20 vs 28 gauge

[mdwest]

@rookhawk both Benelli & Beretta make high quality 28 ga semi autos for low $2000 range, they weigh 5 1/2 & 6 1/2 lbs respectively. !

Beretta also makes the 686 Silver Pigeon in 28ga.. it comes in at 6.3 lbs.. it'll set you back about $2700..

That said, I believe its built on the same frame as the 686 20ga.. but.. due to the thinner barrels is slightly lighter than the 20..

The 686 and 687 in 28 are probably the most common O/U's I see among the clays shooters that compete in 28ga events..

 

[HankBuck]

Beretta also makes the 686 Silver Pigeon in 28ga.. it comes in at 6.3 lbs.. it'll set you back about $2700..

That said, I believe its built on the same frame as the 686 20ga.. but.. due to the thinner barrels is slightly lighter than the 20..

The 686 and 687 in 28 are probably the most common O/U's I see among the clays shooters that compete in 28ga events..

@mdwest - You are right and forgot about Beretta 686/687 in 28ga - bought one (687) for my Son years ago - didn’t know you could still get one for under $3000.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Extended stock. And a 3rd tier maker. But still a nice English gun at a good price.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Im not proficient enough to use a 28 or I would have bought it.
Settled on a Westley Richards 20 this week.

 

[Jaime hunt]

Believe it or not I have seen 16 gauge and 28 gauge shells for sale at various Walmarts, but not at all of the Walmarts I've been in. Some of the "mom and pop" LGSs have 16 and 28 gauge shells on hand, of course at a heftier price than Walmart and online suppliers.

Then again I not only reload various rifle and handgun cartridge ammo, I also reload 12 gauge, and thanks to an AH member, 16 gauge shells. Now to get a 410, 28, and 10 gauge reloading presses and I'll

You’d be stunned at how effective a 410 loaded with TSS is on any bird, including Honkers. I’ve got a friend from the south who comes to hunt waterfowl with me in Idaho. He brings Foxtrot Ammo TSS shells loaded with a mixture of 9’s&10’s. He’s got right at 300 pellets in a 3” 410 load. I’ve seen him shoots dozens of mallards and probably 20 big Canadians with that little gun and it’s devastating. My son was breasting out a bunch of honkers we’d shot and he called to tell me he had to toss some of the breasts as they were too bloodshot to eat. I asked him what the heck he was shooting in his gun and he replied that the birds he shot were fine but that some of the birds shot with those TSS shells were a mess. He also told me he picked the backs of some of those birds and that a lot of the pellets had gone clear through the geese. I have it for high-end and new old stock (NOS) versions are you interested in it

 

[jeanes]

28 gauge 2 1/2" ammo might be a bit difficult to find. Definitely not in every Walmart or Academy.

 

[WAB]

Im not proficient enough to use a 28 or I would have bought it.
Settled on a Westley Richards 20 this week.

The difficulty is not in the shot charge, you give up very little between a 3/4 oz charge and a 1 1/8 oz charge. The difficulty comes with trying to point a whippy 5 pound gun in the right direction. A 5 pound gun sounds like a great idea right up until you’re trying to hit a 35 yard crosser in a stiff wind.

I did a LOT of ruffed grouse and woodcock hunting as a young engineer in the coverts of New Brunswick. I carried a 5 1/2 pound ‘O’ frame Greener in 2” 12 ga. With 25” tubes. The gun was deadly snap shooting in that thick stuff. When I moved to Wyoming I found it completely uncontrollable on sharp tail and pheasant.

The British perfected the game gun at roughly 6 1/2 pounds throwing a 1 1/16 oz shot charge from a 2 1/2” 12 gauge. Trying difficult shots with a gun one to one and a half pounds lighter than that sporting short whippy barrels is not a formula for success.

I do have a 28 ga that I shoot extremely well. It is a Browning ultra XS sporting clays gun with 30” barrels. However, it is actually heavier than a classic British game gun.