How versatile is a 28 ga. auto?

[John Wayne]

I've been thinking of picking up a 28 gauge auto lately. I have a Beretta AL391 in 12 ga. and love it, but for some people I've introduced to shooting, it's been a bit much (even with 1 oz loads).

I'm looking for a low recoil gun that's also light weight. Primary use would be skeet and sporting clays...trap shooting bores me to death for some reason. Could also be used for dove hunting as well, but clays (and lots of rounds fired through it) would be the main focus.

Of my friends, two in particular have required special consideration; one is a female shooter who lacks the strength to support a heavier gun to soak up the recoil, and another recently had rotator-cuff surgery. I've bought guns before thinking others would like to shoot them and gotten stuck with something I didn't like and they didn't care to shoot, so I want to make sure that I will actually like this gun and have a use for it.

I'll go ahead and address the first points that came up in my mind:

Ammo cost is not a consideration; ammo is available at Wal Mart and I plan to reload.

I want to make sure this is a gun I like. It's a smaller gauge, but my experience has been that if you can't hit it with xx gauge, you can't hit it with a bigger one either. I've yet to see a shooter improve his score by switching from a 20 to a 12. More often than not it gets worse.

I am curious about whether or not it's a significant reduction in recoil vs. a 20 gauge, since some of the loads overlap.

Anything else I should know about a 28 gauge, or any reasons I should get a 20 instead?

 

[Milkmaster]

Of my friends, two in particular have required special consideration; one is a female shooter who lacks the strength to support a heavier gun to soak up the recoil, and another recently had rotator-cuff surgery.

Also consider an O/U or other break action guns. An O/U for instance is normally shorter than an pump or semi-auto because there is no extra length for the bolt receiver. That is what worked for my then 10 year old at the time. It helped make the gun less nose heavy where he could hold it up easier. I would guess the same would be true for anyone small of stature like some of the ladies. Good Luck!

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

never owned a 28 but how it could have anything on a 20 (even light loads for your friends consideration) is beyond me. AFAIK it's strictly a quail gun.
a couple of my female friends (and a sister I got to shoot pistols that opted for a .22 9shot revolver instead of centerfires) actually prefer the 16 over the 20 - and there sure ain't any fault in that. I got a slip-on pad for hers though. the largest shot I can find for it though is #2 turkey which would do the job against any 'aggressor' I suppose. but her son (my nephew) is a gunny and lives just 200 yds away. so no worry.

 

[jbkebert]

My first gun was a 870 wingmaster 28ga. Both of my boys own one now one being my first gun and the other purchased some time later. I have no experience with a auto loader or o/u in a 28ga. However the gauge seems to just be a natural fit. It bust doves quail, skeet, like a champ. I have knocked down a few phesants with them. Light weight, plenty of punch, low recoil what's not to like.

The 870's are built on a small frame and fit young shooters well. No extra weight the 28 ga I would guess weighs a little over a pound less than the 20ga. We have both.

The 28ga vs the 20ga both in modified chokes even with a small payload the 28ga seems to hold a pattern better than the 20ga. The only drawback is price of shells. I have never loaded for 20ga, I have quit loading for a 12ga because shells really aren't that bad and money savings is not worth the time. The 28ga on the other hand get reloaded the money savings is defiently worth the time.

 

[smurfman]

If you are talking about the inexpensive 1 oz "game" loads I can see there is a recoil problem. These are pretty snappy loads due to their velocity. For much less than a box of 28 ga shells one could use Winchester Xtra-Lites or the equivalent 1200 fps or slower target loads from Remington, Federal, Fiocchi, or any other manufacturer. If this is still too much Winchester, Remington, Fiocchi, and I think Federal make "training" loads which are 7/8 or lighter loads at 1200 fps or less. Winchester calls theirs Featherlites and are subsonic making for a very light recoiling load. Federal also made, maybe still makes, a subsonic load for use with the long Metro barrel which decreased decibels a lot. These will operate a Beretta 391 if it has a 28" barrel and I have seen them work in a well cleaned and lubed 26" barrel. They will recoil even less than a 28 ga in my experience.
Remington and Fiocchi also make a 20 ga version of the training load, it is a 3/4 oz load with a speed in the 1200 fps range. They will work in my 390 but I do need to use a heavier spring for the system to function properly. I got it from Cole's Gunsmithing for a nominal fee.
If you reload, there are a number of options for these loads that one can choose from. My primary 12 ga load is 7/8 oz of shot at 1200 fps or so. I hardly feel any recoil and I sometimes think my 410 Browning kicks more. These work very well in a Beretta 391 as my wife can attest. there are similar options for the 20 ga and I have a 1/2 oz load that I use for dog training and is very light recoil.

I am not fond of the 28 ga autos I have used, they tend to toss empties only into the next county if you are lucky. Whether a Franchi 48 or a Remington 1100 or 11-48, those empties sailed. As they empties are worth their weight in gold, I picked up O/Us for my wife and I. If one looks and gets a bit lucky they can find a great deal on one. I picked up a new Browning Cynergy last year for a little over $800 on clearance and after the $100 factory rebate. I've seen a couple similar deals since then but three 28 ga O/Us are enough. I recognize that some lack the arm strength to hold these guns up for extended lengths of time but I either work within the strength limitations while the new shooter works on building strength or use a 20 ga with light reloads.

As for uses, the 28 is pretty comparable to the 20 ga on game up to the size of pheasants out to 30 yards or so. I feel it is a bit light for a general purpose pheasant gun but I do use it if the birds sit very tight and the scenting conditions are good. Otherwise, ruffed grouse, woodcock, bobwhite quail if they are sitting well, dove, and early season sharptails/prairie chickens are the main quarry. Any game that is taken under 35 yards and with shot smaller than 6s are candidates for the 28.
For clays, my main joys are Sporting Clays small bore events and I am a force to contend with locally. I use a 28 for most of my league clays shooting as distances are not too great overall and I feel it only costs me roughly a bird per 50 targets over a season.

The 28 is my second favorite bore size to use.It is a great upland gun and no slouch on the target field. It is a great beginner gun except for shell price. for that I prefer a 12 or 20 ga auto running light target loads. These are not all that hard to find, easy if one reloads, and the hulls are cheap and easy to obtain so there is no angst if one loses hulls.

 

[Leaky Waders]

Post #27 in this thread...they are pumps.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=564526&page=2

 

[Virginian]

Every time I have let people, especially new shooters and ladies, shoot my 1100 28 gauge with the 25" barrel, they have loved it. I was going to get a recoil pad installed just so it would be softer feeling, but since they like it as is I haven't done so yet. I got the old fixed choke barrel tubed because it is a hair lighter and handles great. I use it for skeet and doves since I sold my SxSs and it's fun. So it isn't cheap. Not much that is fun is anymore.
You can surely get a 20 and do anything a 28 will do, but it still won't be a 28. Once you have the bug, there is only one cure. If you just want to save money, get a 20. If you want to have more fun, get the 28.

 

[PJR]

I like the 28 very much but a 28 gauge semi-auto isn't very versatile. I used to own a Remington 1100 Skeet to introduce small statured people to the shooting sports. Pretty gun but I was constantly replacing parts in it.

Another option is the Benelli 28 gauge. Nice but too light at around 5 lbs. Light is good but the Benelli is too much of a good thing.

What I use now is a Beretta 391-2 in 20 gauge and use 3/4 ounce reloads to reduce recoil. It's a far more versatile gun and because you already have a 391 in 12 gauge (I do too) you'll be familiar with the gun.

 

[Old Unc']

I owned a 28ga Beretta Silver Pigeon back a few years ago. Nice gun and I used it mostly for sporting clays. Ammo got real expensive again and I refuse to reload. The gun was very easy to shoot though. Decided to sell it.

Last fall I picked up one of the last NIB Weatherby/SKB 20ga Orion Classic III's. What a great sub-gauge shotguns! Less than 7 pounds and little to no recoil with target loads. Not to mention the quality of an SKB. The 20 IMHO is a perfect step-down from a 12 for allot of reasons. Plus, 20ga shells are cheap...

 

[oneounceload]

A LIGHT 28 whether semi or O/U will have you feeling the recoil - there are a few under 6#. The Remington 1100 has some heft - good thing for targets, gas action helps mitigate felt recoil some as well. Mine was deadly on 5-stand and sporting. I only sold it because I started reloading 3/4 oz loads in 12 and 20 and didn't need a third bore size to reload.

Only disadvantage of the 1100 is chasing those valuable empties........

 

[Old Unc']

"Only disadvantage of the 1100 is chasing those valuable empties........"

you can say that again!!

 

[Dave McCracken]

My experience with 28 gauges has not been extensive, but it has been happy. I've liked them all.

As a child, a friend of my parent's let me shoot his, a single shot,possibly a H&R or IJ. It accounted for a few starlings and such in my hands, and was a good tool for the job.

Later, I shot doubles of both kinds, an auto or 5, a few pumps including a Model 12, and noted that most of what I shot at was hit hard and there was little or no recoil.

There are a few downsides to a 28 though....

Ammo is not just expensive, it can be hard to find. When found, it may not be the best for your mission. Skeet 9s are not optimum for trap style targets nor 7.5s for frisbeed clays at 15 yards.

And while I'm told the opposite, I've a hunch that shot larger than 6s pattern badly in a 28, I'd like a little more versatility.

I have one young shooter at present that I teach that is 10 years old. He's less than 5' tall,weighs about 90 lbs at a guess and is doing OK with a shotgun and load supplied by me.

The shotgun is a 12 gauge NEF that weighs about 5.5 lbs. The stock is shortened to a 12" LOP with an untrimmed KickEez pad. A 3 oz weight in the butt counterbalances the 28" barrel. The fixed Full choke in this is a bit too much choke, but 8.5 shot and a spreader load option mitigate all that constriction.

The ammo is 12 gauge, 3/4 oz at 1150 FPS. Roughly 1/3 the free recoil of a 3 dram/eq 1 1/8 oz target or field load. And they bust targets within 30 yards just like the big boys.

That's an option here.....

 

[Remo223]

My personal opinion is that 20 ga is redundant. 28ga does a better job than a light 20ga, and 16ga does a better job than a 20ga magnum. I do not even own a 20 ga or a 12 ga. But I own all the other gauges.

 

[oneounceload]

My personal opinion is that 20 ga is redundant. 28ga does a better job than a light 20ga, and 16ga does a better job than a 20ga magnum. I do not even own a 20 ga or a 12 ga. But I own all the other gauges.

And if all I did was hunt upland, I'm in total agreement with needing nothing more than a good 16 and 1 in 28 - but I shoot targets, lots of targets, and even getting 16 gauge reloading components can be tricky at times - so for me, a 12 is absolute.and a 20 will do what I need to do in MY upland hunting, which is mostly dove and quail, and in the past included those nasty chukars (hunting chukars in the wild out West negates the need for a gym membership), but a 28 can and will do the job as well.

I currently reload 12 and 20 in 3/4 and 12 in 7/8 - the heft of the guns lets me shoot them at a lot of targets all day - all one needs to do for far targets is choke tighter.....

 

[Remo223]

You left out 10ga. I have one of those too.

 

[Mark8252]

28 ga

Personally I really like the 391. I have a friend with a 20ga 391 and I love it for skeet.
The 28ga is very popular for skeet and a very good choice. If you have no problem with shells ejecting to the ground then go for it. Just remember if you start reloading that people will walk on them before you pick them up .
I shoot skeet a lot of the time with a 410. Small bore makes it more interesting. 410 is the only guage I reload due to they are so expensive. Usually the same price as 28ga. Its rare to find a Walmart with 28ga. Glad to hear it.
Enjoy.

 

[jbkebert]

The three local walmarts all carry Winchester AA's in 28ga. All tend to have at least 15-20 boxes all the time.

 

[cfullgraf]

I've been thinking of picking up a 28 gauge auto lately. I have a Beretta AL391 in 12 ga. and love it, but for some people I've introduced to shooting, it's been a bit much (even with 1 oz loads).

I am fond of the 28 gauge. I shoot skeet with it more than anything else.

I know you are thinking of an auto and that is fine. Another route to consider is to get a 12 ga over/under and a 28 ga tube set. The extra weight will make the gun easier to keep swinging for new shooters and reduce felt recoil.

For smaller shooters, you also may want to get a second stock to cut down for a better fit.

Unfortunately, not an inexpensive choice.

Either way, I feel you would enjoy shooting 28 ga. When I was shooting competitively, my 28 ga average was not far behind by 12 ga average.