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20 or 28 bore


TW1990
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If you buy a 28 gauge over and under shotgun you will find that it becomes your favourite gun very quickly. It is such a pleasure to shoot that other gauges seem to pale into insignificance. I am addicted to mine and feel at no disadvantage when shooting in the company of Guns using their 12 or 20 gauge shotguns. Cartridges are expensive but they comprise of quality components and throw very effective patterns with little perceived recoil.

Bought a 28 gauge o/u m/c fortnight ago and last weekend managed to get out and gave it a go on the clays - wow fantastic ,easier to carry all day ,lighter recoil (obviously ) and good results on the clays (as good as the 12 gauge) no wonder people get hooked on this calibre , only fault is limited choice of shells , only Eley in my two rfd,s and only size shot was 6,s and 7 1/2 .

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Guest cookoff013

i find these posts mildly comical,

 

my recomendation for subgauge would be 20, can shoot 32g loads and 21 / 18gram lead loads. this covers alot of scenarios. i think 20s could still take hare but not in the same league as a 12bore. 28 gauge are light guns with only minimal cartridges available, you`d end up reloading for it to shoot in the volume you want.

 

if you set up your selves reloading 12gauge, you can almost get it to behave like a 20bore and even a 28. you can knock off the recoil of the shells very easily, that can rejuvenate application and usage. i`m not totally against sub bore guns, they are lighter, and in the right hands can perform really well.

 

if you`ll buy a 28, you`ll be shooting less, just due to cost. and or availability. a reloader could alleviate this, but there still is that issue, do you "want" to reload for it ? it may come down to "needs must"

 

you could say im narrow minded, but with the reloads i see, read, look over and try, the 12 is really versatile and cheap. the 20, less so. but reloading for that comes into its own. the 28 has a smaller set niche because it never became 3". its always stayed 2.75. so 21grams maximum and all the way down to 14 grams. thats really not as versatile.

thats not to say its not enjoyable.

 

most shells now are trying to push 1500fps and going down the gauges, they still are trying to push the lead beyond what it really should. in a light gun 1400fps 21grams isnt anything to write home about, it actually takes away the enjoyment of the gauges.

 

the only thing i havent used is a 9mm, and i just havent had a chance yet.

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Most people are going to have a 12 as well as a 28. You can download a 12 but you can't drop the gun's weight. The 28 is the smallest available guage which patterns well enough to use properly as a game gun and with modern cartridges is very capable. I would agree you can do everything and more with a 20, but a long barrelled 28 still makes a very sweet gun. As for the lack of a 3" option, its not there because its a solution without a problem. Squeezing more than 28g through a 28b really warrants a larger gun.

Edited by theshootist
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Most people are going to have a 12 as well as a 28. You can download a 12 but you can't drop the gun's weight. The 28 is the smallest available guage which patterns well enough to use properly as a game gun and with modern cartridges is very capable. I would agree you can do everything and more with a 20, but a long barrelled 28 still makes a very sweet gun. As for the lack of a 3" option, its not there because its a solution without a problem. Squeezing more than 28g through a 28b really warrants a larger gun.

 

That's about it

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Cookoff013 said

 

 

"my recomendation for subgauge would be 20, can shoot 32g loads and 21 / 18gram lead loads. this covers alot of scenarios. i think 20s could still take hare but not in the same league as a 12bore. 28 gauge are light guns with only minimal cartridges available, you`d end up reloading for it to shoot in the volume you want."

 

 

What I can say on the subject of hares is the .410 will kill them cleanly, it all depends on range. 100 % confident in 18grm of number 6 from my .410 at up to 25 yards on hare having done it a good few times, if I wound one its because I shot poorly. A 28 bore should push that range window some with the correct load.

The calibre or bore of a shotgun should not limit is quarry only its available load and hence range.

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If I were to get a lower calibre gun next to my 12ga - it would be a 28ga rather than a 20ga. For one, you are much much less likely to mix up 28ga and 12ga cartridges and make that fatal mistake of mis-loading your firearm. I've not tried it, but I suspect a 28ga cartridge would fall right through a 12ga barrel. Second - the weight of the gun, and recoil is much lower with conventionally available 28ga cartridges - you can get much lighter 28ga loads - like 14g or 16g - which are quite perfect for kids, or people who can't handle any recoil at all. If you need something heavier hitting for small game or whatever - you can get up to 28gram loads.

 

As has been said - everyone has their own criteria for purchasing whichever calibre - i'm sure they go into it with both eyes open and know the pros and cons. Yes 28ga is more expensive - but there is obviously a market for expensive 12ga cartridges too as there are plenty of them on sale.

 

I sometimes shoot clays using 16g 28ga loads through my 12ga using GaugeMate adaptors. There is almost zero recoil. Partly because of the weight of the gun i'm sure, but I doubt the recoil would be that much different in a lighter 28ga shotgun.

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Gaugemate 10 to 12 adapters finally arrived. Been out this morning and banged off a 100 at the local clay ground for 20p a bang. Nice to put this many shells through the 10 as half a dozen shots on the marsh isn't enough to really get used to the gun. Also, 1oz 12 bore carts have almost no recoil in a 9 1/2 lb gun.

 

Where did you get the adapters from?

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