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<  16ga. Guns  ~  Browning Standardweight 16 vs Sweet 16 VR barrels
dannypratt
PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 10:08 am  Reply with quote
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Location: Napoleon, MI

Fellas,

I managed to acquire a 1970 Light 12 in 100% NIB condition, with 2 barrels, 28" full, 26" skeet.

Heres the kicker:

The guy I got it from ordered it in late 1969 as a target gun to match his Superposed Lightning Trap gun with 2 barrel sets, but he never even assembled the gun. He specified that he wanted STANDARD WEIGHT vent rib barrels, even though it was a Light 12. I thought at first he was just telling tales, but, turns out he was right. I've got the original invoice from him that proves it. In addition to that, there are no lightening holes bored in the barrel lug as on Light 12, Sweet 16 or Twenty barrels. AND....the vent ribs are a full 1/16th wider than Light 12 barrels from the same year. It's very obvious when they are side by side, and the weight between the two styles is quite different.

So, heres my question regarding the 16ga models:

Do Standardweight 16 vent rib barrels have wider ribs than Sweet 16 vent rib barrels?

Has anyone ever handled a Sweet 16 set up this way?

Has anyone ever seen a SOLID rib barrel with a wider rib? Any I've ever encountered have been narrow.

And just to clarify these barrels have not been altered by Simmons or Polychoke, they are factory new, in the wrappers and boxes from Browning.

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-Danny Pratt
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rudolph31
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 11:16 am  Reply with quote
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Per S/V, Sweet Sixteen ribs are .280” tapering to .260”, vs. .the 335/.317” standard.
As far as I know, this applies to both solid and vent ribs. Incidentally, “solid” ribs are hollow.

Switching barrels would have been easy for Browning as they quit putting the serial numbers on them in 1953.
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dannypratt
PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 7:07 am  Reply with quote
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Thought my post was dead!

This is very interesting information. And yes I knew the solid ribs were hollow, but I didnt realize they were wider. I've only physically seen probably less than 10 solid rib barreled guns in as many years.
I did have a 1929 Remington Model 11 in 20ga, which had a true solid rib....barrel was heavy! However, the early pattern Remington receivers on the 20ga frame are very small, even smaller than my Browning 20ga recievers... that was a great gun, should have kept that damn thing, but unfortunately it had some stock issues, and finding a proper stock for it was nearly impossible.

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Flues16
PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:56 am  Reply with quote
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For what it is worth, my early 1930s 16 gauge has a solid rib that measures .306" wide with no taper. It is a 3-shot gun, but was made well before the Sweet 16 was introduced. The gun weighs 7lbs 12oz.

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dannypratt
PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:36 pm  Reply with quote
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F16,
I was looking at a 1930s standardweight 12 that had a a solid rib with no taper the day before I got the Light 12 that started this post. It was very narrow, probably similar width as your gun.

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dannypratt
PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:48 pm  Reply with quote
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What makes this interesting, in my opinion, is the fact that these seemingly minor changes result in very different handling characteristics between all the different combinations.
Some folks would argue that this is negligible because we are only talking a few ounces in either direction. However, the difference between a Sweet 16 and a Standardweight 16 is quite noticeable in the receivers alone, and only a few ounces have been removed with lightening cuts and perforated hammers. The result being a much lighter gun with a much different set of handling characteristics. Furthermore, once you start swapping barrels with different lengths, rib styles, and with or without perforated barrel lugs, you can really build a gun that handles exactly the way your like it too.
These options really can make a difference in the enjoyment of the gun in the field and at the Clay's games.

Very interesting stuff. It would be really interesting to see what each of us favors in these various configurations of the Auto-5. I know I have made quite a change over the years from what I perceived to be ideal in the beginning, to what I've actually found has worked out in practical application.

Good stuff guys, keep it coming...

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-Danny Pratt
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