plumberroy and bwavec,
Life is cyclic. Folks are born, they get old, and this cycle of young and old repeats.
We have an aging society, and just the way the population is after World Wars, Koren War, and the Baby Boom.
Other societies throughout history have gone this same cycle. Wars are fought, young men go off to war and ladies, kids and elders keep the home fires burning.
Tools for kids, ladies and elders need to fit them.
The elders , both ladies and gents, used to be able to effectively and efficiently use the tools the ones that went off to war used, just time takes a toll on a body.
The younger persons, the kids are not fully developed yet, some of the ladies are expecting and some tools just do not work well for smaller framed persons such as ladies, especially those heavy with child.
Young men go off to War, and some return not whole, and they are not able to use the tools they went to war with.
Growing up, Veterans of previous Wars lived near, and there was a Veterans Hospital.
Vietnam was going on, and again ladies and gents that went to 'Nam, came home not whole and not able to use the tools they had left being able to use, nor the tools used in 'Nam.
We have those that left for Desert Storm, and other Theatres currently active with Conflicts, that left kids, expectant wives, parents, and even grandparents at home.
Cyclic. History.
28 gauge is a very effective , more than it is supposed to be, and one reason is the short shot string of the pattern it produces. Payload to bore diameter ratio is the key.
True bore diameter for 28 ga is .550
.54 caliber is not that much different than .550.
.54 caliber was used to fell deer, elk, bear and used in War and is still used in Black powder firearms.
Mentors, including these ladies and gents Vets of War, believed in kids and new shooters learning on a 28 ga shotgun. They could break every target on a skeet field, fell birds, small game, and they knew if a .550 slug was fired, it could fell deer, and take care of a rabid dawg or other pests.
Kids, ladies, expecting or not, and the elders , whether they had been in conflicts or not, could carry for distances a 28 ga shotgun, if nothing more than a single shot 28 ga.
Mentors, those mentored, and the Cycle continues.
Ballistic Products is just one source for slugs ( round ball) for 28 ga.
20 gauge.
Cyclic, History again.
12 ga is the most versatile gauge, and offers the most load choices, always has and 20 bore is next up.
Not every demographic used 28 ga, just the way locations are , and uses for shotguns.
One constant remains, and that is a bigger person can effectively use a smaller gun where a smaller person cannot always effectively use a bigger gun.
Home shotguns , like the single shot, were often Youth 20 ga guns.
Anyone in the house, could effectivley use that shotgun behind the kitchen door, or over the mantle.
From a kid, to expectant mom, to grandma, to grandpa, to the bigger, stronger healthier husband and grown boys- everyone could use the Youth 20 bore.
Semi-Auto shotguns deal with the recoil curve different that other platforms, and therefore less perceived recoil .
In a 20 ga, we also have smaller receivers and easier to handle, to carry and some uses like shooting a round of skeet, which is 25 rounds, or competition, 100 rds, this lessens fatigue, from not only shooting, also having to hold the gun.
Hunting, one often walks more than shoots, or again, is having to hold that gun, and add be still about it. Anything gets heavy holding and handling, no matter how much it weighs.
Just hold you arm out straight and in short order, your arm is "heavy" and one can feel the strain on muscles and notice shakes and movements...due to the strain of just the arm and hand held straight out.
Best kept secret is a 20 ga semi auto.
Another is a 28 ga semi-auto shotgun too. One of the best guns to teach new shooters on, and one a person with physical limits can carry, tote, hold and shoot more safely.
It was not uncommon to see the Mentors and Kids, use 28 ga single shots, including slugs.
The Mentor, had aches, pains and scars from War, the kid was getting woodscraft skills on deer hunting, bird hunting, small game hunting.
Same applies to Semi-Auto shotguns in 28 and 20 ga.
Those Mentoring could / can more effectively pass forward and the ones being mentored could / can effectively be passed onto.
Cyclic, History.
Folks do not want to learn correct basic fundamentals of anything.
The ones that have lived longer and have life experiences are ignorant and fools, as bigger is better, newer is better, and modern tools will do tasks without having to learn all that old antiquated teachings.
Mentors walk off, and quit mentoring.
Some are approached by those that want what the mentors have, and the Cycle continues in private lessons.
Some mentors walk off, or die off and what they have to share is never passed on anymore.
Cyclic, History again are those that age, and have physical limits hit with injury, sickness, disease, or take on a wife, and have kids.
Where are the Mentors? There was somethings they had to share about all this, where are they now?
I understand all this. I was one that started very young, and have always been one to hang with the Mentors and those with something to pass forward.
I was chided, kidded, ribbed, and made fun of for running with the old folks and the ones younger than me.
I also walked off before The Great Equipment race even got started , to never return.
