16ga ???

[Buckeye63]

Im 61 years old .When I was 12 yrs old my Dad upped my .410 single shotgun (Winchester 37A) to a H&R 16ga single shot shotgun with a full choke .. I used that gun for rabbit , ducks & squirrel… up till I was 19 . I left it at home when I went to school… I always liked the 16ga .. more powerful than a 20 .. less recoil than 12ga
I did own a 12 ga just like it .. but the 16ga was my go to…
I just don’t see why it fell out of favor… ?

 

[somethingbenign]

The story I was always told was that the 16ga waned in popularity because the clay games didn't have a division for it. 12, 20, 28, and 410 are our mainstays simply because that was what the competitive circuit used. I'm sure I'm missing a boatload of details so hopefully someone else can fill those in.

 

[Buckeye63]

That makes sense
I really didn’t think of competitive shooting…
Just use in the field… birds on the fly , rabbits on the run … squirrels in the trees …
And hopefully something in the pot and freezer . Hunting and fishing helped put food on the table …really didn’t think of it as a sport.

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

I accidentally standardized on the 16ga. Years ago I traded a Mosin 91/30 for a 16ga double which of course I hacked into a coach gun for no good reason. I eventually traded that but still had the ammo and so naturally I ended up buying a Steven's 620A in 16ga to use it up. I still have the Steven's but it's in need of a new sear, so I'm working on turning some gas pipe I have laying around into a barrel for a project that will be yet another 16ga ammo rapid disassembly device. Details when it's done!

All that to say, I like the 16 enough to have never saw fit to purchase a 12ga to fill my shotgun needs. It's enough for any shotgunning purpose I can think of, so I don't see myself getting out of it anytime soon.

 

[Jim Watson]

Smokeless powder made it feasible to shoot 16 ga shot loads in 20 ga guns.
The habit of some manufacturers building 16 ga guns on the same scale as 12 ga was another strike against the 16.

On the other hand, a 16 will break clay targets just fine, there are a lot of light 12 ga loads being shot at Trap and SC, while some Skeet shooters use their 20 ga tubes in the 12 ga event.
There was a recent thread about a Winchester Model 21 Skeet Grade 16 ga.

A guy here is a 16 ga fan, always on the lookout for Deals on "obsolete guns" and a constant scrounging program for shells.

 

[mavracer]

There's just so much overlap with shotguns and shotgun sports, IMHO it comes down to it isn't more popular because it's not more popular.
My grandpa Jack had a couple 16s that I've inherited they down game and break clays just fine.

 

[Riomouse911]

I cut my repeating shotgun teeth on a well used Win Model 12 16 ga shotgun. That gun accounted for doves, quail, squirrel, turkeys, and it once blew the antlers clean off of a hill country whitetail buck when my Grandfather’s neighbor borrowed it to hunt her first deer. It had everything my Grandfather needed for a rancher’s shotgun, and I admired the 16 as s great all around gun as well.

I still have that old shotgun, and it’s still as fun for me to shoot today as it was so many years ago. I have added a LeFever 16 ga SxS, that was made into a coach gun due to pitted muzzles, and a Browning BPS 16 ga pump as well.

Stay safe.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I was a doubter until I got one-

16 really IS sweet!

 

[Ed]

I’m a 16g fan. My dad had a 16 as his only shotgun when I was growing up. First shotgun I ever shot. He moved on to a 12 later. When he died I inherited the 16g. I bought more. I love a 16 on a 20 frame. It’s a great gauge.

 

[MacAR]

I've got four of them, so I guess I'm fond of the 16 gauge. Cut my shooting teeth on my grandads old 37 Winchester, took a lot of game with it as a boy. I've got it now, along with a Model 12, Model 24, and as of tomorrow when I pick it up, a Husqvarna 20 hammer gun. Got several other shotguns, 12s and 20s, but when I get sure enough serious about small game hunting, I take a 16 out of the cabinet. There ain't a tree high enough for a squirrel to get away from those old full choke Winchesters, and doves fear that old Model 24.

Now I admit, the shells are sorta hard to find these days. And the guns themselves are getting pricey too. But I've got a good stock of ammo, enough to last a good long time as long as I don't waste it. Don't get me wrong, the ammo is there, just takes some finding. And you'll get a deal on a gun occasionally because someone don't know what he's got. For the life of me, I still can't figure out why they're not any more popular than they are.

Mac

 

[tactikel]

16 ga was an excellent all around choice until the 20 ga 3” magnum emerged. The steel shot mandate killed it. My hunting buddy had a 16 ga 870 hand me down and used it on everything from squirrels to deer. My 870 special field 20 ga did everything the 16 ga did but weighed much less.

 

[jmr40]

Absolutely nothing wrong with a 16, but modern loadings in 20 ga will do 90% of what a 12 will do and 100% of what a 16 will do. Most 16's, and many older 20's were built on the same size receiver as 12's so you don't get a gun that is lighter and more lively with a 16. Most modern 20's are built with smaller, lighter receivers.

If you want a shotgun to waterfowl hunt with, or for shooting slugs and buckshot for big game or defense a 12 still makes the most sense. But for most everything else a 20 does what a 12 does. The 16 is sort of in the middle with no advantage over the 12 or 20. I will add, it has no real disadvantage over most 20 ga loads if someone just likes the gauge and wants to use it.

 

[bearcreek]

Absolutely nothing wrong with a 16, but modern loadings in 20 ga will do 90% of what a 12 will do and 100% of what a 16 will do.

I've heard and read this sort of thing a number of times and I'm curious about it. If the capabilities of the 20 gauge have been improved that much, why hasn't the capabilities of the 16 and 12 gauge gone up that much more as well?

 

[kennedy]

I own and shoot only 16ga, and reload for it, my Browning Citori is my go to trap gun

 

[WestKentucky]

I really like 16ga. I like 20 as well, and truthfully they are pretty close in most aspects. Seems in the late 70s and 80s things started swinging towards everything had to be magnum and more power to be enjoyable. We know that’s a load of bull, but we got 3” 12 and 20, then eventually 3-1/2” 12ga, but meanwhile the 16s got left behind.

Why did the 16 get left behind? Because the 16 was always the redheaded stepchild. It was close enough to 20ga that some light 16s were built on modified 20ga actions. It was also big enough to not fit most 20ga actions at all so they got built on 12ga actions making them overly large, heavy, and clunky for the 16ga. Not many 16ga actions were built simply because the others were so close in size. Soooo… can’t pump up the power on a light 16 built on a 20ga action because it’s too much power. On the 12ga actions if your gonna hot rod it you just go with the bigger hole which is capable of a heavier payload and more power as it is. So the 16 got lost in the shuffle of magnum-ifying the shotguns.

All for what though? What is a 2-3/4 12ga 16 or 20 ga load not sufficient for? It’ll kill ducks, geese, turkeys… and even if it’s not enough there’s always been 10ga hanging around (also getting the hotrod treatment). But then something changed, right in the midst of the power craze. Lead shot got banned for water foul hunting. Now the steel shot loads that are available truly are underpowered for the task of taking down geese. This reinforces the power craze and pushes people up a few sizes in shot to get momentum to carry energy for longer shots. That significantly cuts down the pellet count and leaves holes in the pattern (that explains all of those misses at least) so now we have people hotrodding an already hotrodded shotgun, with gun development and ammo development for 12 and 20 ga being chores by themselves. With all of the overlap people were jumping on those bandwagons before the 16 caught up, so it just never did.

 

[DDDWho]

My Uncle gave me this 16 ga. model 12 Winchester while he was still living almost 50 years ago. It’s made on a 20 ga. frame making it 20 ga. light but able to put more shot in the air. I carried it upland game hunting for years until I was unable to walk from dawn till dusk. Possibly my most cherished possession.

 

[WestKentucky]

My Uncle gave me this 16 ga. model 12 Winchester while he was still living almost 50 years ago. It’s made on a 20 ga. frame making it 20 ga. light but able to put more shot in the air. I carried it upland game hunting for years until I was unable to walk from dawn till dusk. Possibly my most cherished possession.

That’s one of the ones I will buy if I ever stumble across it. Those old winchesters are unbelievable in the way they fit me.

 

[kerreckt]

Love my Winchester Model 12 16ga. My father gave it to me. I have hunted with it since a teen. The bluing is almost all gone. Its action is the smoothest. My dad bought it from a fellow pilot who got orders to Korea. It was made in 1929. It has seen a lot of use and love. I would never sell it. I always thought that 16ga was about the perfect size. I guess I am in the minority Best wishes!

 

[unspellable]

Magnumitis is an American thing. In the UK they often use less than an ounce in a 12 gauge.

P.S. We now have the 3inch 28 gauge.

 

[cfullgraf]

I learned to shoot shotguns with my Dad's 28 ga side by side gun. I did well with it. Early on, the range officer allowed me to set up behind the trap house on the trap field to reduce the range needed for each ****,.

At the time, early 1960s, 28 gauge was not a popular hunting round but because of skeet, it was still a competition round for that sport.

I managed to kill my first pheasant with the 28 gauge and the #9 shot. A head shot.

Dad's father had a pair of 12 ga and 16 ga Charles Daly side by side shotguns. Dad mostly shot the 12 ga guns.

Today's shotguns cover a variety of cartridges above and below the standard cartridge listings. Not all bad, it was it is.

I hope 16 ga components and ammunition will remain available.It is a reasonable ga for hunting.

 

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

My first shotgun was a 16-gauge, a single-barrel Stevens. I had a beautiful TW Stake double for a long time; that was a wonderful gun but it was enough lighter than a 12-guage that it kicked like one.

 

[Buckeye63]

We used to refer to these as Sweet 16’s

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I have a love for the 16-gauge as well.
It was my first gun as well, a Winchester Model 37 Steelbilt.
I later added a Remington model 12.

I need to get a MEC Jr. in 16-gauge and start shooting them more.

 

[Yamifrk]

I have an old 870 wingmaster 16 gauge. 28” barrel with an old Lyman adjustable choke. Great gun. I don’t see too many of them around, so either everyone has them buried in the safe or they just didn’t make that many.

 

[OS/N]

Sweet 16. When I came up many of the old tymers swore by their Fox SxS sweet 16s. When deer came back in the 70s most switched to 3" 12ga and the 16 sort of went away.

Suppose not mixing well with 12ga shells was the only down side - they were always harder to tell apart than the 20 and 410.