Author Topic: Got a 28 ga. itch that needs scratching..... (Read 1851 times)

DonT · « **on:** October 19, 2005, 11:29:08 AM »

I have shot 20's for years and like em but got me a real itch for something in a 28 ga.

Was kinda lookin at the Remington 1100 Sporting 28. I have had a number of remingtons over the years, both 870's and 1100's in 20 and 12 ga. and have been very pleased with them.

Thought I would check here to see if anyone had one or handled one or had seen any reliable write ups on em.

The 28 ga. comes with a 25" barrel, upgraded wood and 4 or 5 screw in choke tubes...

I putter shooting trap and when I really need some frustration try skeet from time to time and may use the gun for an occassional upland bird hunt or pheasant...

Any thoughts?

?

DonT

Graybeard · « **Reply #1 on:** October 19, 2005, 11:49:24 AM »

Scratch it man, scratch it. You'll love the little 28 ga. On the skeet range it is my over all favorite. Back when I was shooting competition I often used the 28 to shoot 20 and 12 competition also. My average with it was only one bird under my 12 ga average and higher than my 20 ga average.

I've owned and shot both Remington 870s and 1100s in both 28 ga. and .410 bore. In fact I used an 870 with a match weight tube filled with lead shot in competition and even used it for 20/12 lots of matches. I really shot it well.

But you've not lived until you get a nice 28 ga. O/U. Browning, Beretta and CZ Huglu make really nice ones. I've done some of my best skeet shooting ever with a Belgian made three barrel set (20, 28, .410) using the 28 ga barrels. Never ran a hundred straight with the 28 but I sure shot a lot of 98s and 99s with it.

JoeG52 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 19, 2005, 01:56:38 PM »

You'll love the 28ga. The only problem with 1100's & 1187's is pcking up the empties. I don't mind losing the 12's and even the 20's, but it is next to impossible to find cheap 28's to load.
(But don't let that stop you, get the 28!) :grin:

RBishop · « **Reply #3 on:** October 24, 2005, 02:19:53 AM »

25" barrel seems kind of short for sporting clays. But the 28 ga. is a wonderful gauge. I had a 28 gauge Browning O/U that I let get away and have regretted ever since. Winchester made some wonderful 101 O/Us in 28 gauge too.

TNrifleman · « **Reply #4 on:** October 25, 2005, 02:42:13 PM »

I think I know what you mean. I have used a Winchester Model 12 in 20 gauge for years to hunt quail and doves. It does a great job. Lately, I have been considering getting a 28 gauge for this hunting task. I don't load shotgun shells, so the price of ammo has made me a little slow to go to the 28. Still. I hear the call....

Ron T. · « **Reply #5 on:** October 28, 2005, 04:55:17 PM »

I'd look at the Browning Citori over/under in 28 gauge made by Miroku (spelling?). It's a well-made, beautiful little over/under shotgun that weights just 6¼ lbs. It's a darned good-looking, slick-handling little gun.

I was lucky enough to buy a Charles Daly 28 gauge over/under shotgun, made by same Miroku Company up at the ATA's Grand American Trap Shoot held in Vandalia, Ohio well over 30 years ago.

It was 1 of only 37 "special" 28 gauge over/under shotguns that were ever brought in to the U.S.A. They were brought in for a big gun show for the Charles Daly executives to inspect with the idea that Charles Daly would put them into their line of over/under shotguns from 12 gauge to .410 bore made by Miroku which Charles Daly, Inc. already marketed.

Browning was still having the Superposed made in Belguim at the time, so this was long before Miroku ever made the Citori for Browning.

Those 28 gauge guns were "special" because they were 28 gauge over/unders made on 28 gauge receivers rather than 20 gauge receivers as most 28 gauge over/under shotguns are made.

Unfortunately, they were rejected by the Charles Daly folks because they would have been considerably more expensive than the rest of the line.

The thirty-seven 28 gauge over/unders were scheduled to be returned to Japan, but somehow got away and were sold to dealers. I bought mine from one of those dealers just as he was closing up his shop in the last hour of the last day of that year's "Grand" American Trap Shoot which was held in Vandalia, Ohio.

However, they ARE very beautiful little over/unders and weigh only 5¾ pouinds compared to the 6¼ pounds of the 28 gauge barrels mounted on a 20 gauge receiver!!!

There is an article called "The Real 28 Gauge" on page 150 of the 1995 Gun Digest that tells the "story" of this fine little shotgun with chrome-lined barrels that points and handles so naturally.

Thirty or 40 years ago, Federal made a 1-ounce, 28 gauge load in a paper shell, but I had never been able to find any heavier load than a 13/16 oz. load in a 28 gauge field load.

But, today, I was "nosing" around at the local gun shop and spotted some 1 oz., 28 ga. Super-X (Winchester) High Brass loads in what Super-X is calling their "HS" (for "High Strength) loads.

Naturally, I bought them immediately. They cost "an arm and a leg" ($13 a box of 25), but should provide some excellent hunting loads only an 1/8th. of an ounce lighter than the 1-1/8th ounce 12 gauge loads with which I hunted upland game (pheasants, rabbits, quail and grouse) all of my life.

Now I have to find the right plastic wad to enable me to reload the same 1 ounce shot-load in them. Winchester (Super-X) recommends their new WAA28HS (red-colored) wad, but the loading books show that to be only a ¾-oz load and I'd like to reload the same 1-ounce load that came in the High Brass "HS" shells I bought today.

It's a red 2¾ inch, "Maximum" (that's what it sez) Dram Equiv., 1 oz., High Brass plastic shell. On the side of the shell box, it claims to be a "high strength" hull designed to improve reloading life and can be identified by:
∙ HS on the head stamp
∙ HS on the tube stamp
∙ Black colored ink tube stamp positioned lengthwise

You need the new WAA28HS RED colored wad to reload it. But since that wad is only for a ¾-ounce load, there must be a different 28 ga. wad for the 1-ounce shot-load.

So go ahead and "scratch" that "itch" and buy that 28 gauge... especially now that you can get 1-ounce loads again... and hopefully reload the same 1-ounce load back into the "HS" hulls.

That's what I'm gonna do... :grin:

Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

Graybeard · « **Reply #6 on:** October 28, 2005, 05:39:04 PM »

You'll love those Winchester one once loads Ron. They really reach out and touch the birds way out there. If money were no object I'd sure use a lot more of them. But $13 is way high on them. The last I bought were more like $8 a box I think.

I was in the local gun store where I do business today and noticed a CZ imported Huglu 28 ga. SxS that sure was nice. It's made on the smaller 28 ga. frame. The only thing I didn't like about it was the pistol grip which just isn't right to me for a double trigger gun. But it did make me think maybe I need to get a 28 ga. Bobwhite to go along with my .410 Bobwhite Huglu.

Born2shoot48 · « **Reply #7 on:** October 30, 2005, 09:23:03 PM »

I picked up some 1 oz 28 gauge loads today. They were 12.99 a box. But nothing is too good for my baby:

CharlieBgood · « **Reply #8 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:40:13 AM »

DonT
There is a very nice 870 Wingmaster 28ga for sale in the PredatorMasters classified's, for 500 or trades. (www.PredatorMasters.com).
I have a Baretta Silver Pigeon in 28 that is quite fun to shoot, but as mentioned earlier, the price of ammo is kinda scarry. But reloading should solve that.
If you have an itch, by all means scratch it!! I did and I feel much better now, even though I still grab my 20 when I go bird hunting.
If you'r looking at o/u's you might take a look at the post I made here recently in the Ruger Firearms forum index (Ruger Customer Service).
Thanks, Charlie

DonT · « **Reply #9 on:** October 31, 2005, 08:23:09 AM »

Well it sounds like you folks have been having so much fun with these little shotguns I just couldn't resist and the Sporting 28 is on its way to my dealer.

Ron T. Your note on your article is just too funny. Seems last night before reading your post I picked up an old gun digest I had laying around and read your article... Can't beleive charles daly hasn't rethought their decision. I have one of their doubles by Sabatti in 20 ga. and it is a very nice little upland bird gun for the money.

Well now I am playing the waiting game till it arrives...

Thanks all
DonT

BattleRifleG3 · « **Reply #10 on:** October 31, 2005, 08:25:05 PM »

Wondering what the 28ga has over the 410? Obviously power, but they don't have a magnum size, do they? I'd assume smaller variety of shot. Wonder how the standard 28ga compares to the best 410? What sort of hunting or competitions is the 28ga particularly better for?

Sorry if this is a hijack, but I'm guessing it's on topic. How does one scratch the 28ga itch beyond simply buying one?

RBishop · « **Reply #11 on:** November 01, 2005, 05:18:02 AM »

No comparison between the 28 gauge and the 410 bore. The 28 is much much more effective in all shooting circumstances, target or game. The 410 bore pattern is much less effective. Pattern both on some paper targets and you will see what I am talking about.

Graybeard · « **Reply #12 on:** November 01, 2005, 05:26:01 AM »

The standard 28 ga. load is 3/4 oz. of shot. The 3" .410 load these days is only 11/16 oz of shot. Sounds nearly equal but you have to understand that the .410 shot column is long and narrow, lots of shot rubbing the barrel on the way down. The 28 ga. load is almost square which folks who are in the know consider the ideal load in any gauge shotgun for best performance.

In addition Winchester loads a one ounce load for the 28 ga. and boy does it ever perform.

Back in my skeet competition days I frequented would use the 28 ga. in both 20 and 12 ga. matches since my 28 ga. average was only one bird less than my 12 ga. average and was actually a couple birds above my 20 ga. average. My .410 average was by far the lowest of them all.

BattleRifleG3 · « **Reply #13 on:** November 01, 2005, 08:49:10 AM »

That's great info! Dang, you guys are making me want to scratch the itch already...

Hmm, so would you say the 28ga is to the 410 3" what the 10ga is to the 12ga 3.5" - where the latter tries to achieve in a more standardized platform what the former will always do far better?

Wondering also if there are any buckshot or slug loads for the 28ga.

Then again I'd have to consider platforms too. My shotgun tastes lean very sharply towards pumps, so any 28ga in my future would most likely be the Rem 870.

Graybeard · « **Reply #14 on:** November 01, 2005, 09:31:20 AM »

The Rem 870 is a great little 28 ga. shotgun. My very first 28 ga. was just that. I used it for many years in registered skeet matches and did well with it. Never did run a 100 straight with that gun but got some 98s and a 99 or two.

Yes the analogy between the 10 ga and 12 ga. wannabe loads is similar but there is really even more difference between the 28 and .410 cuz the .410 shot colum is so dang skinny.

I'm aware of no buckshot or slug loads for the 28 but then I can see no use for them in .410 even tho they are offered. They really are pretty useless.

gsp71 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 18, 2005, 09:20:57 AM »

I'm using the same gun choked skeet/mod over a dog (pointer ) with 7/8 oz. nickle plated #6's for pheasants. PMC brand at around $8.00 a box bought by the case. I switched from a 20 ga. SxS to the 28 ga. and do better with the 28.

Ron