I have a 28-gauge 870 purchased last year. The catalog says 6 pounds but it weighs 6 pounds 9 ounces. Still not too heavy but I was hoping for closer to 6.
In my experience the 28 is plenty for most upland bird hunting. The key is choosing the right size of quality shot. When I handload, 7/8 ounce of hard 7's does most of the work, and I have taken a number of WILD pheasants out to 40 yards with this load. The 1-ounce Winchester factory load is also good for larger birds, and I have killed sage grouse out to 45 yards with it. Either of these loads is also plenty for blue grouse.
For anything smaller, down to quail, the standard 3/4 ounce loading with 7-1/2 or 6 shot works well. For doves smaller shot ups the pattern density, so works better. I like 8-1/2's on doves.
One mistake most people make is assuming that because the 28 doesn't hold much shot that it's only good on small birds. In reality bigger birds tend to receive more shot, simply because they're bigger. Which is of course why the 28 works so well on pheasants and even sage grouse.
