been around since 1903. I have a SxS and a Remington 11/48 semi-auto in 28 gauge. They are fun to shoot. I like shooting skeet with them occasionally. I reload, since ammo is expensive.

 

[AtTheMurph]

Small bird gauge. Perfect for quail and grouse. Can be used for larger birds like pheasants as well.

I have an Italian made SxS in 28ga that I use for all the above.

 

[drillsgt]

It was pretty common in skeet guns too, often the better you got the smaller the gauge you went to.

 

[Bosshoss]

Used mostly in skeet and some upland bird hunting.
Performs much closer to a 20 gauge than a 410.
My favorite with 410 a close second for skeet.

 

[smittygj]

Fun to shoot, and great at dove's. Growing up in Texas we had a full suite of 870 Wingmasters in every gauge they came in. It was my fathers favorite gun. Sadly the collection was robbed from our home back in the 80's.

My dad said (and I may get parts of this wrong)

12 Gauge is for a man who has to put food on the table
20 Gauge is for a man who hunts for sport
16 Gauge is for a man who can't decide
28 Gauge is for an artist with a shotgun
.410 is for starters and kids

 

[dnurk]

Fun to shoot, and great at dove's. Growing up in Texas we had a full suite of 870 Wingmasters in every gauge they came in. It was my fathers favorite gun. Sadly the collection was robbed from our home back in the 80's.

My dad said (and I may get parts of this wrong)

12 Gauge is for a man who has to put food on the table
20 Gauge is for a man who hunts for sport
16 Gauge is for a man who can't decide
28 Gauge is for an artist with a shotgun
.410 is for starters and kids

I like that but actually bought a youth 28ga for my son to start clay and wing shooting. Much more effective than .410 which leads to a successful youth (which makes them want to do it more).
They are extremely light guns even in adult sizes and fun to shoot. I like that shotgun artesian comment.

 

[smittygj]

From outdoor life:

To hear some people tell it, the 28-gauge shotgun is imbued with magical powers, and if you listen to these fans long enough, you might come away convinced that you could use a 28 to down a crossing pterodactyl with a snap shot at 50 yards using a ¾-ounce load of No. 9 shot.

That’s a bit of an exaggeration, of course, but many 28-gauge enthusiasts insist that the 28 delivers a more uniform pattern with almost no holes and no weak outer ring, allowing it to perform better than it should. Some claim that the 28’s reputation for punching above its weight class is due to the fact that the shotshell contains a square load, meaning the shot stack is equal in height and width, theoretically resulting in fewer deformed pellets and better shot patterns.

I personally agree with this. The 28 is good, as long as you are good. If you can't shoot, then it won't work for you.

 

[Joniki]

Fun to shoot, and great at dove's. Growing up in Texas we had a full suite of 870 Wingmasters in every gauge they came in. It was my fathers favorite gun. Sadly the collection was robbed from our home back in the 80's.

My dad said (and I may get parts of this wrong)

12 Gauge is for a man who has to put food on the table
20 Gauge is for a man who hunts for sport
16 Gauge is for a man who can't decide
28 Gauge is for an artist with a shotgun
.410 is for starters and kids

I find this funny. I have been shooting rabbits with a 410 for fifty years. Less lead to dig out of them and less wasted meat. Maybe I should move up to a real mans gun.....

 

[DadSmith]

I see a lot of 28ga at China-Mart on the shelves in Aurora. Must not be to many 28ga shotguns around. Are they making modern 28ga shotguns?

 

[eddiehelm]

I see a lot of 28ga at China-Mart on the shelves in Aurora. Must not be to many 28ga shotguns around. Are they making modern 28ga shotguns?

I have a sxs mossberg that isn’t too old. I’ll have to dig it out of the safe this weekend. I think it’s an onyx reserve or something along those lines

 

[nipprdog]

I see a lot of 28ga at China-Mart on the shelves in Aurora. Must not be to many 28ga shotguns around. Are they making modern 28ga shotguns?

Like this post, and post #4, the Lafayette walmarts only have 28ga.

 

[Michigan Slim]

I have a Browning pump 28 that I really should shoot more. Really nice gun.

 

[Bigtanker]

There is a 24 gauge and a 32 gauge too!

I like the 16 gauge.

 

[Twangbanger]

I never heard of this gauge before, and whats it used for ? I saw one at a shop the other day,seems like you should use a 4;10 or 20 gauge just because of ammo availability ? When did this come to market ?

In terms of payload, 20 and 28 gauge are arithmetically closer to each other than any 2 of the other 4 common American gauges. If you're hunting smaller animals at reasonable distances, the drop from 12 to 20 gauge doesn't make a lot of difference. But if you've shot much skeet, you know that drop from 28 to .410 payload will really get 'ya. And the registered averages show it.

 

[Methane Herder]

Sarasketa 28 gauge side by side, skeet and skeet. Light, fast and great for quail. Just got to remember that skeet guns don't usually automatically engage the safety when you reload.

MH

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

You guys are killing an old man with a torn up shoulder with all this talk. You know that?