There are 262 #7 1/2 shot in a 3/4 ounce load, but only 169 #6 pellets. Wild bird hunting is a cornerstone of the Project Upland brand. Subscribe to OL+ for our best feature stories and photography. Many people assume that the larger the shotguns gauge, i.e., 10 or 12 gauge, the more powerful it is. There is also checkering on the pistol grip and fore-end for better handling. I will cover them individually below. I killed a lot of birds with it, but I killed a lot more at the start of a hunt than at the end of a hunt after carrying that behemoth for miles. The maximum effective range of the 28-gauge shotshell has long been debated and I don't expect to end the argument here and now. Its also a major reason why sub-gauges like the 28 are viable duck guns now. In some guns, less expensive field loads such as Winchester Super-X, Federal Classic and Remington Express pattern about as well as the target loads or if there is a difference it is not enough to matter. There are 307 #8 shot in a 3/4 ounce load, which makes for pleasantly dense patterns. 28 gauge vs 20 gauge TSS pattern test DIY Hunter 9.93K subscribers 6 119 views 6 days ago We are doing a pattern test with a 28 gauge using TSS versus longbeard XR rounds. Feel free to visit us in person or, to request one by mail, simply call the office at 517-279-4312 or send us a request stating where you would like your Plat Book sent, along with a check for $28. One expert calculated the effects of shooting a 12 gauge in a 100-target competition with 1-1/8 ounce loads and concluded that, by the end, you will have soaked up nearly a ton of cumulative recoil energy. Its still a popular option for todays hunters. The selection of guns made in 28 gauge is somewhat limited. The 28-gauge is favored by older demographics with good taste; baby boomers come in at 12.12 percent listing it as their preferred gauge. Learn more about our use of cookies:cookie policy. Historically, it has been found more than once that the closer a ratio is to square, the greater the effective pattern is. We started our test shooting the 410, and when we switched over to the 28 gauge, we noticed an uncomfortable jump in recoil. But perhaps where the 28-gauge performs best is shot string. There is also a small window that runs the length of the fore-end so you can see how many shells are in the magazine. At 40 yards, things started to change. Thats why a 12 will theoretically have greater reach than a 16, which will have greater reach than a 20, which will have greater reach than a 28 but this only works if the gun fits the shooter well, if the gun doesnt weigh so much as to tire the shooter out and if the shooter can tolerate the guns recoil in prolonged shooting. But other than those two things, the sweet little Twenty-Eight is about as perfect a recipe for hunting a big chunk of the uplands as we will ever have. It is, in a word, fun. The other advantage? I dont feel under gunned at all. Those are a lot of ifs, and they offer clues where the real magic of the 28 gauge may be found, and why some people break more clays or put more game birds in the bag with a 28 than they do with larger gauges. Loading the 28 up to an ounce offends 28-gauge purists. You can carry a lot more 28-gauge shotshells in the pockets of your upland vests, too. It all has to do with recoil; the less a gun kicks the more we enjoy shooting it and the more we enjoy shooting a gun the better we hit with it. The ban on lead shot had just come to pass and shotshell makers hadnt yet determined that speed was the key to making steel deadly. How far does it leave the .410 in its dust? Browning, Charles Daly, Ruger, and Weatherby O/U field guns are also available in 28 gauge, and while certainly not inexpensive they are more affordable than most 28 gauge doubles. It was also remarkably consistent, throwing up solid patterns with every shot. Add to quote; Share Only show this user. The 28-gauge now represents an often-coveted selection in vintage-built shotguns that can drive prices to nauseating levels. A six-pound 28-gauge shotgun pushing a ounce load of lead at 1,200 feet per second (fps) generates less than 13 foot pounds of recoil energy, which is considerably less than the level considered to be the maximum most shooters can comfortably tolerate. If thats still too rich for the budget, consider the Tristar Viper G2 or the Mossberg International SA-28 semi-auto. What a pleasure this gun is to shoot and hunt with, said Ramsey Russel, who owns getducks.com and shoots a 28. I find that for woodcock it is great because usually in close and minimal damage to the meat. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. As an owner of several 28-gauge shotguns, I could not agree more with the author. | Home Firearms and Shooting Shotguns 28-Gauge: The Exception of the Sub-Gauge Shotgun, A.J. Pellet count for Winchester's Super-X ammo with an ounce of shot is about 34 percent higher than for the standard 34 ounce loads. Updated Dec 1, 2021 9:23 AM EST. It has a 3-inch chamber, a more recent 28-gauge development. Side-by-side guns can be made very light, too. Which perhaps helps explain why 28-gauges in general have developed such a reputation for hitting game harder and smoking targets better than they are supposed to. The Fausti line of DEA shotguns in 28 gauge have an average weight of just 4.95 pounds. This variation happens in three chokes related to the 12-gauge, as you will see in the skeet II and modified chokes. Read Next: The Best Budget Turkey Loads Vs. TSS. Uncertainty is one of the great allures of hunting. Weight savings arent limited to the guns. It kicks like a cottontail, carries light, and puts enough pellets on target to drop birds at 30, 40, and some say 50 yards. There is, he said, no magic in the 28 gauge.. Show more Show more It is not for the hunter who blazes away at gamebirds regardless of how far away they are, but then no shotshell is. His conclusion was based not on rumor, conjecture or the fact that his Uncle Moe shot three rabbits back in 1932 with a 28 gauge Iver Johnson, but on many long hours spent shooting hundreds of patterns. In contrast, a 7-1/2 pound 12-gauge shotgun launching 1-1/8 ounces of lead at 1,200 fps ratchets recoil up to about 23 foot pounds. The light weight and easy swinging ability appear to make me a better and even quicker shot. No such load is available on the market. They are far more effective than their small bore might suggest, patterning much like a 20 gauge. But bismuth and tungsten are more effective killers than steel, and as both materials have become more affordable, shotshell manufacturers have begun to load them in more options, including the 28-gauge. One Week Only Sale: A Year of Back Issues FREE If your heart beats to the rhythm of a pump-action gun, currently produced 28-gauge pump guns include the six-pound Remington 870 Wingmaster priced at $962, the stylish Ithaca Model 37, starting at $1,145, and the CZ 628 Field Select with a MSRP of $429. Where the 28 has a disadvantage is in pellet size offerings. Built on the 20 gauge receiver, that gun weighs 714 pounds and when its weight along with its gas-operated action are combined with the light recoil of the 28-gauge shotshell is it easy to see why she enjoys shooting "her" Model 1100. Earlier I mentioned my wife's fondness for light-kicking guns but I did not mention how she came about obtaining one of her favorites. Maximum between flyer pellets was 54 inches, but almost all the pattern was concentrated within a basic spread of three feet. You bet. 20-yard pattern shot through the choke of the Yildiz .410 using the Gamebore ".410 Target" 14g/#9 shell. If you can mount, point and swing a gun fast and instinctively, you can effectively negate the advantages of larger-gauge guns because you can get on the birds faster, before they open the range, than you can with a much heavier gun. Brister, using data from the National Skeet Shooting Association, speculated the 28-gauge shooter would be giving up only three to four percent between his little gun and the 12-gauge.. Manage Settings There are shooters who definitely can put more birds into the sack with a lightweight 20 or 28 gauge than they can with a heavier 12, wrote Brister, But this is not due to gauge but to balance, weight, gun fit, recoil, speed of swingor maybe how well a man likes his gun., The History and Revival of the 16-Gauge Shotgun. Just $1 per month , The advancement of non-toxic shot has brought the 28-gauge back to the duck blind, By To find out, we put both shells head-to-head in a shoot-off. And most hunters figured a 3.5-inch gun could send more pellets downrange at ducks, though it was later revealed that pattern density in a 3-inch versus a 3.5-inch shotshell are nearly identical. Depending on things like manufacturer and age, an IC shotgun choke for a 12-gauge can range from 0.009 to 0.010 inches. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. Loading a 28-gauge load up to 1 ounce will offend puristsbut it will put more pellets on your target. The 28 gauge will never become as popular among American hunters as the 12 gauge but it does have its share of fans. Im looking for the right gunsmith in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia to take a look at it. The 28-gauge hit the pattern board so hard it jarred out one of the thumbtacks holding the paper, Brister noticed. 5. Both the8-gauge and 10-gauge were common and popular. A 2022 survey revealed a lot of evidence about the 28-gauges popularity. Envision getting hit by a tennis ball versus a baseball at 20 yards. The Remington Model 870 Wingmaster is a fine 28-gauge pump. The clear winner at 40 yards is the 28 gauge. Sign In Get everything Gun Dog has to offer. Brister points out that the first person to study shot string was H. A. Ivatt in 1890. Shotcups can create less deformity when coming out of the barrel. And as far as taking gauges seriously, the 28-gauge appeared in a lot of writing of the time. Just $1 per month , 28-gauge shotguns pattern well thanks to a "square" payload. finish thats applied to minimize abrasions and corrosion. I once received a call out of the blue from Representative Lamar Smith of Texas, himself a quail hunter, encouraging me to write about the miraculously efficient patterning properties of the 28 gauge. Thanks again, Fellow Griff fanatic. #7 1/2 is probably a pretty good compromise for shooting most upland game and #9 gives the pattern density to break clay targets at reasonable ranges. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The 28 has a bore diameter of .55 inches and a shot column thats about an inch in height, and volume of black powder isnt a useful metric anymore. The 28 gauge got its name the same arcane way all shotgun gauges were named: for the number of lead balls with the same diameter as the bore that it takes to equal one pound. The highly respected American firm of Parker Bros. introduced the 28 gauge back in 1903. The best hit out of three for the 410 was 195 pellets on target. Speaking of premium shot, the firm of Hevi-Shot, which famously produced the first shotshells using heavier-than-lead shot, offers a variety of potent 28-gauge loads. Like the .410, the 28 is probably at its best with #7 1/2, 8, and 9 size shot. The 28-gauge averaged 128 pellets inside a 30-inch circle at 35 yards; the 12-gauge averaged 188 pellets at the same distance. Rewind your clocks to the late 19th century and dive into the shotgun era. However, that myth is busted. ( not as many pellets / but a solid pattern none the less). The 28 has a bore diameter of .550 inches. The one ounce load allows efficient use of shot as large as #6, which number 225 to the ounce. Join F&S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers. At a bore diameter of 0.55, a oz lead payload column height is about an inch (1/.55 = 1.8); not very square. It is for those of us who are willing to accept its limitations and who consider what is being hunted with more important then how full the game bag is at day's end. I have yet to get that ambitious on my paper testing. The baseball is heavier and denser, its going to hurt more. This all builds a story that the 28-gauge is slowly, steadily gaining popularity as a gauge of choice for upland hunting. Almost 10 percent of upland hunters preferred the 28-gauge to other gauges, making it the fourth most popular gauge overall. The 28 gauge patterns efficiently because its -ounce payload is square (inasmuch as anything packed in a cylinder can be square), according to conventional shotgunning wisdom. Sign up for the Field & Stream newsletter and get the latest intelligence straight to your inbox. Put simply, Ive never shot another gauge better. His book, Shotgunning: The Art and Science, stands as testament to pushing the understanding of shotgun ballistics to a new level. The 12-gauge was not part of the study. If you measured it in terms of gauge, it would be a 67 gauge. One question that many people ask is whether they should shoot 20 or 28 gauge in tournaments. But gun and ammo companies dont put a bunch of time and money behind a shotgun shell if they dont think its going to workor if they think hunters wont want it. 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