Sir Joseph Nickerson, who died in 1990, switched from 12 bores to 20s later in life (1972, to be exact), then to 28's in his later years. He favored 13/16 oz. of no. 5's for high pheasant in the 20s, not sure what load in the 28s, and accounted for staggering numbers of gamebirds per day. He decried shooting close and low birds, favoring high birds and challenging presentations. His reason for going to the "little guns", weight. He said that as he grew older the 12s were just too heavy for him to lift all day, and that by conserving energy he could shoot better later in the day. He also pioneered the use of over and unders on the driven shoots of Britian and Spain, favoring them over the side by sides.
A true "big shot" of modern times, Joe accomplished feats equal to Lord Ripon, but with 28 bores. He shot more grouse in his last fifteen years than did Ripon (who used 12s) in his last fifteen. Ripon, who it is said took 97,503 grouse in his lifetime, killed 3435 grouse in his best year using 12 bores. Nickerson, in 1988, took 3390 with 28s, and over 3000 the previous year.
Joe was a great student of the shotgun, and went to great lengths to recover all shot birds. He knew his limits of range and stayed within them, striving always to center the birds head in his pattern. The center of the pattern is not much different between guages, but is deadly in all of them. Never having shot flushed pheasants (in the butt), I can see where the smaller guages would be more limited in range as compared to the 12. The rear of any bird is the toughest presentation to cleanly down the bird. But for the head-on and crossing driven game he chased the small guns suited him just fine.
I have a 28, a FAIR Verona with 30" barrels, and I shoot it pretty good. But, when I want to go small I go really small, down to my .410s. I have three .410 doubles, all with 30" barrels, one of them with screw-in chokes. They are the most fun on a dove field that you can have with your clothes on.
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