28 gauge vs 20 gauge!

[Greg Massey]

I was at a gun store in Mississippi a few weeks ago and they have a huge display of Apex Ammo and plenty of 28 ga... and were cheaper than i could order it online from Apex, so i bought some boxes of 28 ga...

[BDeal]

If I hadn't found a really good deal on a 20ga I would have went 28, just simply for the fact I wanted the lightest gun I could get my hands on without spending 2k on a turkey gun.

I would also only go with a 28 if you plan to load your own shells.

A gas operated 20ga with have minimal recoil compared to a 12 most times, however if you loaded a 1 5/8th shell in a 12 it would be very manageable and in less recoil with the heavier gun.

I remember when Hevi came out with those white/clear hulled 1 5/8th oz 3 inch shells, I bought a box and the first one I fired I though was a dud, the recoil was nothing, went to the target and it was quite a pattern and on par with the heavier loads I had been using, those shells were only 1090 fps as well, so a bit less powder.

If you are buying shells check with Foxtrot and get some 1 5/8th oz loads and keep shooting your 12, unless you just want a new gun, which who wouldn't?

What 20 gauge did you get? I recently bought a Franchi Affinity 3 and returned the first one and sent the second one back to Franchi for repair as both had issues. I'm still hoping they will give me a refund. It's been a horrible experience and there is nothing about the gun that I like (obviously I am biased as I have gotten 2 that were bad). I was really surprised how much it kicked when it did actually manage to fire a round. It's not awful but it kicks considerably more than my sons 870 20 gauge youth. I wish I would have went with a gas gun and not an inertia system. Live and learn.

[limhnger]

I was at a gun store in Mississippi a few weeks ago and they have a huge display of Apex Ammo and plenty of 28 ga... and were cheaper than i could order it online from Apex, so i bought some boxes of 28 ga...

Where was this at?

[zelmo1]

Ethical effective range with TSS shot is the same for 20 or 28 gauge in my opinion. I have both. I have done a lot of pattern board work and I carry my Mossberg Sa-28 as does my wife. I shoot my own loads TSS #9's, comparable to Foxtrot Cherry Bombs, and use an IC.520. My wife likes the IC .525. For #7 shot I prefer the .525. I like the kight weight and moderate recoil as I am getting older and just had shoulder surgery. Z

[krm944]

I would also only go with a 28 if you plan to load your own shells.

This would be the deciding factor for me: load availability. TSS has made all sub gauges viable turkeys guns within ethical ranges, but load availability in a pinch is still limited to 12s and 20s. You can always find 12s and 20s. 


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Ironically, I am seeing more variety and availability with 410 Turkey ammo over 20 and 12! The LGS says 12/20 is on order and should arrive before season- but today it's almost non existent.

[GuideGun]

For turkey hunting and turkey guns, I see virtually no reason to go with a 28ga over the 20ga. Compare the gun sizes between the two and you'll see that the weights are usually the same for the same gun model in both gauges, so its not like you're getting a lighter gun. I just don't see any 28gas being built on a scaled frame in turkey models. Shell and choke tube availability is much greater in 20ga. 1.5oz in a 28ga vs 1.625oz in a 20ga, not much difference there in standard payload. You can always download a 20ga to 28ga levels. Felt recoil has a lot more variables to it other than just gauge so throw that out the window.

[shatcher]

I handload Hal's 1 5/8 ounce load for my 28.  Awesome little turkey combo.  I misjudged a little last year on a big bird and he never flopped at 43 steps.

[SumToy]

My look on this and it is just my  is.  If you shoot a normal load all of them are ok.   Now problem is that internet has almost turned turkey hinting into a show and tell.    Shell companies and choke companies have got to put up numbers to sale because of the internet.  So some choke crazy small some load bigger payloads.  This will bring more recoil.    So if you going to run 1.5 or 1.625 in a 28 with smaller bore and smaller then same load in the 20 with bigger bore and choke you will have more recoil in the same weight gun.  So if you look at numbers the cool load is the big load if you look at just killing birds you back down to the smaller loads you see.

It was like when we raced.  You see guys with nitrous if 100 was good 200 be better and 300 got to be terrific.   lol 

I thing most the loads are fine just remember the bigger the payload the bigger the recoil. 

Just got to ask How Dead Do You Want It.

[Jstocks]

The felt recoil doesn't really matter what gauge you are shooting.  The payload weight, velocity, action,(gas, inertia, pump, etc.) and the weight of the gun determine felt recoil.  My boat anchor Browning Gold 12 ga has less felt recoil with a 2oz load of tss going 1200 fps than my Benelli M2 20 gauge with a 1 5/8 oz going 1200fps+.

I would definitely go with the 20ga all day.  If you hand load you can load down to 3/4oz all the way up to 2 1/8 oz with tss and if you don't hand load you can find 20ga turkey loads much easier than 28 ga.

The most sensible and well explained response on this page.

As another posted, 28 ga recoil can be quite sharp. If you don't believe, get you some of those 1 5/8 oz loads (yes the same weight as most 20 ga tss loads) and shoot one out of those light 28 ga guns. The non believers will be believers then.