Now that is a cheap shot. But funny.
While I can understand that some people might be attracted to the 16 who'd have ever thought we had so many Jerry Lewis fans.
The next thing we'll find out is their secret love for Calvados.![]()
16 gauges are sweet indeed. I wouldn't part with a single one of mine. But, one has to be honest and admit that the shells are harder to find. To someone on a tight budget, this can be an issue. I'm not advocating this for everybody, but my approach is to maintain a complete stock of shells of all kinds that are available for the gauges that I shoot.
A very wise man (okay, it was Sharptail) once told me that "you can't buy/collect everything". I took that one step further and decided that there were certain types of guns that I wouldn't buy/collect, and that I would limit myself to certain gauges and calibers. For shotguns, I decided that I would limit myself to 12, 16, & 20 gauge. This approach has enabled me to buy and maintain a better selection of shells than you'll ever find at any given dealer.
For a gauge that patterns as well as 16 gauge does and has the versatility that 16 gauge has (in a well balanced, well built double-trigger SXS especially) something like shell availability will never stand in the way of someone who fully appreciates it - just as Jerry Lee didn't let anyone stand in the way of his true love. Good example, Claybuster.