Who Still Uses The 16 Gauge For Hunting

FLHTCUI said:
While I am not using a 16 gauge...
I will be using an 870 in 28 gauge for Grouse this fall.
Not dedicated Grouse Hunting , but shooting them as they come along.
Gonna be a Gooder I suppose.
Rob
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There is not much that 28ga will not knock down when upland hunting
My go to gun is also a 28ga wingmaster :) one I had briley install tubes in after a bought an extra full, mod, and skeet barrel for it LOL
Cheers
 
I don't WANT to like 16ga because of shell cost/availability...but I inherited a WW2-era Ithaca 37 a few years back. As a die-hard 870 fan, I was shocked at how much I love shooting it. Very light for an all-steel gun, super-slick action, shoulders/points beautifully...and clays don't stand a chance. At least hand-thrown ones. :) Time and family circumstances kept me from chasing grouse with it this past fall, but fall 2018...it will be along for ride. 12ga and 20ga knock down grouse equally well in my experience, no reason to think the 16 will be any different. :)
 
.22LRGUY said:
I don't WANT to like 16ga because of shell cost/availability...but I inherited a WW2-era Ithaca 37 a few years back. As a die-hard 870 fan, I was shocked at how much I love shooting it. Very light for an all-steel gun, super-slick action, shoulders/points beautifully...and clays don't stand a chance. At least hand-thrown ones. :) Time and family circumstances kept me from chasing grouse with it this past fall, but fall 2018...it will be along for ride. 12ga and 20ga knock down grouse equally well in my experience, no reason to think the 16 will be any different. :)
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If you like that 16ga 37 you should carry and fire one of the new 28ga ones. Crazy price I know for a pump but once I got it well worth it. The 28ga model 37 is super SWEET
Cheers
 
Most of my pheasant hunting is done with an AYA #2 sidelock in bought new 15 years ago. Great pheasant gun with 1-1/8 oz of #6 shot. I also have a M12 16 ga with a polychoke I picked up cheap. Slick old pump that fits very well. Sold another later M12 solid rib 16 built in 1958...seemed heavy compared to the older guns?

Sold a beautiful Browning Grand Lighting 16 I picked up used as well....shot very well but hated the depth of the action when carrying it in the field vs a SxS. Didn't want to cut the stock for a recoil pad for sporting use so cashed in my investment on it and made money.

Had an Ugartechea SxS 16 ga box lock for a while as well. It was a cheap double trigger ejector gun that broke firing pins and was choked too tight for practical use without using spreaders.

I have a MEC Grabber that I load on. Mainly light 7/8 oz loads for sporting and skeet. Been getting Cheddite cases and BP wads from Bilozir in Alberta.
 
When I can, I use a 16-bore single-barrelled hammer gun on grouse, made by Thomas Seymour of London (1841-1844), converted from percussion to centre-fire some time before 1870 (it still has the original non-rebounding lock). The twist-steel barrel was re-proofed for smokeless powder at some point, and it happily uses British 2 1/2 inch shells. It doesn’t have a serial number, and since it dates from before the days of choke-boring, it has a cylinder bore. It weighs about 5 pounds, so the kick is considerable. Long live the 16!

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Northshore said:
Right on, good for you, That is one of the reasons I started this thread in the spring as I wanted to see how many turkeys get put in the roast pan with the 16.
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I took my first two turkeys with my 16g Beretta sxs and Remington heavy game #6’s. It hasnt seen a turkey hunt since that second bird, but I still have the gun. I may have to take it out on another turkey hunt and reminisce on the good old days when I was hunting with my pops. Great memories!
 
I have used the 16 for the last few years on ducks geese and a few turkeys. I don’t mind the Remington or federal steel loads. I notice federal has just announced a trip of steel loads. They were intelligent enough to include bbs in available shot sizes. I trade I. A few older doubles and a bps 16 on a new A5 Sweet 16, it has been turkey hunting and will be out shooting over my Spaniel this fall. My grandfathers only shotgun was a 16 I carry it once or twice a year.
 
Have and use two, this is one of them, Lefever 16 on a small XX 20 gauge frame.

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I use two 16 ga. classic SxS for pheasant & grouse . A Winchester M-21 , made in 1944 +/- .
Also an Ithaca Flues , made in 1915 .
 
I enjoy several 16 ga guns. Mainly use a Browning Citori White Lightning, my go to gun for upland birds hunted with a pointing dog. Also use a 100 yr old Italian sxs hammer gun with two sets of German steel barrels, a Merkel 211E 251E O/U combo W/ 16x16 - 2 3/4" and second barrel set in 16 / 7x57R, and a Krieghoff Trumpf Dural Drilling 16x16/7x57R with a .22 magnum insert barrel in the left 16 ga tube. And a Heym o/u combo 16ga over .222 Rem. Used to have a Model 12 pump and a Ithaca Flues double.
I find the 16 ga a perfect size for my hand in a properly proportioned double gun, either SxS or O/U. Not as bulky as a 12, not as whippy as a 20. The one ounce or one and an eighth ounce shot charges are just right for most of my shooting. It is the "goldilocks" cartridge.
 
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