Grouse with a 28 gauge?

[KingB]

Anybody else use a 28 gauge for grouse? I started using a Browning BPS 28 ga three years ago and love it. Good for grouse on the ground and on the wing. Took 26 ruffies so far this year, 39 last year, and 20-something the year before. I use #6 shot.

Highly recommend the 28 ga if anyone is thinking about a shotgun for upland game birds. They are not very popular and may not find them stocked on the shelves; I had to have my local shop order it out of the USA for me so waited a few weeks, but well worth the wait.

[ACB]

Anybody that hunts with a .410 would throw it away after one outing with a 28 ga., way more gun. There's a lot of people that hunt "all" upland game with 28 ga. shotguns and that includes pheasants, I'v never heard of anyone hunting pheasants with a .410. As Foxton said in another post it's all about the number of pellets, more is better!

[shotgunner]

I have gone from the 20ga. to the 28 as my go to for upland birds. The 28 patterns the best of all gauges. # 5 for pheasants and blues, 6's for others. Love it for skeet and do well on sporting clays. Its amazing how far it breaks targets with I/c chokes.

[MRP]

12ga only for the cheaper ammo. Not for the BANG or the kick.

[gab]

I have an old Iver Johnson single shot 28 gauge that I enjoy shooting quail and cotton tail rabbits with. At close range it does the job without destroying meat.

[hntcrazy]

I have an old cooey 28 gauge - AWESOME for small game , as said above way better than .410

but what do i know probably killed more grouse with rocks -lol

[Dutch]

yup 28 is really a great gauge except for the price of shells use it for grouse all the time and it was deadly on doves...

[KingB]

Cool. Hadn't met anyone else in person that even had a 28 ga. Nice to hear several out there with same affection for this great shotgun.

[VLD43]

I've got two 28 Gauge guns. A citori and a Remington 1100. Shot pheasants with the 1100 and a lot of skeet with the citori. In my opinion, the 28 gauge is the best balance of hitting power and lite recoil. Best gauge out there. As far as the cost of ammo goes, the initial purchase price can be high, but the reloading cost is quite low. Probably about $3.50 to $4.00 a box. So if you take the time to pick up your empty hulls, you can shoot this gauge quite cheaply.

[unstableryan]

I’ve bounced between using a 22 and a 12 gauge for a lot of years but went back to a 20 gauge side-by-side. I would love it if it was 28 gauge, but this one came up first and was reasonable. I like scaling it back from 12 gauge power little bit.

[The Spank]

I used to hunt grouse with a Winchester 101 choked M/IC in a 28. I sold it and have kicked my rear end ever since. Best gauge out there for grouse in my opinion.

[Butcherbill]

12g with #7.5 or 6 loads, got 20-22 this season. Doubled from the previous year, think I bagged out 3 different times. Was a good season all around.

[barry1974w]

I started with a 410 then went to 12 gauge cause of ammo cost, then to 20 gauge cause the ammo is the same price as 12 gauge. But I still want to try a 28 gauge, my son is getting almost big enough to start using a 410, but I’d rather start him with a 28 gauge if all the stuff I’ve read is true. But those 28’s are expensive, old beat up cooey’s for $250..... ouch

[dracb]

I started with a 410 then went to 12 gauge cause of ammo cost, then to 20 gauge cause the ammo is the same price as 12 gauge. But I still want to try a 28 gauge, my son is getting almost big enough to start using a 410, but I’d rather start him with a 28 gauge if all the stuff I’ve read is true. But those 28’s are expensive, old beat up cooey’s for $250..... ouch

I bought a Franchi 28 gauge for hunting grouse and fell in love with the gauge. It is perfect for hunting grouse with a dog or walking them up. I like it so much that I decided to use it when road hunting and just messing around in the bush. I didn't want the Franchi bouncing around in the truck or handing it to the grandkids or wife to collect those roadside grouse. What I use is an adapter that is basically the size of a shotshell that converts a larger bore to 28 bore. This works great in the inexpensive and light single shot shotguns that break open to load. Much more effective than a .410 caliber shotgun and with about the same recoil as a .410. The ones I use are called "Little Skeeters" and for a modest sum let you enjoy the benefits of the 28 bore.

[KingB]

I've got two 28 Gauge guns. A citori and a Remington 1100. Shot pheasants with the 1100 and a lot of skeet with the citori. In my opinion, the 28 gauge is the best balance of hitting power and lite recoil. Best gauge out there. As far as the cost of ammo goes, the initial purchase price can be high, but the reloading cost is quite low. Probably about $3.50 to $4.00 a box. So if you take the time to pick up your empty hulls, you can shoot this gauge quite cheaply.

I hope every hunter on this forum picks up empty hulls (and rifle casings) even if you don't reload. We don't need another thing for the anti's to complain about.

[barry1974w]

I bought a Franchi 28 gauge for hunting grouse and fell in love with the gauge. It is perfect for hunting grouse with a dog or walking them up. I like it so much that I decided to use it when road hunting and just messing around in the bush. I didn't want the Franchi bouncing around in the truck or handing it to the grandkids or wife to collect those roadside grouse. What I use is an adapter that is basically the size of a shotshell that converts a larger bore to 28 bore. This works great in the inexpensive and light single shot shotguns that break open to load. Much more effective than a .410 caliber shotgun and with about the same recoil as a .410. The ones I use are called "Little Skeeters" and for a modest sum let you enjoy the benefits of the 28 bore.

good idea, I’ll keep an eye out

[badgreenbird]

I started out with a 28 gauge when I was a kid... and after a few decades of blasting away with various 12 gauge guns, have largely returned to the 28 for all upland and some waterfowl hunting. It's a great gauge, and I have several shotguns in scaled frame. A joy to carry in the woods and fields, and shoots enough payload to get the job done. No better gun for the uplands in my opinion. I shoot lots of grouse and early-season ducks in BC every year with the 28. I was just in Nebraska where I used one of my 28 gauge SxS on pheasants, quail, prairie chicken and cottontails with great effect.

[bogtrotter]

In the 1970's , Bob Brister wrote "Shotgunning - the art and the science". It summarized the results of thousands of test rounds he fired trying to learn what happens to a shot string. It is kind of comical - he had a low trailer with the targets on it. The trailer was hauled by an old station wagon with his wife at the wheel. Anyway, everything you ever wanted to know about shot strings is there. A chapter is devoted to the 28 gauge. He found that the cartridge produced a shot string that was round and on the the same plane - rather than a long ragged string . He proves that a 28 gauge will deliver a lot more shot on target. I have a Ugartechea side by side with 25 inch barrels.It is a little whippy for skeet stations 3,4 & 5 but when a grouse explodes from under your feet, nothing gets on target faster. I have taken it to Quebec and Nova Scotia for woodcock. It was perfect ! Many happy memories with that little fun !

I reload 28 gauge. 3/4 ounce of #6 for birds. I think Brister demonstrated that 3/4 ounce is the best for 28 gauge. 7/8 oz. wasn't as good.

[Danny_29]

I'd love to try a 28. I've got a pointing dog if anyone wants to get together. Located in the east Kootenays but would travel.

[kevan]

28 ga. shotguns are pretty scarce, I’d like to find one.
Sort of like looking for a chicken with teeth..

[VLD43]

28 ga. shotguns are pretty scarce, I’d like to find one.
Sort of like looking for a chicken with teeth..
28 Ga guns are not all that hard to find. There are just not that many used ones around. If you know guys who shoot skeet, that may be a good stating point. Short of that, a new gun may the way to go. Remington 1100 sport in 28 Ga are common, as are Browning Citoris, and their BPS. I believe that Remington 870's are chambered in 28. Your probably looking at $1100 plus for a new gun. I will say that of the shotguns I own, and the shooting that I do, the 28 is the sweetest gauge of them all, in my opinion. I have also heard the same sentiment from many others.

[Dutch]

Agree with VLD43 first 25 straight in skeet was with a 28.Not that hard to find really seen an 870 Wingmaster in Wholesale before they went down for $800.00.I have 3 last one was a Weatherby 28 semi auto got it new from Prophet around 8 delivered.Seen a couple on the nutz for 5-6 so they are there.The Weatherby is a great grouse gun light and points nice.

[VLD43]

Agree with VLD43 first 25 straight in skeet was with a 28.Not that hard to find really seen an 870 Wingmaster in Wholesale before they went down for $800.00.I have 3 last one was a Weatherby 28 semi auto got it new from Prophet around 8 delivered.Seen a couple on the nutz for 5-6 so they are there.The Weatherby is a great grouse gun light and points nice.

Funny, some of the best scores I have seen in skeet is with either a 28 Ga or a 410. 28 has a pretty big following in skeet.

[Steelpulse]

I’ll be taking the 28 out this season for a most upland hunts. Really excited

[Dutch]

Continuing with the 28 theme 9 pheasants this year with my 28 Weatherby couple I would not have probably thought to shoot but there dead anyway

[Gumsehwah]

I just LOVE the little single shot cooey 16 gauge that I inherited from my neighbor in my teens for hunting grouse. What I would like to be able to do in the future is load my own shells.:smile:

[VLD43]

I just LOVE the little single shot cooey 16 gauge that I inherited from my neighbor in my teens for hunting grouse. What I would like to be able to do in the future is load my own shells.:smile:
Pretty easy to get into reloading. Unfortunately though 16 Ga is not as popular in North America as it is in Europe. You will probably find it pretty difficult to find wads and empty shells and they will be expensive. This is why a lot of people use other more popular gauges. If you decide to reload, let me know, I may be able to help you access wads. Good luck

[Foxton Gundogs]

Far superior to a 410 imho

[saskbooknut]

Easy to buy 16 gauge loads and save the hulls. Choice of wads in Canada is limited. Will Bilozir frm De Winton AB supplies components and does gun shows in the West. He stocks Ballistic Products components. He also stocks 28 gauge stuff.

[Sportster]

Anybody that hunts with a .410 would throw it away after one outing with a 28 ga., way more gun. There's a lot of people that hunt "all" upland game with 28 ga. shotguns and that includes pheasants, I'v never heard of anyone hunting pheasants with a .410. As Foxton said in another post it's all about the number of pellets, more is better!

I don't know, I bought a matching pair of wing masters many years ago, 12g and 410 caliber in 3in mag. I've probably shot well over 100 grouse with that 410, and more than a few rabbits, too many squirrels to count, I can't see myself wanting to change too a larger ga. Fantastic gun for upland game birds IMO and it doesn't mess them up, usually LOL.

[VLD43]

Both the 28 Ga and the .410 bore are good guns/cartridges. It comes down to the skill or proficiency of the person with the gun, and knowing the effective range and game size associated with the cartridge. On a good day, I can crush clay targets with either gauge, and on a bad day, I would choose the larger of the two. Both of these cartridges is probably effective at ranges out to 25 yards most days, in the proper hands. That being said, for most who rarely shoot, a 12Ga or 20 Ga are a better choice. 28 Ga or 410 bore are not the best for ground sluicing birds, but work well on air born targets.