16 Gauge - Any love for this shotgun from yesteryear?

[ninepointer]

We are here, Most 28ga dudes love the 16ga also.
Cheers

It might have been here or another forum where someone once made a comment to the effect of, "I don't care if I find someone else's 12 ga. or 20 ga. hull in my favourite upland covers. But If I find a 16 or 28 ga., I get worried!"

 

[1963beretta]

Just got to bass pro and yes, prices have gone up. Here are prices of what they have in stock. Wish I stocked up on more then just 10 boxes back in June.
Federal
Game loads $14.49
Upland load $26.99

Winchester
Super X $22.49

Remington
Express Long Range $22.49
Game loads $11.99

 

[NVShooter]

Just got to bass pro and yes, prices have gone up. Here are prices of what they have in stock. Wish I stocked up on more then just 10 boxes back in June.
Federal
Game loads $14.49
Upland load $26.99

Winchester
Super X $22.49

Remington
Express Long Range $22.49
Game loads $11.99

Good of you to post. It was the Federal Game Loads I got from CT...but I noticed they did not have any in stock when I was there over this past weekend. I always look, just in case.

 

[bjmurata]

Without a doubt the all time favourite gauge around this household.Our current 16 ga. is an Ithaca Model 37 Featherlight, mid 70's vintage, I bought for my wife a couple years ago. I don't think it ever had more than a handful of shells through it. It is a bit of a handful for her with heavy field loads so I handload nice light 1 oz. shells for her to blast away with and she just loves this gun.I do too.

 

[Claybuster]

I don't get the argument that if a 16 is built on a 12 frame i.e.: Remington 1100/870 , Winchester 1200, various Savage pumps and Mossberg 500 then you might as well carry a 12 gauge. I see guys all the time shooting 28 gauges and .410's built on 20 gauge frames and make no mention of might as well carry a 20.

This was one of the reasons I gave up the 28 gauge. Very few scaled framed guns are available in tolerable price ranges. The 20 gauge is a far more versatile a gauge.

I personally like the 16 on a 12 frame. Recoil is nil and the gun swings well. Makes a great water fowling piece. Load some 1 1/4 oz. magnums in a 37 Featherlight 16 and see how that says howdy. The 16 is a great gauge and deserves to be well used when one is owned.

Shot weight is shot weight. A one ounce 12 gauge and a ounce 16 in the same gun at the same velocity will recoil the same. My preference is the reverse of yours. My custom sxs is a 12 gauge on a 16 gauge frame. Best of both worlds.

 

[catnthehatt]

For me it's not about the gauge as much as it is about the gun itself.
I can be happy with danged near any gauge in uplands as long as it is light enough to carry and not be bothersome, and it fits me.
I would no sooner carry a 28 built on a 20 frame than I would a full sized 12, but a lighter weight 12 is no issue for me.
my 16 is built on a very light frame and I love it, but my Westley Richards hammer double in 12 gauge is almost the same .
In fact all my guns weigh in about the same.
Cat

 

[sashi]

I also found these 16ga single shots on Canada Ammo,s site. I bought my first one for $99, when I got it I had to do a couple of hrs work on it to get it functioning. but after that bit of smith work I was very happy with it. The about a year later I found Can Am had them on sale for $79, Wow I spent a lot more than this on supper, so I had to order the second one, and to my surprise it came out of the box in perfect condition. They make excellent, easy to carry , light weight, solid accurate truck guns for upland game. I still don't know why I just had to have the second one.

 

[BMcK]

I picked a 40's vintage Ithaca model 37 for $150 at a gun show last winter. It is the best upland pump I've ever handled.

 

[jonny45]

I really have a soft spot for the 16 ga. I love the fact that it isn't loaded in a 3 inch. A 16 gauge with an ounce of #4 or #6 can do anything a 12 gauge can do with equal shot sizes and a load of 1-1/4 oz or 1-3/8 oz and the 16 will do it better.
A 16 will do this with less recoil and less shot that means a better shot and more shot for the same dollar.
A 16 ga with 15/16 of an ounce or even an ounce will give you a good square load with a short shot string and that means good patterns. And you know what good patterns do for the ego.

The Ithaca 37s are a pure pleasure to shoot they have a nice short action that feels great in my hands. I have several 16s my two favorites are the browning bps and the Ithaca 37.
The browning is built on a 20 gauge Action it's slender but long so that it can take the three inch hulls.
My 37 deerslayer and 37 featherlight are true short actions that fit the the 16 gauge hull perfectly which isn't a big deal really but it's kind cool in my mind.

 

[Suther]

I really have a soft spot for the 16 ga. I love the fact that it isn't loaded in a 3 inch. A 16 gauge with an ounce of #4 or #6 can do anything a 12 gauge can do with equal shot sizes and a load of 1-1/4 oz or 1-3/8 oz and the 16 will do it better.
A 16 will do this with less recoil and less shot that means a better shot and more shot for the same dollar.
A 16 ga with 15/16 of an ounce or even an ounce will give you a good square load with a short shot string and that means good patterns. And you know what good patterns do for the ego.

There's the 16ga fanaticism this thread has been missing....

I love it when a gun can shoot less lead, but be more effective. And more shot for the same dollar? What does that even mean? The ammo costs more, and weighs less, both of which factors would mean less shot for the same dollar?

 

[jonny45]

There's the 16ga fanaticism this thread has been missing....

I love it when a gun can shoot less lead, but be more effective. And more shot for the same dollar? What does that even mean? The ammo costs more, and weighs less, both of which factors would mean less shot for the same dollar?

Without trying to be rude or confrontational it simply means you get a really good killing pattern from a 16 gauge with an ounce of shot to get an equally good pattern out of a 12 gauge you'll need a little more shot.
So if a bag of shot is 25 lbs and there is 16 ounces in a pound you'll get around 400 rounds at ounce each
So in a 12 gauge if your loads are 1-1/8 or 1-1/4 you get less rounds per bag of shot. There are several other nuances in my statement that you may be missing and I'm not sure that you actually want me to explain it so I'm just going to put it down.
I apoligize if I've offeded you by leaving out a lot of details in my first post about the grand old cartridge.
I'm just an old guy that really likes the 16 gauge.

 

[Suther]

Without trying to be rude or confrontational it simply means you get a really good killing pattern from a 16 gauge with an ounce of shot to get an equally good pattern out of a 12 gauge you'll need a little more shot.
So if a bag of shot is 25 lbs and there is 16 ounces in a pound you'll get around 400 rounds at ounce each
So in a 12 gauge if your loads are 1-1/8 or 1-1/4 you get less rounds per bag of shot. There are several other nuances in my statement that you may be missing and I'm not sure that you actually want me to explain it so I'm just going to put it down.
I apoligize if I've offeded you by leaving out a lot of details in my first post about the grand old cartridge.
I'm just an old guy that really likes the 16 gauge.

Okay, your statement of more shot for the same dollar makes sense. You were specifically referring to reloading, not buying factory ammo.

Im not sure I understand how the 16 gives a better pattern though... Wouldn't you get the same sort of pattern if you just choke your 12 a bit more than your 16? Alternatively, if the 16 is better than the 12 for pattern, wouldn't a 20ga with a 1oz load be an even better pattern than a 16 with 1oz of lead?

Besides, I thought patterns are one of those things that are pretty random. One gun will pattern amazing with a particular load, the next gun might not though...?

 

[Claybuster]

There's the 16ga fanaticism this thread has been missing....

I love it when a gun can shoot less lead, but be more effective. And more shot for the same dollar? What does that even mean? The ammo costs more, and weighs less, both of which factors would mean less shot for the same dollar?

Any thread about the 16 gauge always brings them out. They have convinced themselves there is something magical about the 16 gauge that sets it apart from other gauges when there really isn't.

There's nothing wrong with the 16 gauge other than it's not popular. As a result ammo is harder to find, often more expensive and reloading equipment and components are special order propositions.

I wouldn't buy a gun just because it was a 16 gauge but I wouldn't refuse one for the same reason if the gun was right. But if asked to decide between the 16 and 12 in identical guns then the 12 is a better choice.

 

[NVShooter]

There's the 16ga fanaticism this thread has been missing....

I love it when a gun can shoot less lead, but be more effective. And more shot for the same dollar? What does that even mean? The ammo costs more, and weighs less, both of which factors would mean less shot for the same dollar?

Now you've done it...bubbles are bursting all across the country as I type this...

 

[Big Bad]

It might have been here or another forum where someone once made a comment to the effect of, "I don't care if I find someone else's 12 ga. or 20 ga. hull in my favourite upland covers. But If I find a 16 or 28 ga., I get worried!"

Love that quote. Exactly how I feel.

 

[X-man]

I have several 16's one that is over 100 years old that I shoot black powder cartridges with, and another that is new and weighs under 6 pounds, a fantastic upland gun.
I never have an issue with ammo because I hand load, but whenever I get a chance on a good deal for factory ammo , I grab it anyway.
Cat

Where are you finding your wads and other 16ga reloading components? It's like a desert for 16ga, and to a lesser extent. 410 bore components in my neck of the woods recently.

 

[BigUglyMan]

Interesting...I'd have said "hits more like a 12, carried like a 20"

Yes, but he tends to blow awfully hard about things he doesn't know much about. Talk to him about giraffes...

 

[Claybuster]

Yes, but he tends to blow awfully hard about things he doesn't know much about. Talk to him about giraffes...

LOL. Still butt hurt about that thread? No surprise considering how hard yours was kicked.

 

[southernman]

I when threw all my shotguns, about four years ago, and pattern test them all, several chokes, and multiple loads, lead, hevi shot, ITX and sum steel in the 12ga and 10ga. I used one 10ga, 3.x 12ga, 3.x 16ga, 2x. 20ga and 2x. 28ga.
Think I used up 190 big john targets, sum intresting results, the one 10ga, all the 16ga and one of the 28ga gave the most consistatly even patterns, with my 16ga Fair the best over multiple loads, shots and distance. both 20ga were the worst, with big holes in every pattern, and three inch shells in both 20 and 12ga were often very uneven, I had one lot of 3" 20ga ammo that put 80% of the shot into the top left 1/4 of the pattern target.
all shot 20m and 35M for target distance.
I think that, there is some thing to be said for a square load, and that the old timers, had it worked out pretty well, what weight of shot gave the best, most balanced patterns, the magnum shells, may not be an advantage,
so on that point, a nice 1 oz of #5-6 shot suits me just fine, for most hunting, so 16ga is good for me.

 

[Frank McFarquhar]

My best grouse gun is a 16 ga. Ithica SxS Model Flues , made in 1915 with short barrels & open chokes .

Frank