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Anyone using a 28 bore on pigeons?


JBS
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Simple question really does anyone use a 28 on pigeons regularly? Reason for asking is that since swapping my 12 for a 20 i have have been thinking about a 28 bore, i love the 20 bore and seeing that similar loads are available for the 28 I thought it could be a bit of fun to have in the hide, i don't think id want to use one on driven game but for proper decoyed birds a light pointy thing suits me just fine

 

any opinions appreciated as i have never shot one

Edited by JBS
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I use my 410's (OU and Pump) for both game, vermin and pigeons and have no problems dropping birds to 35 yards.

 

If you are duplicating 20 bore loads in a 28bore your ballistics and patterns will be slightly less efficient for any given loading, recoil will be slightly higher, and cartridges significantly more expensive but the smaller guns are fun to shoot but there is not a lot in it between a 20b and 28b as gun weights are usually only 1/2lb to 1lb apart in OU, if you were dropping from 12b to 28 there would be a significant difference.

 

If your 20b suits you, try using 21g 7.5 fibre clay cartridges for pigeon, couple of boxes as an experiment to see if you are happy with kills before you splash out on a 28b.

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As said on here a number of times I am a 410 freak. However !!! I am very tempted to get a 28 gauge for no other reason than I don't have one. I don't believe it would kill birds any better than the 410 but am sure the gauge would be great fun to shoot. You do your bit and a 28 gauge will drop birds out to 35 - 40yrds no problem. My advice on my experience with the 410, is don't go for large shot sizes 5s even 6s UK, shoot 7s or even 7 1/2s(8 Italian) they fill the pattern better and in sensible ranges will do the job, no problem.

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I occasionally shoot a Beretta 687 with 30ins M/C tubes in 28 bore. I use it mainly for walked up game shooting. It's very light and fast handling.

 

I think this was taken in 2014. A day from the hide. My 28 bore is on the left of the picture. Cartridge's were ELEY VIP 24g No 6 if I remember correctly.

My mates 12 bore on the right.

 

On the day the birds decoyed very nicely.

 

mid3.jpg

Edited by Whitebridges
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Some great positive responses I think I'm going to start looking! I was expecting more negative with people saying they are boys or lady's guns, thankfully that's not been the case.

 

Thinking back I have never forgotten the day I went to look at a 525 twelve bore at the countryman in derby and looking in the rack picked out a gun that I thought was the one I'd seen on guntrader, it felt amazing, light and pointable and in my head I'd already bought it, then it dawned on me that the barrels were very small, I looked at the ticket expecting it to say 20 bore but when I saw 28 I put it back in the rack feeling a bit daft but I've never forgot about it!

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Why would you think that a 28 would be no good for pigeon or game? Any pellet of the same size IE #7 with the same speed will have the same effect as if it were shot out of any gun with the same velocity. The only thing with any caliber is the amount of pellets in the load. If you get one please dont do what a lot of people do and that is to stuff a load designed for a bigger gun into it. EG 28, 30, 32 out of a 20 bore. yes it will do it but it rather defeats the object of a smaller lighter gun. this is right >>>

 

if you can shoot, the calibre doesn't matter one bit.

PS. I forgot to say yes I shoot a 28. I use an AyA #2 rounded action for fun and I also bought a cheepo investarm at an auction. I didnt want the gun but the cartridges and stuff that was in the lot.

Edited by fortune
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Why would you think that a 28 would be no good for pigeon or game? Any pellet of the same size IE #7 with the same speed will have the same effect as if it were shot out of any gun with the same velocity. The only thing with any caliber is the amount of pellets in the load. If you get one please dont do what a lot of people do and that is to stuff a load designed for a bigger gun into it. EG 28, 30, 32 out of a 20 bore. yes it will do it but it rather defeats the object of a smaller lighter gun. this is right >>>

 

PS. I forgot to say yes I shoot a 28. I use an AyA #2 rounded action for fun and I also bought a cheepo investarm at an auction. I didnt want the gun but the cartridges and stuff that was in the lot.

Sorry I think you have misunderstood, I never said anything about thinking they were no good, I think it would be a great gun hence the topic but just wanted some views from people that actually use them! If I were to buy one it would be for a bit of a change in the hide and if that developed into using it on driven days then great, cartridge cost would be more likely to keep it in the slip than anything else

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I read these words in your posts and took them to infer that you thought that the caliber might be a bit low powered for the job. >>>

"I don't think id want to use one on driven game". " I looked at the ticket expecting it to say 20 bore but when I saw 28 I put it back in the rack feeling a bit daft ".

I bought the AyA on a bit of a whim for the odd summer evening walk round but when I started to use it I was amazed at how it would take stuff down. Yes the cartridges are expensive and that's why I got a MEC Sizemaster to make reloads. But for the amount of cartridges that I use it would have been cheaper to buy them but I like reloading. And you can't take it with you.

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Simple question really does anyone use a 28 on pigeons regularly? Reason for asking is that since swapping my 12 for a 20 i have have been thinking about a 28 bore, i love the 20 bore and seeing that similar loads are available for the 28 I thought it could be a bit of fun to have in the hide, i don't think id want to use one on driven game but for proper decoyed birds a light pointy thing suits me just fine

 

any opinions appreciated as i have never shot one

 

Go for it.

 

Have been using a 30" Miroku 28 bore with 25gm or 27gm Gamebore Pure Golds for a few years and it is perfectly capable as well as being a pleasure to shoot. I am selling it and buying a Beretta as I prefer the handling of the latter. I also use 20 bores with 25gm - 28gm loads and notice no real-world difference in performance between them and the 28 bore. I do use Teague 7/8th chokes in the 28 bore but I don't think it is necessary. I just put them in as an experiment and never took them out.

 

PM me if you want more information.

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Have a Lincoln Premier 28 gauge which is very difficult to put down once picked up. It is fast becoming the 'go to' gun out of the cabinet.

 

Takes Pigeon, Rook, Pheasant, Partridge, Squirrel and Rabbit just as well as my 12's. For Walked Up days it makes such a difference to carrying round my Browning 12.

 

It is VERY satisfying to bring down a Pheasant with your first barrel when 3 or 4 other guns have missed it with both barrels on 12 gauges.

 

Get one.....if you don't get on with it, you can always sell it on for what you paid for it.

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I got a 30" Browning 525L Hunter Light Classic 28 bore recently with fixed 1/4 and 3/4 chokes. It's quickly become one of my favourite guns.

It's a lot lighter than my MK60 20 bore which is quite a heavy 20.

I mainly got it for some challenging woodcock and snipe shooting with my Pointer late last year but now use it on pigeons too. I have mainly been shooting 21 and 24 gram cartridges and a few 28 gram which really don't kick too much either. It's so nice for a day of walking about with just a pocket full of cartridges that in 12 gauge would need a belt and two pockets and would really be in the way.

I've shot some good long birds with it and it's certainly got the same knock down power but you do have to be more accurate with it.

Once you're a reasonable shot with a 12 it's nice to make your shooting a bit more of a challenge as on our shoot the pheasants aren't very high and are often quite close so I find it a bit too easy sometimes. I'm going to give it a good go this coming season and see how I get on but it's a lovely gun to shoot year round.

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They say with a 410 you need to be 120% more accurate than a 12 gauge - I'm not sure on a 28 but I bet it's not a huge difference when using 21g cartridges or less.

With a 12 you will more than likely be using 30g to 34g cartridges in the field so that's a lot more lead in the air.

You also have a much longer range with bigger cartridges and shot sizes in 12g so you don't have to estimate range so much and limit your shots to closer targets as you do with the smaller gauges.

I wouldn't want to learn to shoot with a small gauge unless I wasn't physically capable of handling the bigger gun.

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My 410 21g no 7 has similar no of pellets to 32g no 5, it will pattern out to 35 yards and kill to that range.

 

I suspect the 28b will pattern slightly better for the same load.

 

Both patterns and spread will be similar no matter what bore is used.

 

The 12b will be slightly better and the pellets will carry more energy but the ability to kill a pigeon or pheasant will be the same as borh meet the minimum requirements in pellet numbers and penetration.

 

Using a 410 or 28b teaches field craft (you have to get closer), shot discipline (you got to wait for the right shot) and range estimation (you got to be sure as your effectiveness drops off a cliff past 35 to 40 yards).

 

Learning on a small bore, has a number of advantages as long as the right combination of loading, shot size and choke are understood, unfortunately due to ignorance, prejudice and hand me down anecdotes far too many people try to learn with 12g no5 and full choke or similar and that is where the problem and the bad reputation lies.

 

Commercial cartrige makers could help a lot by not loading 410 cartridges in anything bigger than a 7.5 for anything less than 19g.

Edited by Stonepark
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