Is 1 oz at 1200FPS always the same?

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ewarshaw

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I always have people tell me that when I use my 28 gauge, I am undergunned. However, I can't get away from the thought that 1 oz of shot at 1200 fps is the same, regardless of where it came from (pattern variances aside).
Is there something that makes 1 oz of shot from a 28 gauge different than 1 oz from a 12 or 20 gauge moving at the same speed?
Thanks.
 
Should not be that much different. It is typically assumed that it won't pattern as good. The 1 oz shot column from the 28 gauge is longer and skinnier as it leave the muzzle and thus the shot tends to not be as evenly distributed across the pattern as that same payload launched from a larger bore. I won't let that stop me from using it though.
 
Also, if the 28 ga is much lighter than the 12 ga, the recoil from the same mass of shot and velocity will be proportionally greater.
 
Undergunned? No...

But you sacrifice some pattern.

I think I'd use 7/8 ounce in 28, but then I use 7/8 ounce in 12 gauge for non-competitive trap and skeet.

In the 28 though, I don't see a real problem hunting with 7/8 either... does sacrifice a little range, but makes up for it in reduced recoil.
 
Undergunned? No...

In the 28 though, I don't see a real problem hunting with 7/8 either... does sacrifice a little range, but makes up for it in reduced recoil.

...and that's my question. If it comes out of the barrel at the same speed and weight, why would I lose some distance? Is it due to the longer, thinner column (as mcb pointed out), or some other factor? This is where I struggle to understand.
 
1oz is a tad more than the standard loading for a 28 - which is 3/4oz. What will typically suffer is the pattern, but the only way to know is to go to the pattern board. If your 28 is on a 28 frame, the re4coil will be more than it would be from a heavier 12 gauge
Distance is a non-factor and why folks that is beyond me.
 
I have heard time and time again that 1 oz 28 gauge loads don't hold a pattern, but that has not been my experience at all. My SKB 28 will shoot a pattern equal to a 1 oz 12 ga with the Winchester and Rio 1 oz loads. I have no qualms hunting wild pheasants out to 40+/- yards with that combo. The only way to know for sure is to pattern.
 
I have heard time and time again that 1 oz. 28 gauge loads don't hold a pattern, but that has not been my experience at all. My SKB 28 will shoot a pattern equal to a 1 oz. 12 ga with the Winchester and Rio 1 oz. loads. I have no qualms hunting wild pheasants out to 40+/- yards with that combo. The only way to know for sure is to pattern.

Exactly. My lowly Stoeger 28 seems up to the task. I am aware of the difficulties in using such a load (hence, my "(pattern variances aside)" comment in the original post), but the comments I have received were about power, not pattern. That was the driving force behind my question since I didn't see how it would be different from a power or distance standpoint.
Thanks for all the information. It's very helpful.
 
I have several friends who go to Montana every year for wild pheasants, partridges and any other upland bird. All they use are 28s; it is very effective for its size. Too many seem to think a 12 will allow them to take birds at 75 yards - it won't.
 
...Distance is a non-factor and why folks that is beyond me.

Actually in the context the poster above mentioned it, distance would be an issue. That poster was comparing 7/8 oz to 1 oz loadings (not the clearest postings I agree) in which case the 7/8 oz loading would have a slightly shorter effective range due to a lower pattern density. How much of a difference would best be defined on the pattern board.
 
If the velocity is the same and the choke is the same, the distance will be the same. What WILL be different is a decrease in the pattern density because of the different weight payload. &/8 through a full choke at 1200 fps will reach as far as 1oz through a full choke at 1200 fps.
 
Is there something that makes 1 oz of shot from a 28 gauge different than 1 oz from a 12 or 20 gauge moving at the same speed?
The difference between gauges shooting the same payload/velocity is expressed in terms of the depth of the shot column. A 12ga 1oz shot column will be shorter/fatter than a 20ga 1oz shot column, which will be shorter/fatter than a 28ga 1oz shot column. Taller shot columns tend to give a more 'smearing' effect on passing shots, for example, because the timing of the shot cloud is longer from front-to-back than a shorter column / cloud (as well as the cloud being thinner overall since you're spreading the same number of pellets across a greater front-to-back distance). Essentially, a shorter column creates a shorter and more dense cloud, so more of the pellets arrive at a spot in the air at the same time - that may help under some circumstances but hurt in others.

Brister did some excellent field tests using moving pattern paper to prove this, some decades back. It's one of the reasons that 16ga guns gained the reputation in years past for their killing ability; the dimensions of the 16ga 1oz shot column are well suited to both passing and straight-away shots without being excessive in recoil and payload. You have to go up to 1 1/8oz payloads in 12ga to get the same shot cloud shape / effect.

So - if you want to try to move a 1oz load in a 28ga, you'll probably give up some velocity because you will struggle to get a 1oz load to a full 1200fps in the standard pressures of the cartridge and you will definitely wind up with a overly tall shot column that won't perform as well as you'd expect or want, even though it's sending a full ounce of lead downrange.
 
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my 20 ga shooting 7/8 0z #8,s shoots with in a few birds of my 12 ga shooting 1-1/8 oz #8,s at all the clay games I shoot.
 
If 1 oz of shot is fired in a 28 ga the shot string will be longer than 1 oz fired in a 12 ga. You also have a higher percentage of the pellets touching the barrel in a 28 which means more deformed pellets. The 12 will always give better patterns and give you a better chance of hitting the target even with the same number of pellets. Recoil will be the same in equal weight guns,but the 28 will almost always weigh less, and recoil more.

The only real advantage of using gauges smaller than 12 is to have a lighter gun to carry around. But there are many 7 lb 12 ga shotguns out there. I find that light enough and don't shoot anything lighter as well. And the 12 does offer the versatility of heavier loads if needed.
 
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