28ga BPS

[cat_IT_guy]

So as the title suggestions, I've recently got the itch for a small bore shotgun. Initially I was enamored with the .410 BPS, but more recently the 28ga is talking to me. I especially like the BPS medallion despite the heftier price tag. I really have no need for either as I have a semi 12ga and a o/u 20ga so it would really just be a fun gun. I know the BPS isnt super light but hopefully nice to carry for some woods walks where a bunny or squirrel could be targets of opportunity. Maybe a dove hunt too at some point. Otherwise it would just be a target or fun gun.

I realize in either case that if I want to shoot in any quantity it's a reloading proposition and am ok with that.

So anybody have one or the other of these? Do you like it? Are there other options I should consider? Looks like I can get the BPS medallion, FFL included for <$750.

 

[kudu]

I don't have a BPS, bottom ejection? Love my 1100, hate chasing expensive hulls across the skeet field, love shooting my 870 and my old Ruger Red Label 28's. Shoot most skeet with 28 in my Beretta tubed gun. You will love shooting a 28 gauge in whatever you shoot it in.

 

[rbernie]

The 28ga BPS is silly heavy, and I'm not a fan of bottom eject for a field gun because it makes checking the chamber harder than it needs to be. I sold mine in favor of a 28ga Wingmaster that is far lighter and handier.

 

[Virginian]

Very well built and designed gun, but not a lightweight, which negates a lot of the fun of a 28 to me, and I just don't like bottom ejection.

 

[Loc n Load]

28 gauge

I think the BPS and the 28 would be a good combination, they have come up on my radar also. I have been shooting a browning o/u 28 ga. for ten years as one of my bird guns. If I do my job, the 28 will dump birds as well as any other of my guns / load combo's. You can go up to an ounce load in the 28. I also have a BPS, but mine is a 16 ga (bird gun also)., with the straight English stock. The BPS is a very solid design and with the bottom eject it serves left and right handed shooters equally. I have a 12 ga. BPS tactical for one of my house guns. The BPS and the 28 ga. are great performers in my book.

 

[Milkmaster]

Love my BPS as well as my Ithaca 37. Both are bottom eject and work really well in the woods when the hulls drop at your feet and easy to find. Another great thing about it is that my ejects don't hit anyone to my right. I can always hunt with others and not give them a hot collar hull. I never have understood the dislike for bottom eject. Seems to me that is what a pump shotgun should be. Also works great for a lefty if that happens to be your case. I have to say that my BPS has the best bluing and finish of any shotgun I own. It is jap made and they did an excellent job. Get you a BPS and don't look back.

 

[CopperFouling]

Isn't the BPS built on a 20 ga. frame?

 

[Plastikosmd]

I am a 28 fan. I love the benelli legacy. Under 5 lbs. great for people who have never shot too

 

[rbernie]

Isn't the BPS built on a 20 ga. frame?

Yes - it's a 28ga that weighs 7lbs.

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=011B&cid=012&tid=211

I would also second the Benelli choice - I think very very well of mine and they are very well suited and scaled to 28ga.

 

[CopperFouling]

Yes - it's a 28ga that weighs 7lbs.

That kind of erases the advantage of the 28 over the 20.

I was wanting a 28 ga. a while ago because they shoot so well. However, the thought of losing those hulls while shooting an autoloader or pump was enough for me to wait and save for an over/under.

 

[CopperFouling]

P.S. My comments are not intended as criticism toward the BPS per se. They're really nice pumps, especially some of the older ones.

 

[cat_IT_guy]

I love the BPS and its reputation definitely precedes it. But I admit I'm wrestling with the weight issue. Are there other pump options of good quality and looks that are better scaled to the 28? Someone mentioned the wing master, I've shot before but not in 28, so I'll have to check it out.

I'm not terribly price sensitive but I think I want the simplicity of a pump.

Thanks for replies so far.

 

[PapaG]

Go with the 28, or, better yet a 20 for ammo availability. I don't think there is a difference in weight. Wingmasters are also heavy. Although I have a few 410s, I really don't like hunting with them. The only one that patterns well is a custom AYA from the 60s.
BTW, did you ever find that single 410 you were looking for?
(Location, 10 miles south).

 

[TomADC]

My BPS is a 12 ga Trap Gun, my pump 28 is a Browning Model 12, if I was still shooting skeet I'd look fr a BPS is 28 think t would be a nice set up.

 

[loose noose]

I've got a BPS in .410 that I've used for years the first few days of dove season, then I switch to a BSS Sporter in 20 gauge, same with quail. I like the idea of the empties going down by my feet and not having to go into the next county to retrieve them. The weight has never bothered me.