Who's shooting 28 ga?

[ligonierbill]

What can you tell me? Compared to a standard 20 ga. on clay birds, is it much harder to hit? a little harder? Is the recoil noticably less? I am trying to get my wife out to shoot with me, just a portable trap on a public range. Also, this might be nice for grouse and woodcock "back home". Comments?

[perazzimx14]

28gauge are not for new shooters. They are for more expirenced shooters.

Get your wife a 12 gauge with some ultra-lite 7/8th ounce loads. The gun will be heavier which will help absorb some of the felt recoil and she will have a better chance of hitting targets. After all you have a better chance of getting her to repeat shoot outing if she is seeing results.

[roy reali]

The few guys I know that use 28's can actually hit flying targets. A good friend of mine uses one for most of his upland hunting. I rarely see him miss.

[clayking]

For my skeet shooting I never use anything but a 28 anymore. It is the sweetest shooting clay buster there is for that game. Now, for sporting clays, I use a 12. For quail hunting, a 20 or a 28. I average just about as good with the 28 as I do with a 12 for skeet. Mild recoil.....the perfect gauge for light duty shooting. Now, I do all my 28 shooting with inserts in my 12 O/U, so I essentially have the same feel and weight with both gauges....................ck

[K80Geoff]

I feel strongly that the 28 is the best gun to use to start new shooters. Negligible recoil and good shot patterns make it the perfect gauge.

Far superior to the 410. More pleasant than the 12.

I use a 20/28 O/U. A 20 GA frame with two sets of barrels. Great way to go if you can afford it.

If you shoot 28 ga you will learn to reload, so buy a break action so you can save the hulls.

[Shell Shucker]

I have a Citori Lightning 28 ga. It is a great skeet gun (for fun, not competition), and my wife loves it! A 9.5 lb tubed 12 ga is an entirely different animal......
I don't feel handicapped shooting a 28 on the skeet range. For most other endeavors I'll take a 12 or a 20. The 28 kicks less than a 20 in guns of equal weight.
My wife has LIKED only 2 shotguns: Beretta 390 12 ga shooting LIGHT 7/8 or 1 oz loads, Citori 28 ga. Both guns are light weight and low recoil. The 12 ga Beretta needed "proper" loads to meet the low recoil criteria. The cheap 1 oz 1290 fps "promo" loads didn't pass the recoil test.

[chris in va]

If recoil is a concern (as it is for me) you might look at a Knoxx CompStock on a Mossberg 500 or similar. Still shoot 12ga but recoil is probably similar to the 28ga.

[BigJimP]

I shoot a 28ga a lot - and I think its the perfect gun for a lady or any new shooter that has limited upper body strength and little experience with a shotgun.

I have a 28ga Browning O/U with 30" barrels that weighs about 7 3/4 lbs - nice balance. A 28ga gives much better patterns (much better results than a .410 for a new shooter). Its the first gun I use to train the grandkids at 11 or 12 when they start shooting clays. A 28ga is a great compromise and a good gun to learn on - and easily break a lot of targets

The other gun I would consider is the Benelli Super Sport semi-auto, synthetic stock with the comfort-tech system in it to reduce recoil. I have a 12ga - and it will cycle light loads as long as they are 1200 fps so you could go with 7/8 oz loads. Again its a light gun and easy to handle. Benelli is also making the same gun in a 20ga now. Both good options.

All 3 are guns you can also shoot - and have some fun with. If you're not a reloader - stay away from the 28ga - and go with a lighter load in a 20ga or a 12ga and get them some experience there. But do everything you can to reduce recoil - it'll spoil a new shooter quicker than anything.