What about the 16 gauge?

VLT79 said:
Is there no love for the Remington Model 31? Still my all-time favorite gun chambered for the 16ga!
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Have one in 16ga :) What can one say there is smooth actions and then there is the model 31

One I have to say I have not been able to land so far is a 870 Wingmaster Factory Skeet in 16ga
Have good examples of other 16ga wingmasters /870's including a second gen with rem chokes and an express
Cheers
 
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Whatever you do don't buy a 16 with a modified choke or mod as one barrel in a double. Also whatever you do don't use 1 oz. or 1 1/8 loads and never hunt grouse with it.
 
Have 2 16's. Love them both so much my 12's have languished for years now. Concerning the cost of 16ga ammo, why not reload? Get a MEC Sizemaster and be happy!
 
I've got a Remington 870 and a Stevens 311 in 16ga. For whatever the reason, I like them a bunch more than their 12ga counterparts. 16ga ammo isn't that hard to find if you're looking. If you reload you don't have to worry, although components are a tad more difficult to source than 12ga.
 
I got my tongue stuck in my cheek. There are only 3-16 gauge doubles in my gun safe and I didn't want too many people chasing after other ones I might need (want). Ooops there goes the tongue in the cheek again.

cheers
 
Melvin said:
I got my tongue stuck in my cheek. There are only 3-16 gauge doubles in my gun safe and I didn't want too many people chasing after other ones I might need (want). Ooops there goes the tongue in the cheek again.

cheers
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Ahh, now I understand. I agree. The 16 gauge is the worse handling and shooting gun out there!!!
 
Snagged a 16 gauge auto 5 off here a few weeks back.
I really have no use for the old girl, but o my is she ever pretty sitting beside my light 12.
 
Melvin said:
I got my tongue stuck in my cheek. There are only 3-16 gauge doubles in my gun safe and I didn't want too many people chasing after other ones I might need (want). Ooops there goes the tongue in the cheek again.

cheers
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I hate 16 gauge guns! Way too light, kick like mules, very bad proportions, ugly as sin. What more is there to say. I don't know HOW I mistakenly bought 7 of them. I guess I'm easily fooled.

I need to trade them all in for a few nice 20 gauge guns so I can shoot those 3" shells with the wonderfully long shot column. I love the sound of the little pellets scrubbing against the barrels walls! They get so wacky!
 
The first shot gun I ever owned was a Cooey single in 16 gauge. I could hunt migratory legally with it back then.

That one I bought, but the next one I acquired was inherited from my Dad. It was an 1897 in 16 gauge that my Grandfather bought new in about 1925 or so.

I've purchased many a shotgun since and never shied away from 16 gauge. The first two, I still own. I've added many more:

- a 16 ga, SxS round action, Husqvarna hammer gun (which I have grown extremely fond of)
- a 16 ga Webley and Scott SxS boxlock
- a 16 ga Baikal SxS hammer gun
- a 16 ga Marlin pump (coincidentally called a Model 16)
- a 16 ga Stanford and Laxton Practical Gun and Gun Tool Makers Lefaucheau action just like the "Cat's" earlier in this thread

The last two have since been sold. The first 5 I still own and shoot pretty much every year.

20 years ago, I bought a flat of 2 3/4", 1 oz, 16 gauge. 15 years ago, I bought a flat of Gamebore "Traditional Game" 2 1/2" in 16 ga. I'll be worm meal long before I ever run out of 16 ga shells (also have a small collection of other assorted 16 ga shells bought in individual boxes over the years).

A discussion about the viability of a particular caliber or gauge has to be seen as what it is - a discussion about "commercial" viability. 16 gauge is with us forever; it will never go away completely. There are too many existing guns in 16 ga. and, believe it or not, too much ammo (existing shells and new stock being manufactured all the time). It may even see a resurgence in popularity somewhere down the road (it always was, and still is, more popular in Europe than in the Americas).

If I had to predict the future, I suspect that 16 ga will remain a niche gauge, popular with "aficionados" and purists of the uplands. For the time being, it has been squeezed out of migratory hunting and clay target sports through restricted ammunition supply.

My experience with clay target sports has taught me that there's a place in the world for replaceable trigger groups and freely available loads. But, for me, target sports have never been much more than winter practice. My heart and soul belong to the uplands. It wouldn't matter to me if I was the last man standing with a 16 ga.; I'd make the shells myself.
 
Love my 16. It is just right for my part of the world. Strong enough to punch through the heavy cover, few cripples and easy to pack. Ammo has never been an issue. I stocked up big time in 98 not being sure where we were headed (no 16 in the arsenal at that point). Finally bought a box of 410 this past season. $20 for a 25 box. Paid $12 for a box of 16 @71/2 in the same store. You be the judge.
 
like my 16ga's ,
Have a sister to catinthehats Fair 40th, and another Fair 16ga (now in new Zealand), three semis, a A5, 1148, and the gem in the pack is an older lightweight 1100, and a browning pump and u/o
Pretty much the only gauge I use for hunting, load my own non-toxic shells, bismuth and hevishot, all thought I do take the 28ga once in a while.
 
I used to have a 16 gauge double barrel made by the maker Tobin Arms woodstock Ont . I wish I had never sold it . it was a nice lite double and the recoil was way lighter than a 12 gauge .
 
I had a 12 ga. Tobin. The only reason I sold it was because it wasn't a 16.

First gun I ever fired was a 16 ga. Winchester Model 37. Perhaps it was because at the time I weighed 90 pounds soaking wet, but that 16 kicked me so hard that I can still feel it just thinking about it.
 
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