Home Forums Reloading Shotshells Powder for a 28 gauge?

Son in law and I both recently bought 28 gauge shotguns and are considering loading for both.

Am thinking about a Mec loader, but don't know about powder, wads, etc.

Been reloading rifles and handguns for over 50 years, but have no knowledge of loading shotguns.

Been saving my empties. Mostly AA's. Have heard they are some of the best for reloading.

Thanks for any advice!

Virgil B.

get the mec600jr.

what hull do you have? old cf aa or new aa/hs?
it will determine which wad, waa28 or waa28hs.
HS6 powder.
great combo............
good luck finding stuff.

Agree on the single stage MEC. Hard to beat.

I have three, 28, 20 and 12.

Lots of load data available, just not a lot of components. Good luck with primers.

DF

When I was shooting competitive Trap I bought a Hornady 366 12 gauge loader. In the late '80s I started shooting competitive Skeet so I bought 3 more Hornady 366 loaders, 20, 28, and .410. I only reload Win AA shells in all 4 gauges. Most of my 28 gauge reloads were with Clays International powder.

After I quit shooting competition Skeet, Claybuster came out with a 3/4 oz 12 gauge wad (which is the same shot charge as the 28 gauge) so I'm loading about 5,000 of them each year now and very few of the actual sub gauge shells.

The new HS hulls are probably the best we've ever had. If you started buying ammo recently those are likely what you have. Which means you want a Winchester WAA28HS wad or a clone like the Claybuster 5034-28HS or Downrange PC28 Blue.

Powders. If just trying to duplicate the target loads Alliant 20-28, Unique, Hodgdon Universal, SR4756. For fast 3/4 oz loads there's Hodgdon Longshot. I don't think fast 28s are necessary tho. If I had to pick one powder for 28 ga it would be 20-28.

I've got a MEC 9000 and like it, but nothing wrong with a single stage. The 600 will likely work perfectly. But consider a Sizemaster, too. Collet is adjustable, so you can size hulls to fit the smallest chamber.

Thanks for the tips guys!

The AA empties I have are recent manufacture, so WAA28HS should be a good wad.

Have a can of Unique so will most likely start with it, then try 20-28 when that's used up.

The Mec 600 Jr. sounds like a good starter press.

Now, to find the components!

Virgil B.

I haven't loaded HS hulls in the small gauges, but in 12 gauge, I'll take the old style AAs any day over the HS ones.

Agree with respect to 12s and 20s. I prefer the old-style hulls for my 28 and .410 use. But to be honest, the 28 HS and .410 HS are better and last longer - alot - than the old-style CF versions. You really can't juice a 28 or .410 in a CF hull. The HS hulls is another matter.

I've been reloading 28 ga. for many years and all of the above is good advice. It sounds like you are on a good track but I would just clarify one statement, International Clays is not a good powder for the 28 ga. (is intended for 12 & 20) however, Universal Clays is an excellent choice....probably a typo. Anyway, I concur that the Winchester AA-HS is the best hull available from a flexibility and durability standpoint. Unique and 20/28 are great choices for standard target loads and if you want something faster for sporting clays or hunting, I use a lot of Alliant Longshot. Personally, my favorite factory shells are Winchester Super Sporting AA and they run at 1300 fps...to get to that velocity range in reloads, I would highly recommend Longshot and it does seem to be more available than some of the other options. Good luck and have fun.

More good feedback!

Thanks again!

Virgil B.

Alliant 20/28 powder is your friend, I use it in both 20 and 28. Regarding buying a 28 gauge reloader...all loading machines new and used at selling for a premium right now.

Have been handloading the 28 for a while now, and it's pretty flexible as far as powder goes. which is a lucky deal with the present buying panic. It will work well with some old, basic powders like Unique and Herco, and slower burners like Blue Dot and Li'l Gun.

I eventually settled on a 7/8 ounce load with Li'l Gun for all-around upland hunting here in Montana. One really good shot size in the 28 is #7, which isn't seen much in the U.S., though it's the same as #6 in Britain, which is the most popular shot size for driven pheasant shooting. I bought a bunch of high-antimony 7 (don't remember the brand, but can find it if you want) and have used the load on enough wild roosters, hunted with a flushing dog, to know it kills them fine out to 40 yards. The balance between pattern density and penetration seems to be about ideal in the 28 for birds from Hungarian partridge size to pheasants/

My favorite load is 14 gr of Herco AAHS hull CB5034 wad. 3/4 oz of shot. Crisp and clean

28 gauge
Win AA hulls, the newer ones
Win 209 if you can find them
Longshot powder, follow Hodgdon recipe
Claybuster 5034 wads
3/4 ounces shot
MEC Sizemaster


I’ve loaded many 1000 28 ga with the above.

Thanks again for all the great tips!

Virgil B.

My classic load for the 28 is 13 gr/Unique, Claybuster red wad, AAHS hull, Win 209 primer. I load #7 1/2 for birds smaller than pheasant, then switch to #7 for pheasants or other larger birds. With the 28 especially, hard magnum shot (high antimony content) is key. I only load 3/4 oz, and have found it quite effective in my pet 28 gauge with .010”/.018” fixed chokes.

Do be careful loading shot larger than #7 1/2, as shot bridging in the loader’s drop tube is real. I load on a MEC 9000, and with the larger shot simply tap the tube with a screw driver before I raise the handle on each shell.

Good thread. Just bought a 28 myself , 2 cases factory AA , 8 1/2 shot , never heard of 8 1/2 before ..

Stay away from 800x use in the 28 ga.

Those are great dove loads.

Li'l Gun in the 28? Where can i find this data please as Li'l Gun is my favorite 410 powder?

Guy,
Powder manufacturers site. Here: https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/

Terry, thanks for the heads up. I guess i never saw the li'l gun data because i never looked at the 7/8 oz load data.

This in spades! #8 shot for clays and barnyard pigeons. Nickel #7s for upland birds. For early season/young quail, chukar, huns and grouse, I shoot LM and Mod......later, and for pheasants, I shoot Mod and IM. Hammers birds.

Andy3

I no longer have a 28 gauge, but when I did I used 20/28 for target loads and Li'l gun for hunting loads. Like Mule Deer, I used nickel plated #7 shot in 7/8 ounce loads for pheasant hunting, and they worked well. For target loads powders as fast as Unique are useful.

I have burned a lot of Green Dot back in the day. There was a time it was hard to get so I switched to Universal Clays.