Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game 28 gauge?

I would like to know what you fine gents think about the 28 gauge in an upland bird hunting application. what sort of limitations should i expect from it, is it adequate for pheasant? would you ever attempt a turkey hunt with one? basically I would just like to know all i can about it, I am looking into a mate for my Ithaca 37 in 16, and have always been a 1 off kind of guy, so a new manufacture 37 in 28 just seems natural. what are your thoughts?

Slightly light for pheasants. O.K for Chukar's, Quail, etc. Not easy to find ammo on the road, so you better stock up. I head shoot turkey's so it would be O.K, but again a little light. It's a lovely gun to shoot, though, so if you are one of those who like to go on the fringe, try it out.

That should be a nice combination in the Ithaca 37. For me a 28's a 30/35 yard gun for doves, valley quail and chukars. I've seen other hunters kill and wound pheasants with them.

A few of years ago I decided to use a 28 here in Montana, putting it aside only when it started to fail on bigger upland birds. It never did. Took a bunch of wild pheasants neatly at ranges out to 40 yards, and also some sage grouse, my longest kill 47 yards on a big male of six pounds or so. No problem at all on mountain grouse, whether ruffs or blues, and of course it also worked great on Huns and doves.

A 28 pointed right with an appropriate load for the game works very well out to the ranges most people can consistently take upland birds. I wouldn't choose it for 50+ yard shooting of wild pheasants, but that's a pretty specialized game. One thing many hunters don't realize is that as the bird gets bigger the more likely it is to be hit by multiple pellets.

I had one for a while, a pretty nice little Bernadelli SxS, and found that it did nothing other than weigh an inconsequential bit less than my P&G SxS 20 did so off it went. Of course it cost more to shoot too as I did not handload for either the 28 or the 20.

I have a nice Ugartechea 28 ga, a 5-pounder with 27 in. barrels. I have used a lot of 7/8 and 1 oz loads with 5's and 6's on South Dakota pheasants. A couple of trips, I was the only one not using a 12 ga and the only one that never lost a cripple. You would honestly have to kill me to get the little 28 away from me, my favorite shotgun. The Win. loads with an ounce of 5's are my choice for pheasants.

I wish that Remmy would make an 870 Special Field, with a English grip, 21" tube and chokes. I'd be a buyer...grin

Dober

I think one would enjoy the 28 more if he handloaded. I have MEC 600 Jr's set up for 12, 20 and 28 ga. I've had progressive loaders before, but like the single stage presses better. They're easier to set up and less prone to dump a load of shot or powder on the floor. And, to me, they're fast enough.

They can often be found on Ebay for under $100, ready to go. I think it's easier to have one set up for each gauge than try to change out dies, etc. That's too much trouble and the presses are too cheap, IMHO, to go that route.

I like the older, pre '82 ones with all steel dies. I add a Pro Check for $9 from MEC and that upgrades older presses to the latest technology. All steel dies + Pro Check, the best of both worlds.

DF

Hadn't thought about it, but that WOULD be super cool...

DF

Yeah, I have my 28 and .410 MEC's set up for one gauge only.

The 28-gauge 870 is an okay gun but would indeed be better if it was shorter and lighter. I sold mine after purchasing my 5-pound 2-ounce Fausti SXS 28.

I recently traded for a Merkel 28 ga. O/U with solid rib and some really nice wood. It fits me and is a keeper. I can actually hit pretty well with it, and I'm not the best shotgunner. I'm left eye dominant, right handed and too old to learn to shoot left handed. It's the old dog/new tricks sorta deal...

DF

Merkle 28 ga is about as good as it gets

I've taken quite a few pheasants with handloaded 28's using 7/8oz of #6's and feel it's adequate, especially if you're hunting over dogs. Seem's to me that more birds hit the ground running when taken with my 28ga. as opposed to my standard 12ga payload of 1 1/2oz of #5's handloaded into Federal Gold Medal hulls... to be expected I suppose. It's not the gun I choose for late season birds or hunting in 30mph winds, but they certainly can be used effectively in the pheasant fields.

One of my 28 gauge guns is a Ruger Red Label, and it's a joy to carry. I've never felt my 12ga guns were too heavy, but it's definitely noticable when you pick one up after carrying the little Red Label for a while.

This thread is only operating at half-value without some photos of the 28's being mentioned.

KDF,

One of my favorite all-around handloads in the 28 is 7/8 ounce of hard #7 shot. That's about 260 pellets, very close to the same number of 6's in a 1-1/8 ounce load. The 7's penetrate very well and result in noticeably more pattern density than 6's.

I traded with Puglisi Gun Emporium for this one.

DF

Thank you 'farmer! That's a beauty.

Closer shot.

Does Merkel have a dedicated 28ga frame, or is your built on a 20?

Funny you say that....I have a 28 gauge 870 Express I've thought of trying to convert to a Special Field. Stock would need to be custom, barrel chopped from 25 to 21, threaded for tubes.

Oh well, maybe another day.