From the get go our North American ammunition companies offered the 28-gauge in two lengths. The "standard" shell was 2 1/2-inch with a load of 1 3/4 drams of bulk smokeless powder, or 14 grains of dense smokeless powders such as Infallible or Ballistite, pushing 5/8-ounce of shot. Or, a slightly hotter load of 2 drams of bulk smokeless powder, or 16 grains of dense smokeless powders such as Infallible or Ballistite, pushing the same 5/8-ounce of shot.
28-gauge Bulk Smokeless Powder Loads 1915-16.jpeg
28-gauge Dense Smokeless Powder Loads 1915-16 Infallible or Ballistite.jpg
NITRO CLUB 28-ga 1 3-4 dram, 5-8 ounce.jpg
TARGET 28-ga 2 7-8 inch.jpg
Those were the loads offered until 1931.
In his 1910 book Chas. Askins wrote of hand loading 2 1/8-dram 3/4-ounce loads in 2 7/8-inch cases for his heavy 30-inch barrel Parker Bros. 28-gauge.
In 1931, Western Cartridge Co. finally got around to applying progressive burning smokeless powder to the 28-gauge, bringing out their high velocity Super-X 28-gauge load with a 3/4-ounce payload, put up in the 2 7/8-inch shell.
Super-X 28-gauge, 2 7-8-inch, #6 Chilled Shot.jpg
NID 28-ga Field & Stream April 1932.jpg
The Remington era Parker specification sheets, reproduced in
The Parker Story, show the 28-gauge to have a 2 13/16-inch chamber intended for the 2 7/8-inch shell.
Remington Specification Sheet GHE 28-ga highlighted.jpg
In the later 1930s the companies were putting out 28-gauge Skeet loads in both 2 1/2-inch 5/8-ounce --
Xpert 28-gauge, SKEET LOAD, 2 1-2 inch.jpg
and the Western Super-X, Remington Nitro Express, Winchester Super-Speed and Peters High Velocity 28-gauge 2 7/8-inch 3/4-ounce loads with #9 shot were marked Skeet.
Just before WW-II the companies began putting out 28-gauge Skeet loads in a 2 3/4-inch shell --
Xpert 28-gauge, SKEET LOAD, 2 3-4 inch, 3, Aug 2019.jpg
Shortly after WW-II the manufacturers settled on the 2 3/4-inch 28-gauge shell.
Threaded Mode