28 Bore - Driven Day

[RingDove]

So I've finally gone and got myself a 28 bore, and want to take it on a syndicate driven day this Saturday.

 

What chokes do you 28 bore users tend to favour? What cartridges do people use for standard driven birds? I have a choice of Hull High Pheasant 23 gram 7, Eley VIP 24 gram 6, or Gamebore Pure Gold 25 gram 5.

[welshwarrior]

High Pheasant or Pure Gold of those for me Clay and game 23g 6s for me. I shoot 1/2 and 1/4 or 1/2 and 1/2.

[coldweld]

Can i have first dibs on your empty cases ?

[blasterjudd]

Try fiochis 24g 6s for game or 7.5s for pigeons both stop them on the spot and are approx £60 slab

I'm getting fond of 28 gauges and shooting better than with my 12 or 20 gauge so far....

Edited November 3, 2015 by blasterjudd

[fortune]

What make / model did you get? If you put the lead on the target the 28 will amaze you in regard to the quality of bird that it will take. have a great day on sat.

[figgy]

Welshwarrior and I both like the same cartridges. I've been impressed with the Hull Clay and Game 23gram now renamed I think.

 

Pure Gold were good to but think the Hull were a lot smoother, Bornaghi always get great reviews.

 

Have a read online some good reviews.

[RingDove]

Guys, thanks for all the replies, its just the 3 brands of cartridge that I have, and need to use fiber wad.

 

Figgy, it seems the Hulls are now called 'High Pheasant', looks like the Eleys arent very popular?! I got two boxes of these thrown in with the gun.

 

Fortune, its a Beretta Silver Pigeon, with 30 inch barrels.

 

Coldweld, yes of course, PM me, I'm sure we can sort something out.

 

I cant wait to give it a try on Saturday, have heard nothing but good reviews about the 28.

[neutron619]

Try fiochis 28g 6s for game or 7.5s for pigeons both stop them on the spot and are approx £60 slab

I'm getting fond of 28 gauges and shooting better than with my 12 or 20 gauge so far....

 

Ignore this advice.

 

Absolutely no point in buying a smaller tube then trying to stuff a 16- or 12-gauge load down it. You may as well just take the 12-gauge.

 

Look for something with 21-23g of #6 and you'll be absolutely fine for any bird out to 40 yards with a half choke. Put a quarter choke in the other barrel and use it for the ones closer in.

 

28 gauges tend - don't ask me to explain it - to pattern more tightly than other gauges. Something to do with shot column length - if you use a sensible load (i.e. not 28g), that is. Might be worth shooting a few of your chosen cartridge at a sheet of cardboard to see, if you get the chance.

 

Eley VIP in 21g of #7 or #6 would be my choice.

Edited November 3, 2015 by neutron619

[henry931]

Bought a 28 bore Miroku and very happy with it.

 

Have some Pure Gold 25gm No.6 and will get some Hull 23gm 7 too

 

The standard Browning invector chokes are a bit strange, when I measured / patterned them I got:

Marked 'Quarter' = 3 thou = 37%

Marked 'Half' = 6 thou = 36%

Marked 'Full' = 18 thou = 53%

 

That was with Express 19gm No. 6 Plas

Good patterns though ... might just go with 7s to bulk out the density

 

Might try Mr. Teague, but I want flush chokes as this is more of a game gun

[neutron619]

The standard Browning invector chokes are a bit strange, when I measured / patterned them I got:

Marked 'Quarter' = 3 thou = 37%

Marked 'Half' = 6 thou = 36%

Marked 'Full' = 18 thou = 53%

 

That is strange... and completely the opposite of my experience. Mine is a Yildiz - the choke marked ¼ throws about 56% with the Eleys I mentioned above. The "½" choke is somewhere around 66-68% and the full choke is so tight it's un-shootable. I'd be interested to know what the difference is, though I'm sure it can't be explained in any scientific sense.

 

Anecdotally though, the constrictions might be the giveaway - they're 0.005" (Cyl), 0.010" (¼), 0.020" (½), 0.030" (¾) and 0.035" (Full), which are standard English constrictions for (I'm told) any(?) gauge. Apparently - and again, this is 3rd hand information - unlike the Americans we (the English school of gunmaking) don't adjust the constrictions proportionate to the bore diameter and the Yildiz seem to have followed the English model rather than the American one. Who knows!?

[blasterjudd]

Sorry boys not got my glasses on i use 24 gramme loads

 

quote name="neutron619" post="2934099" timestamp="1446586801"]

 

 

Ignore this advice.

 

Absolutely no point in buying a smaller tube then trying to stuff a 16- or 12-gauge load down it. You may as well just take the 12-gauge.

 

Look for something with 21-23g of #6 and you'll be absolutely fine for any bird out to 40 yards with a half choke. Put a quarter choke in the other barrel and use it for the ones closer in.

 

28 gauges tend - don't ask me to explain it - to pattern more tightly than other gauges. Something to do with shot column length - if you use a sensible load (i.e. not 28g), that is. Might be worth shooting a few of your chosen cartridge at a sheet of cardboard to see, if you get the chance.

 

Eley VIP in 21g of #7 or #6 would be my choice.

[neutron619]

Sorry boys not got my glasses on i use 24 gramme loads

 

That's more like it - apologies for jumping on it!

 

Yeah - 24g is still a lot for a 28 gauge in my book, but much better than 28g (or more)! There is even a Winchester 30g load if memory serves. Crazy!

[henry931]

[fortune]

There is far too much thought about which choke and which cartridge and shot size. Without looking I cant begin to tell what my fixed chokes are. They are probably ¼ & ½ but I don’t even think about it or what colour cartridge is being used. I think about the target. If I put the lead on the target then the gun will do it’s bit. This is my AyA No2 rounded action. It’s quite nice. Have a great day on saturday and enjoy your new gun.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2015 by fortune

[RingDove]

Fortune, what a lovely looking gun, I'm already jealous! Just a shame the barrels are the wrong way round

 

Thanks for all the pointers, I think I'm going to stick 1/4 and 1/2 in, and see how I get on, will update you all after the shoot.

 

Thanks

[neutron619]

There is far too much thought about which choke and which cartridge and shot size.

 

Respectfully, I disagree. Thinking about them when taking the shot - or indeed, thinking at all at that point - is a fatal error and leads to bad shooting.

 

Before the event however, we owe it to our quarry to choose a cartridge that suits our intended range, chokes and quarry and preferably to pattern in to show that it is indeed adequate. I don't believe that putting a good quantity of thought in here is wasted effort.

 

If I asked you, provocatively, whether you'd be happy to shoot shells taken from a "pick and mix" bag that might have 14g or 63g loads in it, with #12 "dust shot" through to buckshot, you'd probably tell me "no, it would be inhumane". Therefore you're thinking about choke, shot size and load in light of what you're trying to achieve. Most importantly, you're thinking about your quarry.

 

I take your point, which is obviously that one can get lost in the detail, but I don't see that as a reason to try to be ignorant of gun, choke, shot size, load​. Admirably, the OP is ​asking for advice on the right kind of cartridge for his new gun, to give him the best chance of having a good day out.

 

Since even George Digweed would struggle to break clays or kill birds with an unsuitable cartridge (½oz of #1's on 40 yard mini clays, anyone? 28g of #12 on 60 yard pigeons!?), it would be better to encourage more thought about correct cartridge choice before the day in question, which may result in confidence, rather than the possibility that one goes with "any old cartridge" misses the first shot, and jinxes the day with a nagging question of whether one's cartridges are "up to it".

Edited November 4, 2015 by neutron619

[fortune]

 

Respectfully, I disagree. Thinking about them when taking the shot - or indeed, thinking at all at that point - is a fatal error and leads to bad shooting.

 

Before the event however, we owe it to our quarry to choose a cartridge that suits our intended range, chokes and quarry and preferably to pattern in to show that it is indeed adequate. I don't believe that putting a good quantity of thought in here is wasted effort.

 

If I asked you, provocatively, whether you'd be happy to shoot shells taken from a "pick and mix" bag that might have 14g or 63g loads in it, with #12 "dust shot" through to buckshot, you'd probably tell me "no, it would be inhumane". Therefore you're thinking about choke, shot size and load in light of what you're trying to achieve. Most importantly, you're thinking about your quarry.

 

I take your point, which is obviously that one can get lost in the detail, but I don't see that as a reason to try to be ignorant of gun, choke, shot size, load​. Admirably, the OP is ​asking for advice on the right kind of cartridge for his new gun, to give him the best chance of having a good day out.

 

Since even George Digweed would struggle to break clays or kill birds with an unsuitable cartridge (½oz of #1's on 40 yard mini clays, anyone? 28g of #12 on 60 yard pigeons!?), it would be better to encourage more thought about correct cartridge choice before the day in question, which may result in confidence, rather than the possibility that one goes with "any old cartridge" misses the first shot, and jinxes the day with a nagging question of whether one's cartridges are "up to it".

Thank you for your considered reply. I take on board what you are saying and the reasons, to which I agree with. Yes, obviously the extreme ends of shot size ect and range of target have to be considered and taken into consideration and acted upon with due respect for the quarry but what I refer to is that for the time that was before multi choke options and the availability of a rake loads of different shot sizes, the shooter had what choke was in the barrel and the shot size that the local ironmonger had on the shelf. What I meant was that a target in reasonable range will be taken with a load that was proven by gunmaker and field testing over millions of rounds and many years of use to be adequate for the gun. All to often we are getting this American idea of magnumitus. shooting a 12 load through a 28 is defeating the idea of a lightweight game gun. The shooter needs experience to not take stupid shots IE taking a flushed bird at ten yards and blowing it to pieces or shooting the Digweed special " that must have been at least a hundred yards" shot. A shot size of 6>7 will do the job if the shooter puts the lead on the target. We know what we mean it's just the way it came across and the individual interpretations of it all. Enjoy the outdoors the shooting and the company rather than getting a calculator and rangefinder out.

Edited November 4, 2015 by fortune

[neutron619]

I think we're essentially in agreement, and as you say, it was just how it came across.

 

All to often we are getting this American idea of magnumitus. shooting a 12 load through a 28 is defeating the idea of a lightweight game gun.

 

All I can add is "quite" to the above and to say that I do understand your point about fixed chokes and whatever cartridges were available. Although my fascination with chokes, cartridges and shot hasn't diminished after 5-6 years of shooting, I take your point.

 

I bought a fixed choke 16 gauge a couple of months back - my first fixed choke gun. Choice of cartridges was limited to the one load available in the shop and when I patterned it the chokes, which are by constriction about ½ and a light full, actually shot full and extra full.

 

By the time I patterned the gun I'd already been out with it several times and shot well with it, so I was confident using it. If I'd been told by the salesman that it was a full / full gun, I probably wouldn't have bought it (I'd have thought "I'll never hit anything with that!"), but I'm very glad I did. I think I shoot well with it because I'm not thinking "would I have hit that if I had a looser choke?" or similar - I'm just getting on with it because I don't have any option.

 

As it happens, I had my 28 gauge out last weekend, shooting Eley 21g / #6 through ¼ and ½ chokes. Looser chokes than I usually like (though as I said above, they pattern more tightly than their names suggest), but I'm trying them for a bit to see how I get on. In spite of any nagging doubts about pattern density, it kills very well when I do my bit and if that's the way the OP goes, I'm sure he won't have any problems.

 

I'm increasingly convinced that (though convenient / versatile / readily available) a 12 gauge (or a 12 gauge load) is by no means a necessity for wing shooting, perhaps with the exception of wildfowling. I now tend not to use my 12 unless there's a good reason to do so: lighter guns, lighter loads and smaller tubes - that's the recipe for a good (and comfortable) day in the field!

 

Edit: referred back to previous post for clarity.

Edited November 4, 2015 by neutron619