Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game The 28 gauge?

If you are a great shot and the gun fits you the 28 will work.

I know I need the 12 to kill consistently and still do not center the bird every time.

I love the 16 but cant find shells everywhere at a good price, so I shoot the 20 more if I want less gun.

Understand completely. Doubt if a 28 will disappoint, but eventually we all need to find these things out on our own. Good luck in doing so.

Yes, seems the Europeans have a better sense of proportion.

I could not tell a difference in effectiveness thirty-five yards and under and as to recoil I'd say my 5.5 lb AyA 28 still kicks a bit less than my 5.75 lb Beretta 471 20. Very subjective but that's my experience.

Beretta's A400 28 is very, very sweet also but now you have a gas system instead of Ben's inertia system. Amd they cost more.

I don't think so. The pistol grip is too closed for my carry style forcing me to reach for the safety; it's ok at the shot.

I hope it's just a matter of getting used to it. My SxSs have straight or English grips and that is what I'm used to.

Twenty years ago, when my mother knew she was leaving this life, she decided to buy her kids, each, something to remember her by, as if forgetting mom was possible. She bought me an AyA #2 in 28.

It's special, to say the least.

Are you just considering shell shuckers or would you consider an O/U or SxS? You're doubling up on cost over an expensive semi-auto but a new little AyA 4/53 box lock in 28, for example, is plain but exudes quality and is well under 6 lbs. ~ $2800. Of course you can shop for used also. I've never regretted buying mine.

And there are O/Us well under that price I believe.

Those are just sweet!!

Travis, I think the thing I like about my 28 is the very light weight and small frame.. I have a couple 20's in the model.. I like them very much, and shoot them a bit.. When I first got the 28 probably 10+ years ago, I shot it a great when I first got it.. Killed lots of birds.. One thing I think must be kept in mind is lots of folks hunt over pointers.. They get fairly close shots if they are like the pointers I have hunted over.

I think you have a lab, I have goldens.. Since they do not point, my shots tend to be longer than a hunter with pointers. At least I would think so.. Often my birds are getting up at the distance these guys are shooting their birds.. So usually I opt for a bit more gun..

But I think you would truly enjoy the 28 what ever model you choose.. It is a great little ga. and a joy to hunt with anc shoot..

Along the lines of what George is saying, my wife has an Ugartechea non- ejector boxlock in 28. I had the stock bent with a bit of cast-on as she is a lefty. That gun is a delight in the hands and points like a best grade gun. If I wanted to try a true 28, that is what I would do. They are very well made and can be picked up on the used market more reasonable than anything close, for the shooting dynamics - that is, to get the full 28 experience.

Further, these guns are not difficult to get to fit with just a minor bend or so, unless you require something extraordinary. The combination of a true 28 gun and a dynamic fit is a genuine delight. Many sharptails have succumbed to heart failure, just thinking about it.

Europeans don't have a better sense of anything.



Travis

George,

I have not used or hunted with a straight grip but I would think they could spoil a guy. They make sense IMO.



Travis

I'm speaking to Benelli 20 gauge vs the 28 gauge.

I have used double but grown to despise them.



Travis

You are correct. Lab and no pointers.

I think this comes down to a 20 vs 28 thing but only when speaking to the Benelli Ultra light.



Travis

I thought the Benelli Monte was available in a 28 but don't see it on their website now. Just the Legacy and the Ultralight at about 2k and $1800 respectively but that's not street price necessarily.

Both are near five pounds and that is really nice! I have no use for heavy shotguns in the type of hunting I do.

Edit: just my thinking but if you are keeping your M2 (12 ga, no?), I'd go 28 over 20. You'll spend a bit more for shot shells but we've all probably spent coin more foolishly than that.

28s reload cheap.

Travis,

I've used the 28 quite a bit over the last 15 years or so, and it works fine for 90% of bird hunting. Have never had any problem killing sharptails and wild roosters out to 40 yards with the right choke and load, and have killed big sage grouse out to 47.

Yes, the 20 will do anything the 28 will ballistically, but the problem with most American 20's is they're too big and clunky, because they're chambered for 3" magnums. As a result they're not much different than 12's used to be before the 3" 20-gauge became the In Thing, usually weighing around 7 pounds.

Have owned and hunted with several 28's, but the only one that stuck (and the shotgun I use for most early-season upland hunting) is my 5 pound 2 ounce Fausti side-by-side. It can be carried easily all day even by old farts like me, and kills stuff fine.

I did an article on why the 28 works so well a few years ago for HANDLOADER, which looked at all the myths and misconceptions. Factory loads will do it all, but handloading is easy and makes the 28 even more versatile.

I was trying to not be so descriptive as to why I like light shotguns. 😉

Well, it is what it is...

I like this one, a Merkel that handles great. Light, but not too light, just right.

My Fausti is the first super-light 28 I've tried that swings nicely for me, probably because of the 28" barrels. It's also the first single-trigger double I've owned with a trigger that refuses to fail--at least so far, and it shot the hell out of it before writing the check, one of the advantages of being a gun writer. (Other than shooting a bunch of guns and animals, traveling here and there, plus a lot of free ammo, the profession sucks.)

Oh, and it has a straight grip.

Mule Deer, Just curious: how have you had single trigger guns fail?