28 ga. slugs
 

I would like to have some 28 ga. slug ammo. I don't need enough to justify having a mold made and casting/loading. Unless I have to.

I would also be interested in 28 ga. Buckshot.

Does anyone know of a source?

I know this is a strange request.

Buck is Buck. Pick your favorite number and weigh the payload.
I don't even have a clue as to what bore diameter a 28 gauge is? Much less how loose or tight their chokes are for trying to run slugs?

Peters used to load 28ga slugs many years ago but they're collectors items now.
Slug loads can be found in .410, 20, 16, 12, and I think, 10gauge. None of the factories currently load a 28ga slug. There was talk of a round ball load but I hevn't seen it.
I have a 28ga and would like to have a box of slug loads too.

Bore size: 28ga is .550 nominal

I've heard of guys using some .52 caliber minie balls for slugs in a 28 gauge...but you would have to do some good measurements to be sure.

I have loaded some round ball in 20 gauge, and have gotten a round ball mould to make some for 28, but I can't remember what the diameter is right off...maybe .515"?

I just got in my C-H dies for 28 gauge brass hulls. :)
I've had the .410 dies for while, but have yet to use them. :(

I remember reading where some some gentlemen with lots of time on their hands making some rifled barrels for 28 gauge and turning them into some real slug guns. However, this is useless in most southern localities, because deer shotguns have to be 20 gauge or larger.

It would be fun to play with though.

As for buckshot, I have two boxes of paper hull 28 gauge buckshot loaded by Eley. It is marked single ought, but I think that is in English sizing, not American, so it has to be smaller than ours. I keep meaning to take one of them apart and measure it to see what size it really is...likely equivalent to #3 Buck on the American measurements I'd guess.

No body manufactures 28 ga slugs any more. You will have to reload them. The following web site has all of the components. Hope this helps.

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/bpi...out/slugs1.htm


snakeman

Bum link?
At least it was as of 01:12 PDT 7-30-09'.
I look forward to what it says, Thanks Snake!

Sorry about the link guys. Try this one,

BALLISTIC PRODUCTS - SHOTGUNNER SUPPLIES

That should take you to the home page. They have evrything you need to reload 28 ga slugs.


snakeman

What a great place!
Thanks again Snake!

I have every American Rifleman magazine printed since 1928, and have nearly completed a directory to their information within. Plus, a number of books, new and old.

Numerous references state that the nominal bore diameter of the 28-gauge is .550 inch.
This makes sense, because I knew a guy in the early 1980s who used .54-caliber muzzleloader bullets in his 28-gauge for slugs. I think he used the classic Thompson Center Maxi-Hunter lead bullet.
I would think one could use .53-caliber lead balls inside a shot cup as well. Might be a fun experiment. The smaller ball is needed, to fit inside the shot cup, which is probably .54 caliber or so.
Dixie Gun Works sells hand-cast pure lead balls at a reasonable price. Speer or Hornady make .53-caliber swaged balls.

I couldn't find any references to loading buckshot or slugs for the 28-gauge, even in my older Lyman reloading books and back issues of Handloader and Rifle magazines.
I'm still in the process of adding some references to my directory, so there may be information I have not yet found.

In the August 1931 issue of the American Rifleman, there is, "The 28-Bore Shotgun" by Charles Askin, on page 9.
Interestingly he writes, "There should have been plenty of demand for the 28-bore this last twenty years, but oddly enough there wasn't, they tell me."
He laments that the niche of a small-bore, lightweight shotgun has been taken by the .410, adding that he could never shoot it "worth a whoop" because it is too short-barreled, light and has untypical stock dimensions.
Askins does not mention slug or buckshot loads.

I don't know of anyone making slug or buckshot loads for the 28 gauge. I think you'd have to make it yourself, or contact a company that specializes in odd, obsolete or custom ammo.

Two good specialty companies that might have 28 gauge slug or buckshot loads are Gad Custom Cartridges and Quality Cartridge. An internet search will find them.

Good luck. Let us know what you find out.

If you fnd that 28 gauge in ball or buck is difficult to find, the muzzleloading folks may be able to help out. A .54 caliber round ball, either .520 or .530 (depending on the inner diameter of your barrel) will work very nicely as a slug in a .28 gauge. For buckskot, it is recommended you go to #4 buck, They are .24 caliber and three of them will lay nicely so you can stack more buck shot on top. If you use too big of a buck shot, you can only load a few and have lots of open space between the shot balls.

As a particurlarly effective buck shot load, you can put in split shot like when you crimp on your fishing line. When they hit something, they will butterfly out making them bigger, or break apart giving you multi-projectiles from the same shot load. If you don't find any factory loadings for buck or slug, you may have to open the crimp on some factory shells, save the shot and put in its's place the small buck shot or single ball or slug.
Ohio Rusty ><>

And if your scarfing the Buck out of a 12 gauge load that uses a "buffering" material you can use it to fill the voids between the large pellets in the 28.

28 gauge buckshot reloading
 

I looked in my Lyman Shotgun Reloading Manual for 20 gauge and 410 gauge buckshot. They used slowburning powders for the gauge/caliber and slightly exceeded the load levels used for conventional birdshot by a grain or two. The only major change they made was using a Remington plastic wad and removing the petals to make more room. Hand stacking the pellets is the only effective way to complete the load. #4 buckshot seems to be about the right size but larger will work, at a reduced pellet count. The 20 gauge uses #4 buckshot, about 20 pellets. The 410 used three 000 pellets! With these restrictions in mind, I'd try a weighted 3/4 oz of a particular size shot as my upper limit, use a slow powder from a list of reloads at the Alliant or Hodgdon websites. A Winchester WAA28 clone wad should do the trick, if you don't want to pay for the expensive Remington wads, just remove the petals from the wad before reloading and accept the leading as a price of doing business.

28 g. is nominally .54 caliber. You can use .54 bullets and round balls designed for muzzleloaders for your projectiles.

Good luck!