20 vs 28

birddude

birddude

Well-known member
I settled on the 16 decades ago. I could only afford one nice gun, so shot a Citori lightning 16 for a lot of years. When I finally got financially secure. I tried the 20 ga. Citori. Hated it. Kill one, cripple one (Quail)... Traded for a berretta 686 20. Same. Years later bought a Ugartechea 28 sxs. I was shocked when I discovered that with 1 oz heavy loads, I loved it! I used to brag that it would outshoot any 20. At some point I realized, that didn't make since. So, I think part of my cave man brain realized the 28 couldn't make the 16 range shots so didn't take them. I now have several 20's and love them, go figure??. I still shoot the 28 and have found that with an oz of shot, I can't tell a lot of difference. Any thoughts??
 
i've was gifted an stoeger sxs that came with a set of 20ga and a set of 28ga barrels. very few local sporting goods stores here in MS carried 28ga shells, and they were always more expensive than 12, 16, 20 and even .410 shells. however, over the last 18 months, it has been easier to find 28ga shells on the shelves and many times they were half the price of 12 and 20 ga. shells.

i primarily use the 28 for pen raised quail shoots and field training my dog, but i was fortunate enough to take a few pheasants with it back in 2015 and 2016. since then, i've elected to use the 20ga for the pheasants
 
I bought a 28 last January, was looking for something light. I got tired of carrying a 9 lb 12 gauge around chasing my shorthair. I shot some trap and sporting clays during the summer and held my own against all gauges. I used it on wild pheasant in 3 states this fall and didn’t feel under gunned. I had a 12 gauge in the truck in case i wasn’t happy with the results using the 28. I never broke out the 12. I don’t shoot at birds that flush at 40, even with my 12 gauge. I shoot 7/8 oz lead or bismuth. I enjoy the fast gun and minimal recoil. So if your shooting 1 oz loads in the 28, your 28 is almost equal to your 20 if your shooting a similar payload. So use what you enjoy!
 
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birddude said:
I settled on the 16 decades ago. I could only afford one nice gun, so shot a Citori lightning 16 for a lot of years. When I finally got financially secure. I tried the 20 ga. Citori. Hated it. Kill one, cripple one (Quail)... Traded for a berretta 686 20. Same. Years later bought a Ugartechea 28 sxs. I was shocked when I discovered that with 1 oz heavy loads, I loved it! I used to brag that it would outshoot any 20. At some point I realized, that didn't make since. So, I think part of my cave man brain realized the 28 couldn't make the 16 range shots so didn't take them. I now have several 20's and love them, go figure??. I still shoot the 28 and have found that with an oz of shot, I can't tell a lot of difference. Any thoughts??
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I would surmise your 28 gauge Uggie fits you well and therefore you put more of that 1 ounce load where it needed to be. I'm a diehard 16ga guy right now and don't have a 28 that fits me as well as the my 16 and 20 gauges. Technically one ounce of shot is one ounce of shot but the shot string in the 16 gauge is much shorter than the 20 gauge and much, much shorter than the 28.
 
Another thing I didn't mention in my post above is the quality of your ammo. Most 28 gauge I've seen use high quality hard shot which makes a big difference. 16 gauge is the same way but there is a lot of cheap (well not anymore) promo ammo out there with very shot shot that deforms when it leaves the barrel and results in not so great patterns.
Back before the great ammo shortage of 21, it always amazed me that guys would buy the cheapest shells they could find and then go on an expensive hunt, be it for upland, waterfowl or big game. Quality of the shells DOES make a difference.
This year being the exception, in shooting what you could find if you didn't have a stockpile.
 
My only experiences with a 28ga is watching two friends of mine shoot. They were strangers to each when I introduced them on a hunt, and coincidentally they both used 28 BPS guns. The only similarity I noticed with them is that they were both excellent field shooters and had gravitated to the 28s. One of them made shots that couldn't be made...he was just that good.

Maybe it is just natural selection: good shooters go to the 28. I remember the shells were about double the cost of 20s and 12s at the time.

I'm still in love with my 20ga AYA matador II, so you can surmise that I am not the most excellent shot...if guage is a qualifier.

Have fun.
 
Have read countless threads regarding this subject; the only wise conclusion I’ve come to is to just agree with what many other guys have implored the curious amongst us to do: pattern these guns with the loads you hunt with. Every gun patterns differently, especially with different choke configurations. Makes sense to me. I did pattern about 7 of my S x S’s & O/U’s last summer…28’s, 20’s, 16’s…it is interesting. I got a bunch of large appliance boxes and cut them into 3’ x 3’ pieces, and shot from about 25 yards. Not an exact science, but pretty telling. Good exercise to undertake.
 
benelli-banger said:
Have read countless threads regarding this subject; the only wise conclusion I’ve come to is to just agree with what many other guys have implored the curious amongst us to do: pattern these guns with the loads you hunt with. Every gun patterns differently, especially with different choke configurations. Makes sense to me. I did pattern about 7 of my S x S’s & O/U’s last summer…28’s, 20’s, 16’s…it is interesting. I got a bunch of large appliance boxes and cut them into 3’ x 3’ pieces, and shot from about 25 yards. Not an exact science, but pretty telling. Good exercise to undertake.
Click to expand...
How but some results there BB?? I to have patterned, measured stocks miced bores and have only come to the conclusion that if you have great success with a certain gun, don't pattern it because you might be disappointed.
 
I was happy with what I saw, nothing scientific. Was really trying to verify my chokes and how they patterned…I had just bought a Parker repro 28 gauge that was tightly choked…figured I’d have a look at a bunch of guns while at it. I didn’t do the 30” circles and count pellet holes…pretty well confirmed what I suspected.
 
One of my 28’s had a POI about 4-5” to the left of my bullseye; changed ammo, it improved a bit, but still an inch or 2 to the left. Gun I’ve used a lot for early prairie birds and ruffs…killed a lot of birds with it.
 
benelli-banger said:
I was happy with what I saw, nothing scientific. Was really trying to verify my chokes and how they patterned…I had just bought a Parker repro 28 gauge that was tightly choked…figured I’d have a look at a bunch of guns while at it. I didn’t do the 30” circles and count pellet holes…pretty well confirmed what I suspected.
Click to expand...
PARKER REPRO..🤯🤢
 
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