20gauge verus 28 gauge ammo

You mean price? Velocity? Payload?

The 20 gauge would be more powerful than the 28 gauge.
I am sure 28 gauge shells would be expensive and may even be somewhat restricted in the varieties of shells, power and shot size that one can purchase.

Most stores carry 20 gauge.
Most stores DO NOT carry 28 gauge!

28ga is more expensive, harder to find on the shelves, and with fewer choices. But I like it. Course I like a lot of stuff that nobody else likes.

20 gauge is more ubiquitous and therefore usually cheaper and easier to find. 20 gauge will generally hold more shot as well

The 28, while at home on the clay target field, tends to be disappointing in the hunting arena, UNLESS shots are close in.

The price for the 28 is much higher, simply because it is a low production item. Many hunters have never actually seen a 28.

Unless one specifically wants a 28, it is always better to choose a 20 gauge for field or range, if a small bore shotgun is wanted. Price of ammo is much better, as is performance. Also, ammo choice is almost unlimited with the 20. If a dealer even has 28 ammo, it will be very limited in assortment.

I own two 28 ga shotguns, but will never hunt with either of them.

Price, 20 ga cheaper and more available.

Velocity - equal range from 1150 fps - 1300 FPS

Payload, 20 ga 7/8 to 1 oz 28 ga 3/4 to 1 oz

Basically, they are equivalent. How they pattern in your guns is where they differ.

The 20 ammo is cheaper, and more readily available in a wider range of loads. But in a good SxS or or O/U action, the cool factor and the feel of a 28 is in a class by itself. Fantastic quail and dove gun, or pretty much anything on a game farm.
(note - everything that goes bang is not necessarily "good")

The 28, while at home on the clay target field, tends to be disappointing in the hunting arena, UNLESS shots are close in

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THIS is UNTRUE - the 28, even with its standard 3/4oz loading does not give up much to the 20, especially in the uplands, there are also 7/8 and even 1oz loadings for the 28.

The 28 IS more expensive - if you shoot a lot, it is definitely worth reloading.

I can fnd as many 28's at Walmart as I can 20 -and the ammo is better quality. 28 online is easy to find and every variation is readily available

The typical 28 gauge gun is lighter and easier to pack in the uplands.

Even if the guns weigh the same the recoil from the 28 will be less

Along with the 16, the 28 is the other bore size considered to have the balanced "square load" meaning good patterns

I own two 28 ga shotguns, but will never hunt with either of them.

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Too bad, you are truly missing out on hunting with a great bore size - everything from woodcock/quail to chukar/sharptails/pheasants

But if you're still looking for a HD weapon for your wife the 28 doesn't have much in the way of anti-personnel loads. It's awesome for quail & dove but for defense it needs a good buck or slug load, which is rare as hen's teeth.

It is virtually impossible to find slugs for a 28 gauge shotgun.......& more stores will carry 20 over 28 gauge shells, price wise they are pretty much the same (on the net)............

Brenneke makes 28 ga. slugs... http://www.brenneke-munition.de/cms/index.php?id=909

I want a 28 when I finally get that quality O/U someday.

BTW, why the heck would anyone buy a 28 as a slug gun? I wanna shoot doves with it. I have a 20, like it, but 28s are sleek and classy. I need to rustle up 4 grand for the Browning Cynergy I want, though. I keep a 20 loaded with 3 buck under the bed. For the recoil shy, it has some kick, but it's less than 12s and the gun is lighter to boot. I load this gun with 7.5s for doves and it works great, I just think a 28 would be nice in a quality O/U I'd like to own before I check out. I'm retired and I can't take it with me. I don't have a real QUALITY shotgun. As my mama used to say, I have champagne tastes and a beer pocket book.

I switched to a 28 several years ago due to physical problems. Love shooting sporting clays. Just had problems shouldering the gun 100+ times a day. I only dropped 1-2 birds less. After a couple of rounds picked them back up. It is my only hunting shotgun. Walmart has shells and I can usually pick them up on sale. I've sold five of the 28s I owned at the range to other shooters in the past 10 years after they shot my gun. Not expensive ones I get by well with a Ruger red label. Once you shoot one you'll wonder why it took so long.

Cheers,

ts

Glad your RRL works well for you - I had one - it was going to be my go-to chukar and quail gun - but it had too many issues even after three trips to Ruger

McG - you should be able to pick up the cynergy for less than that on the street - if not, look at the Berettas which the cynergy is supposed to copy as far as action dimensions, weight, etc.

I have a pair of auto's (1100 and a Daly Turkish import), as well as an NEF SS in 28 guage. (Thanks to Steve).

I like them a great deal for introducing new shooters to shotgunning (much better then the oft touted .410 for beginners IMO), and really like them for for pheasants and dove (especially on long hot days!). They are a joy to carry and shoot, The 7/8 loads work fine for hunting and skeet. Ammo can be a bit pricey, but with a bit of shopping around, not so bad. If you reload, cost is modest.

Bottom line, while I'll always have bigger guns, I'll not be without a .28 guage.

Those who actually shoot the 28 and have hunted with it know better than to compare it with the 20.

Ammo for the 20 can be bought in 4 packs for $20-something dollars.

Quality 28 ammo is $10+ per box. Import ammo can be had for around $8, almost twice as much as 20 ga fodder. The one ounce "magnum" 28 is almost $20 per box, and does not deliver magnum performance.

I have shot the 28 for over 50 years, and hunted with it when I was younger. It DOES tend to be disappointing in the field, unless discretion is used to pass up longer shots.

With this said, some one will likely write about $3 per box ammo and 50 yard kills with it.

With this said, my 28 ga O/U's have 30" and 32" barrels, and are a lot of fun on the Skeet field and sub-gauge Sporting Clays course.

I still have part of a large batch of Win AA I bought from Dick's Sporting Goods years ago on sale for $3.49/box. I don't recall how many stores I hit day after day.

Then they restricted the sales to 12 and 20 and the signs on the shelves said so.

I don't shoot any game at 50 yards. I'm too lazy to walk that far, so I wait until one flies at me.

Those who actually shoot the 28 and have hunted with it know better than to compare it with the 20.

Ammo for the 20 can be bought in 4 packs for $20-something dollars.

Quality 28 ammo is $10+ per box. Import ammo can be had for around $8, almost twice as much as 20 ga fodder. The one ounce "magnum" 28 is almost $20 per box, and does not deliver magnum performance.

I have shot the 28 for over 50 years, and hunted with it when I was younger. It DOES tend to be disappointing in the field, unless discretion is used to pass up longer shots.

With this said, some one will likely write about $3 per box ammo and 50 yard kills with it.

With this said, my 28 ga O/U's have 30" and 32" barrels, and are a lot of fun on the Skeet field and sub-gauge Sporting Clays course.

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Wull, I use mine on Geese shooting steel T shot and get 60 yard kills.


Of course, I'm a Texan and exaggerate...uh....lie a lot.

No one said anything about 50 yard kills, and I don't see that even with the 12 gauge 1-1/2 oz folks either - not on any regular basis.

28 with a load of 5s works well on pheasant; 6s work great great on chukar-sized birds; 7.5s handle quail easily and 8s take dove all day long. Using the proper choke and having a gun that fits eliminates many of those problems - except the high cost of ammo, but if you are paying and traveling to hunt, an extra $5 for a box or two of shells really doesn't matter

OP - if you want to know what a 28 can do, go the 28 gauge society:

http://28gasociety.46.forumer.com/index.php

or the subgauge forum here:

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewforum.php?f=131

You'll be surprised how many use a 28 (successfully) on pheasants, waterfowl and other game supposedly only a 12 or 10 can kill

McG - you should be able to pick up the cynergy for less than that on the street

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CDNN has 28 gauge Cynergy OU for 1399

Oneounceload is of course correct. The only things that the 20 has over the 28 is lower price and better ammo availability, but I'll take a light 28 over a 20 anytime I'm in the field.

CDNN has 28 gauge Cynergy OU for 1399

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Um, that's less than 1/3 the MSRP on the browning site. When I'm ready, I'll be lookin'. I'll be ready a lot sooner at that price.

Hey Guys,
I love upland hunting and have been doing it for 67 years now. I own and use several
Shotguns. I have all gauges and will not quote ballistics or which gun will out shoot the
Other. I too had some 28 Gauges in my gun safes that I never shot. The last few year I
Started shooting the 28's and man they are a lot of fun and are capable of a lot more
Than you think. I don't care what shell's cost. Try em and you will like them.