Gun Dog Forum

Looking for a 28 guage to hunt with for quail and grouse. Looking for a gun maker out there that sells a solid gun.

Thank you.

That's pretty broad. Narrowing the field would be good.

o Auto, SxS, O/U, pump, single shot?
o Price range?

I have a Baikal IZH 43 (Remington Spartan)--SxS in 28 gauge. Fun litle gun. Use it on wild quail and pen raised pheasant. Fixed chokes Im/Mod. Got for under 300 a couple of years ago.

Franchi makes reliable auto's for a reasonable price. They also make a few double guns in 28. I have owned 5 different shotguns from this manufacturer ( none in 28 ) and have found them to be high quality for the price.

I have the remington sporting 28. The first 28 I have had and I like it.

Word of warning, I now find myself habitually looking at the gun auction sites and lusting and fondling other 28's at the gun shops. I would love to have an al-48 or a veloce or maybe one of those sexy little berettas or a red lable or maybe an old 11-48, and have you seen the pictures of that new ithica 37, {sigh} the list goes on.

jbraun wrote: Word of warning, I now find myself habitually looking at the gun auction sites and lusting and fondling other 28's at the gun shops

I feel your pain. The internet is evil.

My kids shoot a Remington M1100 special sporting in 28. Very sweet. In a pinch, I've shot it one-handed like a pistol.

I have 2, 28's One is a Browning Lightening and the other is a Tri-Star SxS 28” barrels, single non-selective trigger, fix chokes (IC and Mod) English stock, ejectors. The price for the Browning was high, but the Tri-Star was $799.00 brand new. The Browning is a heavy (7 lbs) and too nice to carry Chukar hunting, so my “go to” gun is the Tri-Star model 411D. Light weight (6 lbs or under)and responsive, it fits me well. They are Italian made and I put the gun next to a Bernadelli (sp?) SxS and it was the same action and barrels, I couldn’t tell them apart. Tri-Star Brand is considerably less costly than a Bernadelli.

It is a little picky about what shells I use. I bought a case of those RST loads, ¾ oz of 6’s and 7’s at 1100 fps and after the shot the shell sticks in the first chamber but ejects from the second with no problem. With other shells I don’t have that issue.

Another issue with 28’s (in general) is that the shells are almost twice as expensive as 12’s or 20’s

I’ve shot Pheasants, Blue Grouse, Quail, Huns and Chukar with it. I shoot over a pointing dog so many of my shots are under 30 yards, I do pass up longer and marginal opportunities that others may have taken, but that’s a choice I make. I love carrying that little gun.

I just looked on their website and apparently they don't offer that model anymore. Oh well!

I also have the Citori 28 Lightning Field and I think they are pretty "solid" guns, can't go wrong there IMO.

Charlie

I love my 28 gauge Veronas o/us. . .made by I. Rizzini out of Italy and now sold as the Savage Milano. I like my 28 gauge to be actually built on a 28 gauge frame rather than a 20 gauge frame. I am not sure that Browning even makes a 28 gauge on the correct frame and most Berettas are also on a 20 gauge frame. . .might as well just buy a 20 gauge and save the price on ammo.

If you also are going to shoot the 28 a lot, I would go with a break open gun. . .that way you can reload your own shells and save a bunch of $$.

And BTW - 28 gauge is a joy to shoot.

Speaking of the Milanos I was looking at one of those in a 20 ga. anybody have some experience with them? As for the 28 ga. I was shooting a buddies AYA 28 and man was it a sweet little gun, a little light for me in the swing, would take some getting used to.


Thanks,
Chip

Chip,

I have 4 Verona o/us (12/20/28/28). . .and I love them. The wood on my 503s is pretty good and on my last 28 gauge and 12 I bought for my dad, the price on NIB was $499.97 on closeout at this time last year from Gander Mountain. You can find used Veronas out there from $500-$650, there are actually 2 20 gauges on gunbroker right now.

The Milanos are starting to come down in price, some guys are buying NIB for $900 right now. . .a couple on gunbroker right now for $950. . .at that price point, I think they are a good buy. . .I still like paying the Verona price though. . .but now that Legacy is bringing the Verona name back, they are going to sell for Milano+ prices.

I have a 28 SKB 585. It is 16 years old and i run at least a 3-4 cases thru it a year. no problem. great gun.

Caesar Guerini, beautiful guns.

CZ makes a couple nice 28s in the 600-750 range. They come in O/U and SxS.

I have had two CZ's in 28 ga., a Bobwhite and a Ringneck. I thought they were a great value for the price and both shot very well. I highly recommend them.