28 Ga Barrel Length / Choke

7dawg9 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 17, 2020 7:51 pm

I’m thinking of getting a new 28 ga SxS . I’ll use it 95% of the time on pen-raised quail over pointers. If I go with a 28” barrel, I’d get it choked IC/M. What chokes do you suggest if I go 26” ?

oneounceload · **Joined:** Tue Jan 08, 2008 6:20 pm **Posts:** 22977

???? What would the barrel length have to do with the choke constriction? The choke constriction would be the same. Personally, I would prefer a 30" barrel for smoother swing dynamics.

oakisland · **Joined:** Wed May 08, 2019 4:20 pm **Posts:** 65

skeet and imp cyl on the 26 inch barrels, is all you need for pen birds.

Multiflora · **Posted:** Sat Jan 18, 2020 6:50 am

Agree on bbl length vs. constriction unimportance but, IC - IC for the chokes vs. intended target...and I would avoid the 26".

IC - IM for a wider audience of impact.

Dalee100 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 18, 2020 11:25 am

Hi,

Barrel length means little. I've shot guns as short as 24" that were noticeably muzzle heavy and 30" tubes that were neutral to light. And with screw-in chokes you can choke the gun how you see fit.

Which chokes to choose depends on what you think you most common shooting distance might be. For quail over pointers, maybe sk/ic or if I though there might be a longer shot possible, sk/lm.

jer901 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 18, 2020 11:41 am

I shoot IC and Mod in all my bird hunting situations. Doesn't matter if the gun has 25", 26" or 28" barrels.

And FWIW, all "pen raised" quail are not equal.

oldbirdhntr · **Posted:** Fri Jan 31, 2020 1:08 pm

jer901 wrote:

And FWIW, all "pen raised" quail are not equal.

Amen. And neither is the cover. There a big difference between flight conditioned birds in S. Georgia pines and low and slow released birds in a wide open milo patch.

Vette Jockey2 · **Joined:** Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:17 am **Posts:** 758

7dawg9 wrote:

I’m thinking of getting a new 28 ga SxS . I’ll use it 95% of the time on pen-raised quail over pointers. If I go with a 28” barrel, I’d get it choked IC/M. What chokes do you suggest if I go 26” ?

As others have said, barrel length matters little. As for choke, if you need more than cyl/skt, you're too slow. And, boys, that's not armchair quarterbacking; I've shot that combination on wild quail for 15 years.

Willie T · **Joined:** Wed Mar 06, 2019 3:56 pm **Posts:** 120

Vette Jockey2 wrote:

7dawg9 wrote:

I’m thinking of getting a new 28 ga SxS . I’ll use it 95% of the time on pen-raised quail over pointers. If I go with a 28” barrel, I’d get it choked IC/M. What chokes do you suggest if I go 26” ?

As others have said, barrel length matters little. As for choke, if you need more than cyl/skt, you're too slow. And, boys, that's not armchair quarterbacking; I've shot that combination on wild quail for 15 years.

Yup. I have been hunting wild quail over pointing dogs for 50 something years here in Texas. I choke IC/IC. Sadly the best flying pen raised birds still don’t fly like wild birds. For pen raised birds a nice light 28 choked skeet/skeet would be about perfect in my opinion. Short barreled sub gauge guns are favored by many experienced quail hunters for their quick handling and easy carrying.
Willie

7dawg9 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2020 4:59 pm

Thanks for the input. I found a nice 28 ga , 27" barrels, SK-IC.

df · **Posted:** Fri Feb 07, 2020 2:27 pm

jer901 wrote:

I shoot IC and Mod in all my bird hunting situations. Doesn't matter if the gun has 25", 26" or 28" barrels.

And FWIW, all "pen raised" quail are not equal.

Agree with this response.

stubblejumper · **Joined:** Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:46 pm **Posts:** 480

All of my SxS shotguns are choked IC/IM. My current 28 gauge has 27' barrels, because I got a great deal on a used gun, but if I was to order one, it would be 28".

oakisland · **Joined:** Wed May 08, 2019 4:20 pm **Posts:** 65

All gun mfg from the 1900 to about 1960, 95% standard barrel length sold was 28 & 30 inch, the 26 inch barrels were for special order by bird hunters who knew the difference.

Pine Creek/Dave · **Posted:** Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:17 pm

7dawg9,

I have a few real nice 28 gauge double guns I use for Grouse, Quail and Woodcock hunting. I like the L.C. Smith made for Marlin by Zabala in Spain SXS double gun. It comes with 4 screw in Chokes and I purchased a few more. Ideal Quail gun with 26" barrels, Chrome Lined Barrels, nice Spanish modern engraving and real nice checkering. SST The gun shoots a tight pattern so I use SpredR loads in her a lot, really puts the birds down well. You can usually pick one up between $1,200 - $1,500 if you can find one.

If you want less expensive 28 that shoots well and is very light to carry, pick up a 555 Savage, Chrome lined, SST 26" barrels comes with 5 Screw in chokes, great little bird gun, medium grade wood and checkering SST. Pick one up for around $700.00 after taxes.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Modern L.C. Smith 28 gauge made by Zabala in Spain.

Turkinator · **Posted:** Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:46 pm

Pine Creek/Dave wrote:

7dawg9,

I have a few real nice 28 gauge double guns I use for Grouse, Quail and Woodcock hunting. I like the L.C. Smith made for Marlin by Zabala in Spain SXS double gun. It comes with 4 screw in Chokes and a purchased a few more. Ideal Quail gun with 26" barrels, Chrome Lined Barrels, nice Spanish modern engraving and real nice checkering. SST The gun shoots a tight pattern so I use SpredR loads in her a lot, really puts the birds down well. You can usually pick one up between $1,200 - $1,500 if you can find one.

If you want less expensive 28 that shoots well and is very light to carry, pick up a 555 Savage, Chrome lined, SST 26" barrels comes with 5 Screw in chokes, great little bird gun, medium grade wood and checkering SST. Pick one up for around $700.00 after taxes.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man. Beautiful Gordon!!!!!

Modern L.C. Smith 28 gauge made by Zabala in Spain.

Pine Creek/Dave · **Posted:** Sun Mar 01, 2020 2:57 pm

Tukinator,

Thank you sir, Pine Creek Penny was an incredible Gordon Grouse Dog, she passed away last year at 18 years old. One of my very best Grouse dogs, she is missed here at pine Creek very very much. It was so lonely without Penny our Gordon and Daisy our Ryman Setter Grouse dog, that we just purchased a new Gordon pup and a new Ryman Setter pup, to put life back in our home.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Pine Creek Shadows our new Gordon Grouse Dog pup with our 8 year old male Ryman Setter Pine Creek Heston.

Pine Creek Maggie Mae our new Ryman Setter pup

Don Fischer · **Joined:** Sat Nov 16, 2013 6:17 pm **Posts:** 539

I have an AyA Matador that came with 28" barrels and M/F choke. Not much I can do with the barrel length but I had the chokes opened to Imp cyl/ skeet #2. Not really sure why as I haven't a clue if I actually shoot it better. A fact of life I learned years ago is we learn to use what we have, even if it's wrong!

Pine Creek/Dave · **Posted:** Sun May 17, 2020 8:38 pm

Don Fischer,

I got to agree with you, we learn to use guns no matter what they are choked. However after being taught with my Grandparents Parker 28 gauge DHE and then my father giving me a model 24 DL Savage to continue my Grouse hunting education, I quickly learned the difference of a full choke one shot gun, compared to the beautiful little 28 gauge Parker with IC & Mod chokes. I learned to be a serious Grouse gunner with that one shot, Savage 20 gauge gun however. Depending on what gun you are using there is a great deal of difference when the gun is choked properly for bird hunting, especially Grouse & Woodcock hunting.

Dave B - L.C. Smith Man

1100 Remington Man · **Posted:** Thu May 21, 2020 4:17 pm

I get by with Imp. when Quail hunting

Pine Creek/Dave · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:24 am

1100 Rem Man,

I can't remember shooting Quail with our 1100, mostly Pheasant in Lancaster County, Pa. I do remember shooting Quail on Ft Hood in Texas with our Rem Model 58, beautiful little 16 gauge light gun, that could down 3 Quail on a Covey Rise, when the gunner did his job correctly.

My favorite Quail gun was my Grandfathers 20 gauge L.C. Smith 00 double gun, what a sweet gun. I just acquired another L.C. Smith 20 gauge 00 gun with 28" Barrels from Ken Graft at the Shooting Stars gun shop in Ohio, can't wait for bird season to use it. Should be a great Mearns Quail and Grouse gun!

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Remington Modle 58 - 16 gauge choked IC for Quail & Grouse hunting.

even has the light Quail Scene engraving on her

28 Ga Barrel Length / Choke

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