I
love 28 ga. guns! I have 4: a Beretta 687 EELL, a Garbi 101 with 2 sets of barrels, an Ithaca Classic Double, and of course a Parker Reproduction. Technically the Parker Repro. is no longer mine since my wife loved it so much, she appropriated it for herself.
28 ga guns work best at closer ranges (30-35 yards or less) and for smaller birds (quail, doves, Ruffed Grouse). For those reasons they don't need tight chokes. Mine range from Cyl/IC, to Mod/IM on the 30" Garbi barrels (great for longer shots at doves). The Parker Repro. my wife uses is Q1/Q2, which is a fine combination. They pattern great with 3/4 oz. of shot. If you want to use more shot, the proper gauge would be a 20.
28 ga ammo is not that hard to find, and you can order it by the case so you don't have to worry about not finding it. I use only # 7 1/2 or 8 shot. I prefer to reload since I can make high quality, low recoil loads that pattern very well, and save some money to boot. Also I always know I will have ammo available. My wife and I often shoot doves with 5/8 oz. reloads that have very little recoil and work fine if you don't try excessively long shots.
Depending on your size, the Parker Repro. might fit quite well. I find the comb to be the perfect height, but most of them were made with 14 1/4"-14 3/8" LOP; quite short by today's standards. There are Repros. out there with 14 3/4" LOP (I have a 12 ga. with that length). In fact I've seen more than 1 28 ga. with 14 3/4" LOP on Guns International. As for the weight, mine has a pistol grip and beavertail, which makes it weigh around 5 3/4 lbs. They are too light to comfortably shoot lots of clay pigeons with, but that's not why I shoot 28 ga. guns
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