Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns 28ga. Vs. 20ga.

Just picked up my first 28ga O/U... a Citori Superlight. Not really superlight though as it weighs in only an ounce lighter than a 20Ga Citori Lightning! anyway...<P>I'm interested in hearing others opinions/experiences with the 28ga. Figure this will be a good gun to teach my son on in a few years... I'll use it mostly for skeet and grouse hunting in Northwestern Ontario...

I started bird hunting at age 12 with an 8 lb. 20 ga. Browning auto. I couldn't hit a thing with it. But when I switched over to a 6 lb. Win. Mod 42, .410. That worked. I used that until I bought a cheap O/U 12 ga. at age 17. Your 28 ga., from all reports, will pattern much better than the .410 that I used. It should work fine. Heck, back then, we were using paper shells w/o shot warpers. E

I agree that 28ga should be more versatile than the 410. Right now the hard part is getting comfortable with how quickly it swings... I've been shooting skeet with a 12ga semi-auto with a 28" bbl...<P>

Outside of my 16 ga's I love the 28ga I own 2 and will always own one. One bit of advice, buy a relaoder.

28 guage is a great guage that shoots a very balanced load which typically patterns very well for it's size. Only problem is, of course, you don't have a lot of shot, so you have to be very conscious of ranges. It has been my experience, that loading heavier loads in the 28 guage, like 1 ounce, is counterproductive, unless you are using them specifically for first shots in heavy cover where the extra fringe might get a bird. Great guage and a lot of fun to use, but takes practice, as someone said, to get used to some of the guns since they can be a little "whippy". Have fun with it.

I started off with a Savage single barrel 28 ga. at age 12. It was a very effective little gun, although the hammer was a bit of a hindrance when it came to quick acquisition on those fast disappearing ruffed grouse. It is a far more effective round than the .410, much closer to the 20 ga., imo. My wife shoots an SKB in 28 ga., with 28" barrels, and has been very happy with it for use on grouse over the last 20 years. Ammo availability has not been a problem here, for some odd reason. Maybe folks are finally taking the 28 ga. seriously!

The only real negative about the 28 gauge is the cost of ammunition. The last time I looked, standard skeet shells were running around $7 a box buying case quantities and closer to $8 a box if bying singly. On the other hand, reloading the 28 gauge is quite economical. I don't know what the situation is concerning component availability in Canada, but if it isn't too bad, getting a reloader is an excellent idea.<P>As for training youngsters, I think the 28 gauge is excellent -- much better than the 410 bore -- and you have a really fine shotgun. For upland birds, the 3/4 ounce charge of the 28 gauge will down 'em every bit as well as the 7/8 ounce load of the 20 gauge. I use mine, which is actually a skeet gun, for dove, quail, and pheasant. The only thing I change is the shot size. Number 9 for dove, #8 for quail, and #7-1/2 for pheasant. Otherwise, the load is my standard 1200 fps skeet load.

I live in Northwestern Ontario, and I use a 28 ga. o/u choked m/ic. It works pretty well if you keep the shots to 30 yards. I use #8 for ruffed grouse, but I ran into some sharptails and I was glad I had some #6's with me. Because it is a standard skeet gauge, you can still buy ammo easily. I buy AA #9's, and reload them for a fair saving, as the components are the same price as 12 ga. Bruce

I have a 28 SxS I use for quail, and occassionally for doves and it performs excellently. I usually use a 20 SxS for the doves, and I would say the 20 has significantly longer reach, mainly because of the shells that are available in my opinion. For skeet, I get the same results with both gauges.
<br>If you get a gun scaled for the 28, it can be a wonderful pointing thing. An autoloader would be my first choice for teaching a youngster to shoot. I don't know about now, but the Remington 1100LW youth stock used to fit the 28 guage, although not perfectly, and made a nice youth set up, but the 1100 in 20 is certainly a good gun to teach with as well. That gas system does wonders for the felt recoil.

Indy,
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<br>First off congrats on the new shotgun purchase. You have a sweet little shotgun there
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<br>As has already been said, 28 guage ammo will cost more then 12, 20 or 410 ammo. Another thing is you will get fewer reloads from 28 guage hulls then you will with any of the other 3 I mentioned. Kind of a double wammy if you will.
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<br>If it wasn't for the game of skeet the 28 guage may of suffered a slow death and that would be very sad. When I shot registered skeet I enjoyed shooting the 28 guage more then any other, but it was expensive to shoot. The 1/8 ounce difference in shot between the 28 and 20 gauge isn't enough to be concerned with. As a matter of fact I shoot 1oz loads in 12 gauge versus 1 1/8oz loads.
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<br>I have been in the market for a 28 guage O/U for some time. Be happy you have one of the most efficient shotgun gauges made and enjoy it for many years to come.
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<br>Don