New Product Highlight: 28-Gauge Weatherby Orion SxS

Why more manufacturers don’t build side-by-side shotguns is beyond me. Lining up two barrels next to each other was good enough for African safari hunters and American stagecoach drivers, so why would modern shooters exclusively prefer the over-under layout?

Weatherby is apparently on a mission to put things right. The latest addition to the brand’s Orion series, a 28-gauge, suggests that the demand is strong enough to support a healthy range of chamber options.

Weatherby Orion Specs & Features

Specs

• Gauge: 12 ga., 20 ga., 28 ga., .410 bore
• Chamber: 3”
• Action: SxS
• Capacity: 2
• Stock: Grade A walnut
• Finish: Matte blue
• Barrel Length: 28”
• Overall Length: 46”
• MSRP: $1,099

Features

• Mechanical double trigger
• Ambidextrous tang safety
• Skeet, improved cylinder, modified, improved modified, and full choke tubes included

This new 28-gauge offering joins a lineup that includes 12-gauge, 20-gauge, and .410-bore shotguns. It provides a pleasant, light-recoiling option for upland bird hunting and skeet shooting.

It retains the graceful walnut stock and flat-bottomed forend found on other Orion shotguns. Likewise, you’ll get five choke tubes covering everything from skeet to full.

The steel has a matte blue finish, and the walnut stock is oiled rather than coated in heavy lacquer. That’s just as well; I want to know that I’m holding real timber and not laminate when I’m upland hunting.

What I really want to see on a side-by-side shotgun is a double trigger, and Weatherby delivers. It’s an old-school mechanical design that’s simple, reliable, and loads of fun to shoot.

The three-inch chambers have extractors to pop spent shells free but no ejectors. That means you’ll have to pull them out manually, but, as Weatherby points out, it reduces the risk of littering. I’d add that it also eliminates moving parts and potential failure points.

Pump-action and semi-automatic shotguns are undeniably practical. There’s a reason recreational shooters, hunters, law enforcement agencies, and military units around the world swear by them. Still, there’s something about a double-barrel shotgun that will never stop being cool.

Like many other side-by-side and over-under shotguns, the Weatherby Orion is something you’d treat like a collector item, historical artifact, or musical instrument. There’s a sense of occasion about it that’s timeless.

And it’s a badass way to lay down the law.

Weatherby lists an MSRP of $1,099 for the 28-gauge Orion SxS.

What do you think of the new Weatherby Orion? Let us know below. Don’t forget to check out our guide to the Best Double-Barrel Shotguns!