28 Gauge?

My buddy's daughter kills a lot of ducks with her sxs and steel 8s. Hit em in the head and you'll kill em.

 

Steel #8 shot wouldn't even make a good dove load. Even if you did hit a duck in the head the little light steel #8 pellets may not penetrate into the skull.

Look below at how steel #8 shot compares to lead #8 shot on penetration.
Steel #8 shot at 1800 fps gets 1.50" of gel penetration at 12.4 yards.
Lead #8 shot at 1200 fps gets 1.50" of gel penetration at 21.2 yards.

Even at 1800 fps steel #8 shot would be a very poor choice to shoot at ducks.

 

That'a Boy Bob , give them some FACTS about small shot , NOT designed for animals larger than what the shots designed for !
Why try an invent the wheel with a decision to use "TO Small of shot" when the Billistic Engeneers have already posted the Legality/effectiveness of
shot sizes and their densities ? Crippled birds are a crime to real Sportsmen !

 

Just telling what she uses, and she kills a lot of birds. Personally I wouldn't use anything smaller than 6s

 

I've killed quite a few ducks with a .410 and 28. But if I had to shoot steel out of them I would just stay home. 3/4 oz of #6 lead like shot from a 28 is good on any duck farther than 12 gauge factory steel will kill. With the .410 5/8 to maybe 11/16 oz. and you need to shorten up a bit but it will still do the job. But neither one is good with steel.

 

I started with the small shot as a personal challenge to limit ranges and shot selection, I was up to and had little problem other than the odd bird with too many pellets in it. At this point in time with my eyes deteriorating with retinal damage I have no choice but to go to smaller gauges and shot charges if I want to continue shooting. I will make the 5/8 and 3/8 steel loads for the 28 and .410 work. I don't have much choice. It would be stupid to go with a heavier shot charge and increase recoil. The better option is to bring the birds as close or closer than I do now. This evening a friend and I are going to pattern the .410 using 3" 3/8oz 6's with 5 shots from each of the 5 tubes at 30 yards.

Judge me if you must but you aren't in my boots.

 

I'm looking for some pre-loaded 28 ga. tungsten. Does anyone know where I can find some? I've searched for months with no luck besides the Apex Turkey loads. Looking for a waterfowl load. Feel free to message me. Thanks in advance!

 

I would add weight to my gun if recoil was an issue. An 8 or 9 lb. 48AL 28 gauge would have very little recoil.

 

The 1100 .410 is 8 pounds, still looking for the 1100 28 locally. It's possible I may still add weight but won't know until I've shot them.

 

https://www.mackspw.com/shooting/shotgun-ammunition/28-gauge