"But, I thought 28 was bigger than 12"

Powerline has it right on V.P. Cheney's hunting accident. http://powerlineblog.com/archives/013138.php

Without too much rehashing, peppering someone in the field with a bird load is not unheard of. Thankfully, it was with a .28 gauge at 30 yards instead of a .12 gauge. It's payload and pattern is smaller for much smaller game. The original method of measuring a barrel's gauge was to fashion lead balls with diameters equal to that of the shotgun barrel's bore size. The total number lead balls of a particular size equal to a pound in weight gives the "gauge."

Of course, the media doesn't flesh that out. Which brings me to my point. It's laughable to see the press (which is anti-gun by nature) try to wrap their little minds around the details of this event. They have no clue and they have no desire to get it right, either. If they did, it would lessen the impact of the story.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021301303_pf.html