What about the 28 ga?

[Chris Travinski]

Everyone is alway saying how great the 28 ga. is, but a few treads back there was alot of discussion about how there isn't enough payload to knock down a pheasant. Which is it? Does anyone use theirs to hunt pheasant or only small game? I had my mind made up I was going to take the little repro. with me this year, and I have been shooting it almost exclusively in preperation, should I rethink my plan?? Looking for experience and opinions on the subject please. Thanks, Chris

[Brian Stucker]

I took a crappy little 28 ga.Huglu out last season and got a limit of big ducks. Used Classic Doubles #2 and limited shots to 25 yards.
One long shot at 40 resulted in a crip; chased him for a mile.

[Bruce Day]

In the Small Bore Shot Gun brochure, Parker was recommending the 20ga for small game such as quail at up to 25 yards and rail up to 40yards. You can imagine the 28ga would be less.

Sure, take your 28ga, just limit your shots to 25 yards or so on crossing shots, all the more so if you are hunting wild birds in mid to late season. Pheasant are well armored from behind with a tough bony shell. Some people go to SoDak and talk about how they got a lot of birds each day, how the shots were easy, how tight the birds held, and then you come to find out they were preserve hunting. The preserve operators talk about quickly the birds become wild. Well, its not so, and they aren't alive long enough to develop strong, fast flight or the skittish instincts of a wild born and raised bird. You hunt in the 20-25 mph wind, wild birds, and the 28ga is a crippler. You need to break bone on a strong bird to bring it down, and for that you need heavy shot, like #5 or maybe #6 and the long time gun of choice for pheasant hunting is a 12ga. I use a 16 or sometimes even a 20 early season, but I carry a 12 in the truck. The 12 I carry is a tight bored 2 frame damascus GHE for when I need a heavy concentrated pattern at 1 1/8oz or 1 1/4oz at 1200 fps or so. Come hunting with us some time and be prepared to walk and follow the dogs on exclusively wild birds. My buddy Charlie killed pheasants last year with a 410 and a 28, but it took him days to wait for just the right shot and he did it just to say he could. SO, if you can choose your shots carefully and pass up lots of flushes, take only the 28.

I started out in SoDak following at age 10 following my dad and Gov. Joe Foss and have hunted the Dakota and the central plains and in the Cal central valley for 50 years and have killed lots of pheasant. Its shocking sometimes how much lead they can absorb and stay in the air, or set their wings and fly a half mile, then drop dead. Unless you get that head shot, you need to break bone and the 12 does that best. Its a long way from dove shooting.

[Rich Anderson]

I have hunted with a 28 for years for a variety of upland birds from Pheasants to Huns, Sharptails, Quail, Grouse, Woodcock you name and I have hunted it with a 28. My first Parker was a repo 28 and I shot that gun for years. About three years ago I lucked into a VHE with 28 inch bbl choked skt/skt. and I use that each year. I'm lucky because I also have a couple of pretty good dogs so I don't have long shots.

Pheasants are tough birds and I use #6 on them. They are all wings and tail and if you concentrate on just hitting the bird they do absorb a lot of shot. I like to see the ivory bead pass the white ring on the neck of a rooster befor I fire.

If you want to hunt a bird that can carry a load of shot and keep on going try Hungarian Partridge.

[Graham Mason]

The 28 gauge will work on pheasants.There are not many in my area but the only two I ever saw while hunting I shot with my 28 gauge.I know a couple of guys who hunt pheasant in the Valley who swear by their 28 gauge Ruger O/U shotguns using full/modified chokes and number 6 Winchester 1 ounce loads.

In the past when lead was legal I used my 28 gauge duck hunting with good results.Have a year or so ago loaded up some 28 gauge Bismuth to use on ducks.Have not had a chance to use it much in the field as I have not gone duck hunting much of late years.With extra full and improved modified chokes in my Franchi 48 AL I have good patterns out to 40 yards.

Check out the 28 Ga. Society http://28gasociety.proboards.com

There are guys there who use their 28 gauges on geese.

[Bill Anderson]

I hunt just about everything with the 28 with good results, but I use only Winchester 1 oz loads. Limited somewhat, only by the fixed chokes in my SxS.

[Graham Mason]

Forgot to state in my post of yesterday that the chokes I was using in my 28 gauge Franchi were Trulock chokes.The shot size was number 5 Bismuth.

Also another great site to check out for 28 gauge hunting and loading information is DeepWoods Calls www.deepwoods.net/forum

[Kenny Graft]

My take in this ......Wild birds need hit hard, nuber 5 shot works wonders! I like a 16ga. with 1 1/8oz high velocity loads. Hits like a 12 carries like a 20...(-: Save the 28 for smaller game...I have collected all the gauges...410/28 20/16 and 12 All are exactly the same dementions. I can shoot all of them about the same with no confusion with lenth of pull or drop at the heal. They all fit me the same so they all come on target the same. I pick the gauge for the game Im hunting. I still need a steel shot special for the duck blind....Just can't find one to match my others....)-: Love them repro's thanks all, Kenny Graft SXS ohio

[Bill Murphy]

Lightning has struck again on the PGCA forum! I like Bruce's answer the best. My years shooting wild pheasants in PA is not my reason. My reason is recent experience shooting healthy preserve birds with friends who like to shoot the little guns. I usually don't shoot until their guns are empty, and I sometimes shoot more than half the birds out of four shooters. Why is that? Is it because they miss so much? No, they are probably fringe shooting nearly all the birds, putting shot in nearly every one, but they are there for me at 40 yards. Thanks, Bruce.

[Joe Bernfeld]

collected all the gauges...and 12. I still need a steel shot special for the duck blind....Just can't find one to match my others....)-: Love them repro's thanks all, Kenny Graft SXS ohio

Kenny, you do not need a Steel Shot Special to hunt Ducks; all parker Repros are steel shot compatible. Chris, the 28 ga gun is a 3/4 oz of shot guage. If you want to shoot 1 oz,use a 20 ga or better yet, a 12. Match the gun to the load and the game. That means doves, quail and maybe Ruffed Grouse with the 28. It's ideal for those birds, but not for Pheasant.
Joe

[Dave Fuller]

I'm in the Bruce/Bill camp. For the last 40 years I've hunted pheasants from Kansas to California. I see no reason to bring a 28ga other than to shoot preserve birds. I guess if you're were willing to pass on most flushes I could see bringing one as a novelty. I love my 28's and will hunt with them this fall... but certainly not for wild pheasants.

[Bruce Day]

My experience with a 28ga is that they were seldom dead in the air and I had to use the dog, and they'd run and sometimes we would find the cripple and sometimes not.
I think respect the game and use either choose your shots with a 28 very carefully or move to a bigger gauge. Parker never intended the 28 to be an all around gun.

You can kill a deer with a 22 cal bullet also, but should you?

Save the 28 for what it was meant for; quail, doves, snipe, rail, etc, or use it around Winner or Mitchell at those places where they release the birds early in the morning. At least that's what we used to do when I helped out on a preserve. If you put them out the previous night, the coyotes, foxes and bobcats got them.

[Graham Mason]

The 28 gauge has over late years benefited much from improved components.It took awhile for the manufactures to include these improvements in the 28 gauge.Many think in terms of these older 28 gauge shells.Do not sell the 28 gauge 1 ounce load short.In the 28 gauges I have tried it in the one ounce load patterns well.


Have been using the 28 gauge in the field for over forty years and with the right load the 28 gauge is capable of doing many things.Just my opinion.

[Dave Fuller]

Pheasants should be hunted with a 12 ga, 5 shot, and a spaniel! There, that should make for some lively "differences of opinion."

[Richard Flanders]

As Bill elegantly says, lightning has indeed struck the forum. I agree with Bruce/Bill overall. I'd add that the better the shot you are, the smaller gauge you can get away with using on wild pheasants. Afterall, you're sending the same size shot out at the same velocity; there's just less of it in a small gauge gun so you have to be good. My neighbors hunt geese up here with 20ga guns exclusively, mom, dad, and the kids, and they rarely fail to limit out. They're just good shots and don't skybust. I feel that I personally need a 10ga with 2oz of #5 shot to bring wild flushing wild roosters down; I'm just not that good a wingshot to reliably get good head shots. I do however use my 28ga w/3/4oz loads on preserve birds with devastating effect because our preserve birds up here mostly hold tight and are just not strong fliers at all. Even I could likely do just fine on them with a .410. I'd not argue with Dave's post on ga. and #5 shot, but I much prefer a pointer to a spaniel, but Trigg's GSP Dodger would spoil any bird hunter in short order, I assure you. I really hope to participate in Bruce's late season midwest pheasant hunt someday and will most definitely not bring a 28ga along.

[Chris Travinski]

I do most of my hunting on preserve birds, there aren't too many places to find wild birds here in southern New England. The birds are pretty dumb and hold tight, I'll give it a try and bring a 12 ga. along with me. Richard, I bought this gun from Trigg, and I believe he mentioned in passing you had shot some pheasant with it on a visit a while back. Thanks for the advice, I'll let you guys know how it works out.

Chris

[Richard Flanders]

That would be the 28" BTFE SST gun? I shot shortly after my shoulder surgery and before I had my own 28ga. Very nice gun if I remember right. I wore a down parka for padding and had to carefully get the gun all the way up before they kicked the birds up. Don't remember that I missed any.

[Bruce Day]

Chris, where are going to be hunting? State and county or town?

If its out here on the plains, people from other areas often don't realize wind is almost a constant out here, and we hunt in 10-15mph winds frequently and up to 20-25mph. The birds get even more skittish in the wind, and you have flushes at 25-35 yards despite a pointing dog trying to hold them. Within ten feet of flight, they are going 40mph with the wind and you are trying to make a 40-50 yard shot.

Not for nothing do we have the world's largest concentration of wind farms out here for power generation.

If there is a good guy who want to hunt north of the SoDak Glacial Lakes along the NoDak border in early December, let me know. It will be cold and windy with the Alberta Clipper. All wild, lots of walking. Rolling hills, sloughs, cattails and heavy cover.

[Kenny Graft]

I know I don't need a SSS.....They are bored special to give good patterns with steel, bores are .740 with IC/MOD chokes......Good excuse for me...(-: Im a collector, shooter, investor or somthing like that?! I guess I just want one...All the 12ga repro's are scarce with PG-DT 14 3/8 pull, other wants would be the same specs in a sporting clays special...(-: That should finish the DHE part of my repro shooter collection. thanks all, Kenny Graft SXS ohio....(-:

[Chris Travinski]

Bruce,
I usually stick around CT and southern MA. There aren't alot of choices around here and the hunting is real easy, but it's nice to get out. I would love to go on a real trip hunting wild birds, but it's tough to get away.

[Bruce Day]

If you are just staying up there, a 28ga would likely do fine.

Anymore I work about half time and go fishing, hunting, biking,hiking and traveling the rest of the time, so I get out. Never been back east much except quick in and out on business, although I will go next summer on the Boy Scouts national staff for the 100th Anniversary Jamboree by Richmond, VA. Guess you'd call that back east. Doing the biking and shooting event. I am not familiar with hunting conditions back there.

[Daryl Corona]

I agree with Richard, Bruce and Bill. I think the most important thing in shooting wild birds is shooting a gun that you shoot well whether it is a 28 or an 8 ga. Personnally I started hunting wild birds in SD with a 12 F/F, gradually dropping down to a 20 and now carry a VH 28 exclusively for the simple reason it is a dream to carry all day. I am fortunate to have a great dog and I will draw much criticism in saying that I shoot nothing more than 3/4oz of 7 1/2's. Under 40 yds. it is a deadly load. If you are not hitting these birds in the head and neck area you are going to chase cripples no matter what you are shooting. Even when I carried a 12 I passed up any bird over 40 yds. for the simple reason that truly good pheasant cover is dense and even with a good dog retrieval is problematic. The bottom line is learn to shoot well, whether it is by shooting skeet, trap, sporting clays or a combination of all. Then use plenty of choke. The birds we hunt deserve this respect.
Daryl

[King Brown]

I don't own a 28 gauge and have not used one. I have a half-dozen friends who annually use only 28s hunting with dogs in the plentiful wild grouse and woodcock coverts of New Brunswick. They use the larger gauges for everything else. Any thing is possible with any gauge but that's not the game for me.

[Dean Romig]

Daryl makes a good point - to fully respect the game we hunt we must be sure to kill them as cleanly and quickly as possible. I really enjoy my twenty-eights but would never think of using one for pheasants or waterfowl. I've taken a tightly choked 28 out for turkeys but never had the opportunity to use it. In the case of turkeys we're shooting at a naked head and neck that is pretty stationary so, in my opinion, a 28 is 'respect' enough.