General 28 Gauge Question
 

Looking to add another 28 gauge SxS and it seems available guns in the marketplace, more often than not, are choked Mod/Full. Is there something about the ballistics of the 28 gauge shell where Mod/Full chokes are the preferred choking for upland hunting over pointing dog? My current 28 gauge 2 barrel Repro set is 26" IC/Mod & 28" Mod/Full. Am I at at a disadvantage in using the 28" Mod/Full barrel over the shorter more open barrel?

If your pointing dog is a good pointing dog, the IC and MOD barrels are fine. If you have a mediocre pointing dog, and the birds are big ones, the MOD and FULL barrels are better. Just joking, of course. But remember, we are talking about 3/4 ounce loads.

Without going into a chain of Aristotelean logic on the ballistic enigma of the 28 gauge, I would say that the answers to your 2 questions would be strongly dictated by the type of cover you will be hunting in. Almost 100% of my 28 gauge hunting anymore is for woodcock in VERY heavy cover; a short-barreled gun bored wide open (Q1/Q2) would be my choice, but I see nothing wrong with IC/M. Since you already have a good dog, gun handling technique comes into play very quickly and the shorter barrels are much handier. Conversely, in wide-open (treeless grasslands, etc.) spaces the MOD/FULL combo is hard to beat since flushed birds get away fast! One thing I can tell you for sure after shooting the 28 gauge on everything over the past 60+ years is that beyond normal regulation skeet station 4 distances, they LOVE choke and will do phenomenal things at long ranges with the right boring.

If you have access to good spreader loads, get the M/F and you’ll have multiple chokes. FWIW, I’ve killed many grouse with a 28 choked Cyl/F.

During the first twenty plus years that Parker Bros. 28-gauge guns were offered, the payload of factory 28-gauge shells was 5/8-ounce of shot. Pushed by 1 3/4 drams of bulk smokeless powder or 14-grains of dense smokeless powder such as Infallible or Ballistite from a 2 1/2-inch case or pushed by 2 drams of bulk smokeless powder or 16-grains of dense smokeless powder such as Infallible or Ballistite from a 2 7/8-inch case

No, there isn't.

Cannot be answered without knowing your quarry and type of shooting. For doves, not necessarily. For woodcock, probably so. Two inches more barrel length is of vastly less importance than choke selection. My best woodcock day ever was using a 28 gauge, 30" barreled, FAIR Verona with open choke tubes in place, a SK and an IC, as I recall.

My experience has been with a Remington 1100 28 with 26" barrel and a non-descript sxs. The skeet choked 1100 took a bunch of woodcock and quail over broke (steady) bird dogs. I shot a lot of doves in good fields with this gun and choke but eventually got a full choke barrel and had it opened to .020 and was very satisfied with its performance with loads of #8's.

I prefer 28" barrels on sxs's and have never felt encumbered by them.

The sxs was choked at about .003 and .020 and it worked quite well on both quail and woodcock. That was with a 28" set of barrels.

JMHO....

You got scammed by your gunsmith. .020 is full choke in a 28. He probably never touched your 1100 barrel.

Some great comments here in response to your questions. I would add not to forget how the shotgun fits. I spend most upland days in tight woodcock and grouse coverts. A 28 that fits well with my normal clothing layers on and takes birds consistently likely won't if I'm layered up to protect from the cold. So for me the fit out-prioritizes the choke.

Tom has a great English setter and when we've hunted together with our 2 setters, the birds are very close.