Yeah, 6's and 7's work great on pheasants in the 28 (or any gauge), but they work better if they're hard. They don't have to be plated, but high-antimony shot definitely penetrates deeper than "standard" shot, because it doesn't flatten out when it hits.
Hard shot costs more, whether in factory or handloads, but using hard shot a size or two smaller than standard shot provides a denser pattern and penetrates just as deeply. But I know a lot of people who refuse to pay for better shot, just like many people refuse to pay for better rifle bullets.
Yea and amen!!
Actually, my favorite gun writer of all time (sorry, it ain't you, John, but you're in the top dozen...
) is Michael Mcintosh, and he does a fine job of explaining the principles of shot in his excellent book,
Shotguns & Shooting.
I was a convert to hard shot in the 1970's, after experiencing the very real frustration of watching ducks I was hitting hard flaring away (only to die a mile out into the marsh) while my friend's ducks fell dead. The difference was that he used premium hard shot, and I was shooting el cheapo Canadian Tire economy shells loaded with soft shot. I switched to hard shot reloads and have been killing game birds with lighter loads and smaller shot sizes ever since.
