Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Are 28 gauge autoloaders a no-no ?

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My friends tell me that 28 gauge shotguns are for side-by-side and over/unders only.

Never an autoloader.

Due to the high price of 28 gauge factory shells, all 28 gauge shooters have to be reloaders.

And that chasing and hunting empty 28 gauge hulls is not the way to spend your life or have your friends waiting on you.



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That's a point to consider. I have a 28-gauge Remington pump, but don't use it as much for hunting as my doubles just because of having to chase the hulls down in the field.

There are other factors as well. My wife had a Franchi 28-gauge autoloader for a while, along with her Hatfield side-by-side. She only used the Franchi one season and sold it, because it was such a PITA to load and unload.

Are you saying this is the latest peer-pressure from the (28gagg) you-can-only-do-it-this-way-if you-want-to-be-kool-krowd!!??

To heck with 'em! As for reloading, seems the way to go. I don't visit their site often enough but Ballistic Products had 28 hulls, wads and data last time I looked.

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This is an interesting [anecdotal] take on the Franchi autoloader, from experience in the field. I have never seriously considered buying one but wondered how good of a quail shooter one would be. My ultimate upland guns would be O/U's, because I like looking down a single-barrel, not two.

BTW, my first exposure the the 28 gauge was with a game warden on the shores of the Salt Lake, shooting a 28 Citori after checking me. Claimed the 28ga is a "killing machine" with its 3/4oz square load.

Never forgotten that, and look at 3/4ounce loadings in the 20 and 12 gauges in a new light. I picked up two DL-105 Hornady presses to rebuild so I can reload 3/4ounce 2inch shells in both of those gauges! Mostly from 'AA' and STS hulls once the crimp petals start cracking.

Your friends views make little sense.

You have to be doing a lot of shooting to think that picking up 28ga hulls is taking up too much time in your life. It also doesn't take anymore time to pick up a 28 vs the others and picking up our garbage is always a good idea no matter what gauge we shoot or if we do/do not reload.

All 28ga shooters do not reload and disposable dollars are not always the reason. Some just don't shoot enough for it to matter. With a casual shooter the extra cost of shells is relatively unimportant. A good 28ga break-open usually isn't on the low end when it comes to buying shotguns.


They also cost the same wither one is shooting an auto or o/u or sxs.

Given my choice, I would rather have a 28ga in a break-open shotgun, but that is based on aesthetics. However, certain 28Ga autos are sweet handling shotguns.

If you are using it for hunting really how many shells do you go through a year? For a couple boxes per year the extra couple bucks between relaoded and factory ammo is negigable.

Most that shoot a lot, and by that I mean 15,000 to 25,000 rounds per year do not reload, and these are not always rich guys. Just people that have made one of life's priorities the shooting of a shotgun. They just don't have time to shoot that much and also reload. Reloading time is better spent working and making money to allow them to shoot. Crazy, but that is the way it often works out.

When I shot shotguns that much darn right I reloaded, including 28 gauge. With group buys of wads/shot/powder it saved me a heck of a lot of money. Time was spent reloading instead of TV and that was prior to the internet outside of work.

On the question of the thread, I shot skeet with a gent who shot a 28 gauge 1100 and I never saw it fail. He had a set of four skeet grade 1100's.

Pugs

No question that you can save money by reloading.

However, you can also buy factory shells in volume or with group buys. When I was shooting a lot, a group of us would often buy 100 to 200 flats at a time. It took the dollar savings down to around $1.50 per box. It got to the point that time was money and it wasn't worth reloading. When the Spanish shells: Rio, Clay target and a few others became popular, deals were to be had buying factory, and reloading became less cost efficient.

True enough on other brands. I was in with a bunch of folks who were very set on AA's and while 12/20 was hard to beat with reloading I always saved money on 28/410 with a little time at the Mec 650.

I also gave up on heavy handy cap loads for the 12 gauge and loaded 1 oz. That saved me money but also kept me from getting beat up on 400 round days.

I have a Franchi 28 gauge that is about the only shotgun I hunt with anymore. I bet a lose less than 50 hulls a year while hunting.

Dink

Pugs

A good shotshell story. After a group purchase I had over 75 flats of shotgun shells in my garage. Well one day I left the house to pick-up some groceries and set the house alarm, but didn't close the door completely. The wind then subsequently blew the door open and the alarm tripped which brought the police. When I got back home, they where in the house checking things out. After the required introductions we concluded that things were ok and that the door was the problem.

Finally the one policeman said to me: "Just how many shotgun shells are in your garage?" I did some quick math and said: "Somewhere around 20,000." Which certainly caused him to listen up. I understood the reason for his question and explained the situation. He just shook his head and said I should try to pay more attention when I closed the door.

Just tell your friends that a 28 has to be in a SxS rather than an OU, because the barrel is too narrow to see against a dark, brushy background unless there are two of them. That'll give them something to talk about while you go shoot with whatever you want.

Damit, you know your shouldn't be looking at the barrels.

Between looking at barrels and flushing birds while poking around on the ground for empties, it's a wonder I shoot any birds at all!

I have a 28 ga. Rem 870 that is a joy to use. It is the "starter" shotgun I used for my daughters when they were young, and a few women relatives. They all loved it. It was fun, lightweight, and easy for novices to start getting hits with right away. Enough kick so they knew they were shooting a real gun, but no pain and instant positive results from a light spring on the trap to throw easy targets.

The extra cost of the ammo was well worth it to turn on new shooters to our sport.

The 870 weighs 6 lbs, with a 25" barrel and an Imp Cyl choke.
Just about perfect for the beginners, or me after quail.

Wait till you get old. It gets worse. Hell there are times I didn't even have shells in the barrels when birds have gotten up. However, it saved time in that I didn't have to pick-up empties.

Yep, I often wonder what the fire marshall would have thought about my garage at times.

Nicely said.

I pick up even the cheap promo "disposable" hulls if that's what I happen to be shooting.

If on a range or clays course, I've got a bag on my hip for empties. If hunting, it's never more than a handful of empties anyway.

They're a lot lighter to carry back out when they're empty, and I just drop them in the trash at the end of the day, rather than on the ground out in the field/woods somewhere.

an educated fire marshall would have thought nothing of it. ammunition in a fire is far safer than a lot of other products commonly found in a home/garage.

Cases of starter fluid, barrels of methanol and a magnesium supercharger are firmly planted in my memory.

By mandate of the Ann Arundle Fire Marshall Bass Pro shops has to record my information when I buy powder or primers so smart isn't native here.