Explain purpose of M/F barrels on 28 ga. gun
 

Need some education. Primarily I'm a bird hunter, grouse to pheasant and all bird sizes in between. Also have a fair selection of sxs shotguns in 20ga, 16ga and 12ga, no 28 ga though. I'm not a collector and shoot what I own. For 30 years my go to gun has been a 20ga Parker Repro with 3 barrels- 20ga Q1/Q2, 20ga IC/Full (factory original) and 16ga Galazan barrels with Briley thin-wall chokes. My hunting area is mid-Atlantic to New England. For its lightness, now comsisering purchasing a 28ga Parker Repro for grouse/woodcock because I'm getting a little older/slower and so Max, my setter doesn't have to wait as long for me to catch up. Good, clean 28ga PR's are at an affordable price point now, $4800-$5500 for a 26" single Q1/Q2 or IC/M. Two barrel sets are selling $6000-$7000 with 26" Q1/Q2 and 28" M/F barrels. Now to my question, what gunning purpose is the 28" M/F used? I always felt 28ga loads were too light with no oomph to cleanly kill larger birds. In tight grouse/woodcock cover you need shorter more open barrels, not longer and tighter. Is it worth the extra $'s to spring for the PR 2 barrel set or just stick to getting a PR 26" gun with the more open barrels?

Modified/Full doesn't confuse me nearly as much as a F/F that I see on some of the original small gauge guns. M/F is a good combination for dove hunting and it will work fairly well on wild quail if you can find wild quail.

I have a Parker with a second set of barrels from Purdey that are M/F. These are nice for late season Grouse when the leaves are down and the birds flush a little bit farther away, they are also nice when Pheasant hunting and I use them on the sporting clays course.

Mr. Jay:
First, there isn't much difference in velocity for moderate upland field loads in most any gauge. Thus, the tight chokes are there for another reason in the 20 and 28.

That reason is pattern density.

Because the smaller gauges carry less shot for their bore size (the ridiculous 3" 20-bore excepted) tighter chokes help to keep more pellets within the 30" circle at most game ranges. This reduces wounded birds. If you miss, chances are you'll miss clean. If you hit, it may well be an effective and humane kill. (pardon the obvious oxymoron)

That's not to say an IC choke is ineffective. If you shoot quickly and are spot on, they work just fine. But you must be a bit more skilled.

For your purposes Tom, as with mine, I'd stick with the Q1 & Q2 or the IC/Mod chokes. I've taken plenty of grouse and woodcock with my IC/Mod and Kathy's Q1 & Q2 28 gauge Repros and I wouldn't really have a use for Mod/Full in places where I hunt.





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I have a 20 gauge Sterlingworth choked Mod/Full and it is great for wood ducks. A similarly choked 28 gauge might do the same thing. It also might be good for clays.

I have been addicted to Parker Reproductions for many years and have owned way too many single barrel, two barrel and even a three barrel set guns in all gauges.
I have never once fired any of the 28" Mod/Full barrels!
Bob Jurewicz

I have shot 28 gauge guns for almost 50 years, SxSs. O/Us, and repeaters. Handloaded for them for years as well as went through about every variation of factory ammo there is. One thing I can tell you for certain is that the 28 gauge LIKES choke! For woodcock and railbirds, nothing like cylinder or Q1/2 or skeet in tight covers. But for doves, snipe and the occasional long shot on quail, nothing beats a SxS or O/U with mod & full in a 28 ga. Also, if that's your only combination, try RST's spreader loads - they're great for opening up tighter guns in heavy cover. Their #10 shot spreader in 28 ga. is a real killer.

John is exactly right. It's all about pattern density. The idea is, as you go to less shot in your pattern, more choke helps maintain sufficient pellet strikes to kill a bird.
Down side is, it takes more skill to wield a smaller pattern. That's where the term; "Expert's Gun" comes from, when applied to small bore shotguns.

I hope I don't get drummed out of the PGCA for admitting this, but I have a John Dickson and Sons 28 gauge boxlock with 26 inch barrels. It is choked .004 and .031. Although I now only use this gun for only grouse (ruffed, not the prairie variety) and woodcock, it was once my gun of choice for everything, and I took more pheasants (from here in North Missouri/Southern Iowa) with this gun than any other I have used. The choking on this gun is perfect for grouse for me, from Minnesota to Virginia. Some years ago I ordered a two barrel set 28 gauge AYA 453. I specified one set Skeet I/Skeet II and the other Cylinder/Full. The Cylinder/Full barrels are unused. The other barrels have taken lots of game, mostly wild quail here in the Midwest and grouse in Minnesota and the Appalachians. I shoot over pointing dogs and use standard 3/4 loads, mostly 7 1/2s (but 8s earlier in the grouse season). Unless your are doing some dramatically different kinds of shooting, I don't know if you'll really use two sets of barrels. That's my 37 years of experience, but I'll bet someone chimes in with something contradictory. In the end, get what you can afford and makes you happy. Life is very, very short.