It would only make sense that PB would pattern a 28 bore at it's average effective distance and 30 yards sounds about right. Sure, we have made good (lucky?) shots with our 28's out to forty yards or so but that doesn't mean a responsible gun manufacturer should pattern the gun at such a range.





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Thanks to all who have replied so far. So, based on the entry that Chuck shared, Ed M. was correct that at least some 28s were choke patterned at 30 yards.

So, if your 28 was patterned at 30 rather than 40 yards, it would likely have less constriction (at least slightly?) than one patterned at the standard 40 yards. I would really like to see the pellet counts for some 28s.

Pellet counts and patterning procedures for .410s, 28s, and 8s were available to the 1998 PGCA Research Committee, but we just didn't think about putting that information together. Our copying machines just wouldn't handle the right side of a Stock Book page.

My 28 is choked .012 right and .020 left.
It letters as rh patterned 180 pellets and lh 200 pellets of #8 at 30 yards.

Our North American ammunition companies only offered 5/8 ounce 28-gauge loads until early 1931. Bulk smokeless Powder --

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Dense smokeless Powder, Infallible or Ballistite --

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Dense smokeless Powder, Walsrode --

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In early 1931, Western Cartridge Co. introduced the 3/4 ounce, high velocity, progressive burning powder, Super-X 28-gauge load put up in their 2 7/8 inch FIELD shell --

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I like the looks of that super x load...I have never been able to get that 2 7/8 length 28 ga box of shells in my collection yet...charlie

In the early years of the 28-gauge here in North America Chas. Askins wrote about hand loading 2 1/8 drams of bulk smokeless powder and 3/4 ounce of shot in the 2 7/8 inch hull for his 6 3/4 pound 30-inch Parker Bros. 28-gauge.

Some of the Askins' guns have been located, and others will be known by serial number, but what about that long legged 28?

I'm not blaiming the committee that copied the stock books but a more careful placement on the copier would have made the entire patterning information visable. Some copieed pages show all the info, some only a portion, and some not at all. The xerox copier was only 17" wide and the stock books were probably at least another 2". There is even more info past the patterning data. Maybe Bill can tell us what it contained. It was a long and big job copying those books.

Here is a good example of what I mean about how the placement of the book on the copier was critical. The book could have been placed just a little more to the left and still copied the first left hand column which tells the grade and barrel steel. Also, note that the pellet counts are always ending in either a 0 or a 5. Did they really count those pellets or just guesstimate? They probably just rounded up or down based on a guess. All those 12 gauges in a row couldn't have all been 250 pellets!!!