3" 28 Gauge

[Willie T]

Wish you boys were closer. I’m betting we could have some large times with our versatile dogs and sub gauges. I’m also betting this discussion would be a lot more telling behind the dogs!
Willie

[AverageGuy]

Harvey,

I am thinking if you were comfortable reloading you would love the A5 Sweet 16 I bought. 5.75lbs in a 26 inch barrel, screw-in choke tubes, nice wood and that classic humpback profile. Factory loads for the 16 are poor in selection and underloaded is the downside.

Willie T,

If that's an invite to join you in ND the dogs and I are ready to travel. I shot my bow all summer vs a shotgun so I expect you will outshoot me.

I'll use my 12 gauge 11/4 oz loads and you can use your 20 in the same load. No way it can be anything but fun.

[Drahthaar1108]

CZ SxS guns are built gauge specific , a 12 is on a 12 frame , a 20 is on a 20 frame 28 is on a 28 frame, a 410 is on a 410 frame.
I have a 20 ,28 and a 410, like them all.
If you get the new CZ bobwhite G2 in 28 it's 3" shell. Forrest

[orhunter]

Was in Sportsman's today and they have the ammo on the shelf. Kind of a surprise because stuff that appears on their website isn't always in the stores. They didn't have any 28 guns on the rack.

[AverageGuy]

Only 3" load I see is Fiocchi 1oz at 1300fps. The Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 23/4 load is 7/8 at 1300 fps. I have shot a bunch of game farm roosters with it. I am doubtful the 3" will catch on or make much of difference in the field.

[Willie T]

That 3” shell would probably prove useful with steel waterfowl loads. I’m also pretty confident you could load 1 1/8 oz of lead in a 3” 28 ga. If you could get that 1 1/8 oz of lead to pattern well out of a nimble little 28 double barrel with twin triggers, it has the makings of a just about perfect rooster gun for my tastes.
Willie

[orhunter]

I wonder what the weak link is in 28 gauge guns? They are loaded to such low pressure yet the barrels are stronger than larger gauges. Gotta be something other than barrels that is really wimpy or the ammo is loaded that way for no reason at all.

[Willie T]

I wonder what the weak link is in 28 gauge guns? They are loaded to such low pressure yet the barrels are stronger than larger gauges. Gotta be something other than barrels that is really wimpy or the ammo is loaded that way for no reason at all.

I am guessing the wimpy loads are a function of hull capacity. That is why the 3” hull intrigues me. Back in the day before steel shot, a magnum had a heavy payload of lead but velocities were usually in the 1,165-1,200 fps range. We went to bigger shot that held its energy and tight chokes if we wanted to shoot further. Those principles still apply to lead but the really fast steel has people thinking they need the same for lead...
Edit to add: a one ounce load of fives in a 20 is a heavy hitter out to 45 yards on roosters if it patterns well. If I had a 28 that would do the same I can see it becoming a new favorite. The time I have spent with a 28 has been shooting 3/4 ounce loads and I always went to sixes to get the pellet count up. They work well out to 35 yards. Beyond that and I end up with too many crippled runners with sixes.
Willie

[Drahthaar1108]

I can reload 1 OZ shot in a 28 gauge 23/4 shell, depends on hull and primer for the velocity. Forrest

[AverageGuy]

Reload some TSS #9s and there is no need to try to cram a load too big for the gauge down a narrow constriction barrel that is highly unlikely to pattern it well, is what I think.

[Willie T]

Reload some TSS #9s and there is no need to try to cram a load too big for the gauge down a narrow constriction barrel that is highly unlikely to pattern it well, is what I think.

Spot on but pricey.

[orhunter]

I don't think it's hull capacity. If it was, they wouldn't be able to cram in 1 oz. of shot in some loads. There seems to be no practical reason to have slow 3/4 oz. loads. 1300 FPS is okay but 1350+ seems a whole lot better. I like speed as long as we don't lose pattern control. I tested some Winchester Supreme 12 Ga. 1 1/4 oz. @ 1400 FPS and it patterned better than cheap, slower Remington so quality of components in this case had a lot to do with maintaining a good pattern and speed didn't seem to have an effect.

I did look into TSS but it's true name should be T$$. Wow is that stuff spendy! Being able to afford it doesn't justify the cost.

Wonder what choke you guys are using in your 28's? Mine is a fixed Mod. and I read somewhere that Mod. was all the choke the 28 needs. I value everyone's experience/opinion on this matter. I'll ship the barrel off to Briley is you all think it would be a practical move to go to screwins.

[jlw034]

I should have some new pattern boards for my 9.5TSS/3steel duplex loads this coming week. Last year I stacked the loads, and the pattern wasn't great, although in the field they were very very deadly.

This year I mixed the load, and I'm hoping the pattern comes out a bit better.

$1.25/shell. Yeah it's pricey, but it's honestly one of the cheaper parts of dogs and hunting.

[orhunter]

Some more stuff about velocity..... I don't know what pressure 28's are proofed at but 12's are 18,000 PSI. Maximum for everyday use is 11,500. When we look at loading data we see tons of loads that are nowhere near that pressure. Although the loads are generally accepted as maximum, in reality they're not because of pressure. They are simply the highest pressure tested for that powder. Pretty much all loading data including modern rifle cartridges are the same. Modern bolt action rifles can be safely loaded to 65,000 PSI. Doesn't matter if it's a .250 Savage or a .458 Lott.

One problem with shotgun pressure is it doesn't take much more powder to get a big rise in pressure. The faster burning the powder, the quicker a person can exceed pressure limits. If a person wants to play with this, use the slowest burning powder you think might work. Stay away from the fast stuff generally used for target loads. You'll also need a chronograph to read pressure through velocity increases. Don't guess. Make sure your loader is throwing the correct weight shot charge. Most don't, they're more than likely lite if set up for lead shot. Hard, high Antimony shot is lighter per volume than pure lead. When I was adjusting my Grabber for 1 1/8th oz., I had to open up the charge bar by around .020 to get the correct weight. I gained approximately 26 more number 7 shot per load. That's significant. When you start working at maximum pressure, you'll need to weigh every powder charge.

[AverageGuy]

I shoot IC, Light Mod and Mod in my 28s depending on what I am doing.

I shot a limit of Prairie Chickens this morning with 4 shells (using my 12 gauge mod choke and 11/4 oz Fiocchis). Ammo does not figure into the rounding of what I spend to hunt wild birds over dogs.

If we are talking reloading TSS to make a 28 more effective on wild roosters I do not think that would be cost prohibitive at all. Just don't shoot very many shells with a good pointing dog hunting roosters in good country. Makes far more sense than this one gun model and one factory load in 3 inch. Never gonna catch on is my prediction.

If you really need a larger shot charge it is time to use a larger gauge which will pattern it. 3 inch .410 won't do what a 23/4 28 will, a 3 inch 20 won't do what a 23/4 inch 12 will and a 3.5 inch 12 won't do what a 10 gauge will.