The trend in introducing shotshells is for manufacturers to do so over a longer period of time in any calendar year. Many of the introductions are minor, such as adding another shot size to an existing load. Some have never proven advantageous in my testing, such as mixing two or more shot sizes together or sprinkling a minor amount of a higher-density shot type on top of a lower-density shot. However, some are important, such as filling an existing load vacuum that shotgunners really want filled. Of the load announcements for 2024 sent to me by various manufacturers, the following are those that I feel will have the most value to Shooting Sportsman readers.
3" 28 Gauge
I am pleased to see more expansion in 3" 28-gauge offerings now that SAAMI has officially recognized and adopted velocity and pressure standards for this new loading. In this respect the ammo company that has taken the biggest leap in 3" 28-gauge introductions is Winchester. New for ’24 are no less than three different Winchester 3" 28-gauge loads. One is a ¾-oz load of No. 4 steel at 1,350 fps. A second is a 1-oz No. 5 bismuth load at 1,300 fps. Lastly, Winchester has introduced a 1⅛-oz No. 5 lead load in its Super Pheasant line. What is good about these loads is that the first two make use of the additional capacity in a 3" versus 2¾" 28-gauge hull to accommodate nontoxic shot in the often bulky wads that go along with it. The new No. 5 lead offering also will appeal to upland hunters, with whom the 28 gauge generally enjoys the largest following. I like the fact that the Winchester loads have sensible velocities, which will aid their patterning performance. For more information, visit winchester.com.
This year Federal Ammunition has introduced a 3" 28-gauge 1-oz load of No. 6 Flitestopper lead. Flitestopper is Federal’s name for its Saturn-shape, belted pellets that come in steel- or lead-shot versions. The new load’s pellets are contained within the Flitecontrol Flex wad, which is a softened version of the original, stiffer Flitecontrol wad, to eliminate problems with the original wad jamming in the ports of ported barrels. At press time, no velocity was listed for the new 3" 28-gauge load. For more information, visit federalpremium.com.
Be advised again that any 3" 28-gauge offering manufactured in the US can now develop up to 14,000 psi of pressure as approved by SAAMI. Be certain that the 28-gauge gun(s) in which you intend to shoot such factory loads can handle this higher pressure limit, which is significantly more than the longstanding 12,500-psi max-pressure limit allowed for 2¾" 28-gauge ammunition. Also be sure that if you elect to have the chamber(s) of any 2¾" 28-gauge gun lengthened to 3" that there is enough metal to accommodate losing the ¼" chamber-reaming metal plus the additional metal needed to be removed for the new forcing cone(s). Lastly, be wary of chamber lengthening in an existing 6-to-6½-pound double to accommodate 3" 28-gauge factory loads from the standpoint of greatly increased recoil from these heavier, faster loadings.
16 Gauge
Often overlooked in the US regarding new-ammunition development is the 16 gauge. The reason, of course, is that the 16 has not been popular for shooting in this country for several decades. This is a shame, in my opinion, because the history of the 16 gauge was to develop an almost-12-gauge-equivalent gun but one that was significantly lighter, to aid upland hunters who generally carry their guns long distances.
Happily, for 2024 HEVI-Shot has introduced two new 2¾" 16-gauge bismuth loads. Both are 1⅛-oz loads at 1,325 fps, and they come in shot sizes No. 5 and No. 3. The 5s would logically be used for smaller upland species like grouse and chukar, while the 3s would be appropriate for pheasants or large ducks. Since these are unbuffered loads, in order to avoid wounding losses shotgunners should be careful to use them within the lethal range of unbuffered bismuth, which is about 35 yards. This is because of bismuth shot’s vulnerability to fragmentation and deformation more than any other pellet type. For more information, visit hevishot.com.
3" .410 Bore
There is a small-but-avid contingency of .410-bore aficionados who shoot the .410 for bird hunting. The ammunition choice is almost exclusively the 3" .410. Responsible hunters religiously confine their shooting distances to well within the .410’s lethal range of less than 30 yards. Most of them shoot 3" .410 loads almost exclusively, and there has been increasing usage of nontoxic 3" .410 loads, especially among reloaders.
HEVI-Shot has jumped into the current factory-load vacuum for nontoxic 3" .410 shells by expanding two line extensions of its HEVI-XII nontoxic shot. The new 3" .410 loads will be No. 5 and No. 7 HEVI-XII at 1,250 fps. HEVI-XII is the new name for the original 12-density tungsten-composite shot introduced by HEVI-Shot several years ago and called simply HEVI-Shot.
One thing that is listed for the new HEVI-XII 3" .410 load is the price per box of 25: $105 MSRP. But, hey, if you’re into rare gauges and loads for bird hunting, price point may not be the issue that it is for hunters shooting the more popular gauges.
Winchester E-Tech
Last but not least—and of important note—is Winchester’s E-Tech environmentally friendly shotshell line, which was started last year. For 2024 the company is offering two E-Tech loads in 2¾" 12 gauge. One is a 1⅛-oz load of No. 7½ lead at 1,200 fps, and the other is a 1-oz load of No. 6 steel at 1,325 fps.
At this point in E-Tech’s design evolution, the principal environmentally friendly thing about the loads is that both shot types are assembled in European-based BioAmmo’s one-piece, four-petal wad in order to eliminate plastic-wad pollution. Over time, these plant-based wads will degrade into natural elements when they are left lying on the groundand are exposed to rain or snow. They degrade much faster when they fall into liquid water bodies.
I have tested these wads, and their degradation to almost nothing is greatly enhanced by how much water the spent wads are exposed to, especially if the water is moving. Hunters trying to reduce wad litter hope that BioAmmo’s wads will become available for reloading.
At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon, I have to say I think that the new 3″ 28g loads are a self-defeating answer to a problem invented by gun and ammunition manufacturers. If one is to be wary of shooting these loads in a 6 to 6-1/2 lb gun, why use a 28ga? I can comfortably shoot 1oz or 1-1/8oz loads in my 6lb-10oz 30″bbl 12ga o/u when hunting. The 12ga could well pattern better with these loads (shorter shot string, etc) than equal weight 28ga loads. I don’t think it is necessarily a benefit to shoot expensive loads in an overweight 28, when a lightweight 12 will do the job as well as, if not better.
30 years ago, my wife bought a 20ga beretta o/u for pheasant hunting, and we bought 3″ 1-1/4oz loads for it, as almost everybody did at the time. She complained about recoil, so I hunted with the gun a few times myself. The recoil was vicious- I was shocked! Out went that gun, bought a lightweight Sweet 16 and had it fitted for her. It was a 1/2lb heavier than the Beretta. She could hunt with that gun all day long with 1-1/8oz loads, and never had a complaint about recoil and killed as many birds as anyone else in the hunting parties.
It just goes to show that trying to turn the 28 into something it’s not isn’t really a good proposition. A light 28 with 3/4 or at most 7/8oz will do everything you want- if not, get a 20, 16, or 12 in a weight appropriate for the loads you wish to shoot!