Brian afraid to buy a 28 ga. Imagine the laughter in staff him buying the very gun that cost him the bet.
Brian is "almost there". He done figured out 3" K frames and all.
28gauge is better that it is supposed to be. Brister wrote "matter of bore - not choke".
Take note of the recoil of a 28 ga, ain't much, if any. Gets into Rule of 96, that being weight of payload being fired in relation to weight of gun.
UK folks come up with this a long time ago.
Being as 96 ozs equals to 6 pounds and recoil of 1 oz of shot per pound of gun is manageable.
British considered
11/16 oz correct for a 12 bore gun. 1 1/8 oz in a 12 bore was a "heavy load" and and 1 1/4 oz a "magnum load" and anything over that was either being totally uncivilized , the bloke can't shoot or he for sure was a heathen.
Pay attention here, just getting warmed up and ..where is PJR with them onion rings? Boy done got lost again, I swear!
Look at any tote board and the highest scores are going to in 28 ga. That payload of 3/4 oz does wonderous things in that .550 true bore diameter.
For the distances a ethical person shoots birds such as quail, dove, and similar, that gun totes real easy, and that recoil , being slight, very manageable, allows one to focus on target and correct basics of fundamentals, This allows for better form and better shooting.
NOT be waiting for recoil which causes a LOT of folks to do "most things right" at trigger slapping time...'cept the thought of getting whacked again, causes poor form, raising head, getting the buttstock out of pocket and ...yep sure enough, it hurts like the devil and they missed again.
One instills certain things by doing them repetititve, keep hitting a thumb with a hammer, that thumb is going flinch, jerk , jump - anything it can to get out of the way because it hurts to get hit!
Shotguns the same way. If the gun fits, the correct basics get instilled and the shooter is a better shooter.
Smart fellow learns using light loads, to get all this instilling - instilled.
Add this with that 28 ga payload of hard shot hitting harder, because it has a short shot string, and that means all them pellets are arriving more at the same time, and when they do, they hit HARD with authority!
Shotgunner was doing all the right things, not worried about getting thwacked and that clay bird dusted or that dove went up, back from force of being hit and dropped like a rock!
Skeet shooter is going to shoot a box [25 shells] each round. In a tourney 4 boxes or 100 rounds are fired.
28 ga shooters are not going to get fatigued, will retain stamina, focus and break birds, and therefore have higher scores.
Lots of folks, and I have done it, Shot the 28 ga in the 12, 20 and 28 event, [one may shoot a smaller guage than the event, not a bigger guage] and then grab the .410 for that event.
Get a reloader, because "them shells are expensive" we hear.
1. Skeet shooters and Folks that appreciate the 28 ga are the ones buying and reloading the things.
2. Appreciative folks know thier kids / family are worth the quality time to reload them shells, to spend the money on the them shells and the guns that shoot them. One cannot put a value on getting a kid/ family started out right and no way to measure the return in investment.
Guns. I do not care if the thing is H&R Topper in 28 ga, a SXS, O/U, a pump or semi, 28 ga is 28 ga, "matter of bore - not choke". Gun needs to fit.
I have been on Gentleman Quail hunts, DEEP Southern Tradition. Some folks have 28 ga guns worth more that vehicles, or some homes ...
I have also been on Fine Southern Quail Hunt, and the shooter could only use a Single Shot 28 ga. Only 1 bird to be shot from a covey.
Respect the Quail as Ruark said.
Before Non Toxic was mandated , I have felled many a greenhead with a 28ga, flooded timber and ...
Bing Crosby also appreciated the 28 ga, he also liked to hunt, and he had some Property. 28 ga was the gun you used, nothing bigger allowed.
Bing Crosby and his invited guest felled many ducks and other game.
Got a kid? Got a smaller framed shooter? Get them a 28 ga when big enough to shoot. They will make great hits, fell just as many clays, just as many birds withing limits.
Heck most folks with a 12 bore shoot too far out...
I prefer to teach new shooters with a 1100 in 28 ga. Beretta would we wise to make a semi in 28 ga.
Focus on correct basic fundamentals - not recoil.
Detached retinas, shoulder surgeries and the like, these folks , under Doctors orders, cannot shoot for sometime, and when and if allowed to again heavy recoil is NOT something they are allowed or want.
28 ga again comes into a very good niche in the shotgun rack.
"but you cannot shoot deer, or use for serious situations".
Toss a C note down. Want to bet? Do you really want to bet me an essentially .54 caliber is not "up to the task" ?
Toss that C note down - I dare you.