What about the 28 ga?

[Chris T.]

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

[Dunnigun]

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.

[C.O.B.]

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

[SXS OHIO]

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]

Originally Posted by Kenny Graft

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