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28 Bore Cartridges for Pigeon and Game Shooting


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Good afternoon all,

 

I've just picked up a nice Beretta Silver Pigeon S multi-choke with 30ins barrels, second hand. It's only had about 200 shells through it. I shot a few clays with it at the weekend ( Gambore 24g No 9's) but I couldn't get any cartridges for the feathered stuff.

 

I wondered if you have any 28g cartridge recommendations please for pigeon and game shooting? Thanks a lot in advance.

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I have only had a little play with 28 gauge,although thought it a cracking little gun....from memory was 21g HUll clay & game,worked nicely on pigeons too. 28g is getting I would think a bit extreme payload wise?..suspect the main manufacturers will do 23-25g with the odd one at 28g,although personally would stick in the 21-24g range which I am sure would work sweetly and maintain the characteristics of using a lighter gun etc? Interested to hear what to experiment with and 28 gauge is my only gap in cabinet and is an itch I feel like scratching shortly!

atb.

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Whilst there is choice as you've discovered availability is patchy .... Stock seems to be seasonally adjusted. Though recently I was in R&K Stockcraft and they had at least 3 different types in store.

I use mostly 21, 23 and 24gm loads.... Hull C&G, Borgnahi, Fiocchi, Eley VIP, the 19 (and 25)gm Pure Golds are also a good smooth bet.

Choice of shot size is also limited.

A recent batch of the VIPs seemed to have slightly smaller rims and occasionally caused me ejection problems.

I do reload and the RTO cases give me better service.

Edited by seeker
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Thanks for all your replies,much appreciated.

I've got a few boxes of Eley VIP 24g 6's to try. Trouble is a lack of pigeons at the moment.

There is a Fiocchi stockist in Eye Suffolk so I'll pick up some HP28 to try when I'm next that way. I notice they do them in 5,6 and 7.5 shot sizes which is handy.

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Thanks for all your replies,much appreciated.

I've got a few boxes of Eley VIP 24g 6's to try. Trouble is a lack of pigeons at the moment.

There is a Fiocchi stockist in Eye Suffolk so I'll pick up some HP28 to try when I'm next that way. I notice they do them in 5,6 and 7.5 shot sizes which is handy.

What's up Nige ? Norfolk boys don't shoot tarts guns.

 

Mick.

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What's up Nige ? Norfolk boys don't shoot tarts guns.

 

Mick.

 

Lol, I know it's a girls gun Mick. Officially it's for my daughters when they are back home in the summer. :rolleyes: Unofficially i might sneak it out now and again when there's no chance i'll get spotted with it. :lol:

You know what it's like when you get a bit of space in the cabinet. :)

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Gamebore Pure Gold 25g 6 shot fiber was are the best I've used, will drop everything my 12bore will.

 

Hull Clay&Game are good and very soft to shoot.

 

Eley VIP fibre 24g 7shot are ok for most closer stuff.

 

Figgy

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When I used a 20 gauge the 25 gram Pure Gold was a cracking game load ... Now in 20 its upped to 28gm and the 25gm is for the 28 gauge ... At least with Big Macs you get a choice to upsize.

Has inflation had hit the the small bores?

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I use a 28g as well, same make and model as the OP's. I also wonder why people take a small bore shotgun then feed it 12 bore loads like 28 grams all of the time.

I found the 19gram Game and Hunting to be a very good cartridge indeed and certainly up to any partridge and most pheasant. The Fiocchi and Eley are in my experience both quite sharp and have a heavier shot load but were a good choice for walked up shooting were you may expect fewer shots and at going away birds.

Bonarghi are a very high quality load but again very pokey and costly.

 

The most commonly used load for me these days is Hull 23 gram Fibre. Despite the heavier load they are very comfortable to shoot and extremely effective.

 

I use the Lyalvale Express 14gram in 9's (plastic only) for clay pigeon tuition and it is a very soft yet effective cartridge.

 

If you want non-toxic options I would probably start trying to re mortgage your house now. Stupidly expensive.

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Guest cookoff013

I use a 28g as well, same make and model as the OP's. I also wonder why people take a small bore shotgun then feed it 12 bore loads like 28 grams all of the time.

I found the 19gram Game and Hunting to be a very good cartridge indeed and certainly up to any partridge and most pheasant. The Fiocchi and Eley are in my experience both quite sharp and have a heavier shot load but were a good choice for walked up shooting were you may expect fewer shots and at going away birds.

Bonarghi are a very high quality load but again very pokey and costly.

 

The most commonly used load for me these days is Hull 23 gram Fibre. Despite the heavier load they are very comfortable to shoot and extremely effective.

 

I use the Lyalvale Express 14gram in 9's (plastic only) for clay pigeon tuition and it is a very soft yet effective cartridge.

 

If you want non-toxic options I would probably start trying to re mortgage your house now. Stupidly expensive.

 

just reload with "niceshot", it`ll be cheaper, and you can source any lead recipe and replace like-for-like.

 

at 21grams per shot should work out to £30 per box (25) which is on par with the rest of the premium safe nontoxics.... (and it is the best option IMHO.)

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Cook does that mean it could open a ready made cart say a 25g pure gold take out the shot and replace with 25g of nice shot and recrimp with no problems.

This might work out ok for the odd few I'd use.

Figgy

I'd like to know this as well for my sons sxs 28 bore, we did it with bismuth and they worked ok

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Guest cookoff013

theoretically yes, but i wouldnt.

 

the reason being, that you dont know the pressure of the donor shell. as niceshot is reported to give a maximum increase of 1500psi of pressure in a like for like load. it is also supposed to produce near identical internal ballistics when comparing it to the same volume of lead respectively, as it can also be loaded through lead shot bushings.

 

it has been noted that niceshot is close to the density of lead and a 32g volume of lead is about 30g volume of niceshot.

 

so to simplify 32g of lead has the same volume as 30g of niceshot. (close enough, american shotsizes vs english too) so there is a little "wiggle" in my statement too.

 

so my advice would be, not to disect a cartridge,

 

load a lead recipe thats atleast1500psi below maximum, then go shooting (thats loading via pan weighed shot and pan weighed powder.)

 

or if you have a volumetric reloader such as a MEC /LEE / etc...

 

just rock on and load !

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Guest cookoff013

there is even 1oz shot data for 28gauge in fibre. its in the lyman 5th....

 

i`ve been checking it out for another poster. here. an ounce of 5s would do something. maybe not classic gooseloads.... but legal to shoot WF.

 

certainly gives the chance to go air the 28s on duck.

 

i wouldnt load bismuth if you paid me. the last shells i used were blinkin awful.

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Slightly of topic but wasnt there a shot much denser than lead?

Im trying to remember something Mr C had at the old C&G.? patterns at 80 better than lead at 40 and teradactyls with a 410 ... and or is memory failing?

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