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Member Joined: 01 Dec 2006 Posts: 524

Well, today I was down at one of my favourite local dealerships and walked out with a used 28GA Browning Ultra XS with 30" bbls. I got a great deal on it that i just couldnt refuse. I was chomping at the bit to get to the range to shoot some 5-stand with it - my gosh what a peach!!! I bought some STS target loads #9's and shot my best round of 5-stand this year. When I walked up to the club everyone was oooing and aweing over my new toy and saying stuff like -"well, you gotta aim true with those durn things".
Well apparently its easier to aim them true because I shot it better than either of my 12GA's. I am heaad over friggin heels in love with this 28 - God help me. Its my first 28GA and though its a sporting model (kind of) it doesnt have vented mid rib or ports thank God - its will be a joy to carry in the field as it weighs 6.7 LBS. Heavy for a 28GA but whats funny is it feels much lighter than that. It carried real well from the parking lot to the clubhouse. I think I've found heaven on earth - can't wait until dove season. Gonna go look for some sky rats next weekend with some nickel plate.

Jig,

Really now? Don't you know that for the purposes of this forum, that gun shall in the future be referred to as a 16+12. Yeah, I checked my math and thats it.

U should'a kept the Sterly..... Very Happy

Did you get the pics? I even posed it with Elsie at the cabin renovation site for ya, didn't you mist up at all? or maybe they're just a couple more of them "polished turds" to you now Laughing

Glad you scored on somethin' that made you so happy, amigo! You've been "on the hunt" for awhile now, and apparently, it was worth the searchin and waitin....let me know how you fare on those sky rats.... the 16 plus 12 is a fun little gun....

Duncan

Jig, I have the same gun in 28" and its my "Lil Prom Queen". It and it's little sister, the .410, are my fun guns. I use them for low gun skeet all the time. Both barrel sets are typically as true as a stretched string. Miroku really has this good barrel set thing solidly locked down now, especially on their tiny bore guns. It does not hurt that the wood on these XS small bores is usually drop dead gorgeous either. And that grain verigation is not painted on either. It's the real McCoy. Happy shooting. Very Happy

PS: I'd love to shoot mine at the local 5 stand range I go to about twice a month now. However, the range is set up and run by some serious heavy hitters from the N.E. area. The shortest target we see is past 25 yards and going like a raped ape. It's just not 28 ga stuff. Its a 12 bore course. I'm a guest there and would not think of broaching the subject, so my 325 gets the nod.--but someday, if its a slow day, I might ask to stand in front of the cages by maybe 5 yards and see what the Prom Queen can do.

Member Joined: 01 Dec 2006 Posts: 524

Britgun- I did mist up. But not so much from sadness or jealousy but from happiness that I was able to sell that lil gem to someone that not only appreciated her, but will take good care of her and use her well. She's beautifull. I'm giving up on sxs's now I think this time for good. I love what they represent but I love stack bbls more - and they work better for me. And, as a bonus are cheaper.

16GG - Yeah, every man at my club shoots 5-stand with the 12GA. And I can't say I wasnt a bit intimidated when I entered cage #1 and asked for level #6. But damn if that lil 28GA worked better for me than the 12GA!!!??
So I will be back ther today with my 12's and the 28 to see if it was all just new gun syndrome. Youre right about the wood on these ultra XS's. And thanks to your bbl checking instruction you were so kind to PM with I was able to check them out on the spot. They are absolutely perfect. You know, I shot 4 rounds of 5-stand with it all with STS #9's and oddly, had one blooper in the lower bbl. The shell fired, the wad came out, but there was a bunch of shot left in the forcing cone area. SO I had to walk out and swab the bores in the middle of round 3. Whether it was the ammo or the gun, i don't know. Is there such a thing as a blooper caused by incomplete striking of the primer??? Or in that case did it have to be the ammo. Never had that happen with STS's before. It did only happen once, which is why I'm leaning toward the ammo as the cause. The gun is fast - I missed zero rabbbits and very few true pairs. I was absolutely deadly on the duck tower clays that come from behind as well as the hard crossers. Funny, the most misses were on singles from 16yard trap straight away. But I think it was because I felt the need to get on it so fast - before it got away. Don't really think that was neccessary though and will try to confirm today. The other bird I had trouble with was the incoming crosser. Everyone should own one of these guns - what a pleasure.

Range does matter with little bore guns. I have been shooting at this course now for over a year. Its set up long, fast, and tough because the guy running it understands that to excel in competition, a shooter must practice hard, and compete easy. I shoot all SC and 5S rounds low gun. I average about 16 per 25 there.

Last fall, I went southeast to an older club with a small 5 stand course I'd not shot at for several years. Its much more typical of local club 5 stand set ups. the Targets were both slower, and closer. I watched one round to get the target sequnces down, stepped up and dropped but one target. I lifted my head to see it better and shot high and behind (no shock there). I'd have to say range and speed does matter, and my friend's practice philosophy is dead on target.

Member Joined: 01 Dec 2006 Posts: 524

At my club each cage has a schedule on it as follows:
Example: Cage #1 a card is written and posted on the side of the cage reading:

Single #10
Report #1 and #6
True Pair #2 and #8

Also, you select level of difficulty from level 1 through level 10.
I typically shoot level 6 and its very hard. Though I havent shot 5-stand anywhere else in the world, many who have, say our course is world class and definitely the best in the State of Washinton. Here's a link

http://www.wcwinc.org/range/five01.htm

Thanks for the pics. Perhaps some day, I might get a chance to shoot a round or three there. By the way, and please don't take this the wrong way, but the guys there all appear to be about like the guys at our local shotgujnning clubs including yours truely. They are all in the latter half of middle age, are graying or "pinking" up Laughing

( getting taller than their hair) and most wear blue jeans of the looser cut to provide ample room for that ever growing caboose. I guess shooters are shooters no matter what end of the country we come from.

PS:The Lakota peoples have a term for us older gents in this stage of life. They refer to us as "Big Bellies". If the shoe fits... Wink

Its a more genteel term than Fat A.... . Who can say the Lakota were not civilized.

Joined: 15 Oct 2004 Posts: 787 Location: Indiana

jig: I know what you are saying about the 28 ga. Two weeks ago, at Indiana Gun Club outside Indianapolis, I bought a Beretta Silver Pigeon II in Sporting configuration---30" barrels---really nice wood...took it out last weekend to the local club and shot a 50 straight with it at skeet. The longer barrels smooth out my swing, and it's certainly a trim piece. I load light 3/4 oz. loads using Green Dot and the recoil is negligible. It's a lot of fun to shoot. So far, I've loaded Rio, Rem STS, and AA hulls with no problem. This gun will be fun to hunt grouse, quail and doves with !