Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns 28 gauge....

Never owned or been around one. Thinking it would make a dandy grouse, starling yard gun. Never been impressed with a 410 for grouse, 28 seems just about right. 870 wingmaster and browning bps are the top 2 choices as of now. Any experience with a 28? How ya like it? Thanks

They work on Florida quail and Georgia rabbits..................

Jud, I have a little 870 in 28 ga. Killed lots of forest grouse and some sage grouse with it.. It tried it on Az. quail, but too many cripples. Ditto with ringnecks.. But I hunt with flushing dogs so the shots are much longer than if you had pointers.. For what you describe, it would be perfect..

Copy that, it just seems “ just right” for grouse and such.

I have an 1100 skeet that goes to my youngest niece when I pass since she has been putting a bunch of rounds thru it every time she visits my place on my trap range behind the house since she was about 10. 28 gauges work above their weight class

I have a 28 ga 870 and a Browning Citori that I use a lot for doves, quail and pen raised pheasants and chukar. Tough to beat a 28 ga for efficiency in a light package with little recoil. I believe it works best with #6 and smaller shot. 7/8 oz of nickel or copper plated #7.5 shot is deadly.

I don't own one. However, my younger sister has a beautiful Benelli Montefeltro Silver in 28g.

They raise Chukars. When I visit her, that is the shotgun of choice for me to borrow for taking chulars. What a pleasure to shoot this little gem is.

I've used a 28 for about 20 years, they are decent guns when used within their limitations. Mine are used for sporting clays and skeet the most with a fair bit of use on training birds and ruffed grouse, woodcock, and dove. I find it a little light for all around grouse hunting as patterns get a little patchy on distant birds when using 7 1/2 shot. Others I know don't care for the 28 when the leaves are still up as they feel there are too few pellets in the payload and not enough may find a way through the leaves to the grouse to kill it cleanly. I can't back that one way or another but I am very picky on the shots I take and probably pass up many shots they attempt. I find a 20 ga or better, my 16 ga, using 7/8 or 1 oz of shot to be a better all year gun especially once the leaves fall.

I have a Browning Cynergy, a Citori XS, and a Beretta 692 for 28s. I do not care for the pump or semiautos as retrieving hulls is a pain. You can't find them in the field and many ranges claim any hull that hits the ground. With 28 ga shells being much more expensive and not as common as 20 ga, I reload all my empties as it is very economical. At $3.50 a box or even less it sure beats buying factory loads.

As most 28 ga guns, such as those in the OP and some of mine, are built on a 20 ga frame one isn't saving any weight going to a 28 over a 20 ga. The Citori is as heavy as my 20 ga 525 though the Cynergy and Beretta are a good pound lighter including 2" less barrel length.

I do enjoy shooting my 28s and use them when I can but I find other options more versatile. For starlings and planted birds it is my second preference (a 410 is my first choice when possible) and it is often used for league sporting clays but when I want the best odds of putting game in the bag or breaking targets something larger is my choice.

Few Grouse will be able to shrug off a center punch from a 28....

Oh wow, awesome pics and dogs!!!

battue, I was scrolling up from the bottom.. First pic. of dog and shotgun I knew the owner.. Great photos, and beautiful dogs....

Thanks. Had to put Toby down last summer. The pics with him are bitter sweet.

Not being smart, and condolences won’t change it. Instead it would be appreciated if all took an extra moment with theirs, to let them know they are loved.

I have my eye out for a SxS, preferably Spanish, if I can find the right gun at the right price.

Bud just picked up a Urgartechea Boxlock 28 SxS. Middle grade with some scratchings on the sides. Very nice and reasonably priced.

When I still lived in Eastern Washington I bought a Beretta 686 28 gauge to go with my 686 12 gauge. I had a Brittany that was a hunting machine and I bought the 28 because it weighed 5 3/4 pounds and had the same dimensions as my 12 gauge I'd been shooting for many years. I hunted hard with that dog and gun for four years before moving to Alaska and continued to use it for grouse and ptarmigan up here. I killed a lot of wild pheasants, chukar, grouse, huns, quail and even used on a few decoyed ducks. The only time I felt it lacked anything was when I tried the original Bismuth Company 5/8 ounce loads on ducks. I went to handloading 7/8 ounce bismuth and was far more impressed with those loads than the 5/8 ounce on ducks.

My dog was solid on birds and would reposition until the bird was locked down. You could tell from her stance when she was close and my shots were always fairly close. A 28 wouldn't be my choice for high flying, driven wild birds but under the conditions I hunted and with that old Brit, I never felt the 28 lacked killing power and rarely had to follow up with a second shot.

Yeah. I'm a big fan of the 28.

If you want to reload, TSS makes the 28 very good for waterfowl.

Cool stories.. Battue, sorry to hear about your pal.. Kate and Maggie will get a pet and treat for her..

Ok ok, you guys have talked me into a 28..... thinkin bps....

When I was 22 yrs old, I won a Browning A5 Sweet 16 at a DU banquet. I traded it off straight away for a Browning 12. Dumb!
Judman, you’ll love owning a nice light 28gauge. You’ll see....😎

Ithaca 37....