16ga.com ~ View topic

Member Joined: 27 Nov 2005 Posts: 258 Location: Nordern MN

Then go back to shooting something else!

HA!

That'll show em!!

NR

You know, I've stopped fighting the battle. I couldn't care less whether or not anybody else shoots a 16ga shotgun. I'm willing to stipulate to all the arguments: the 12 hits harder and has more range, the 20 is lighter and does everything a 16 can do. Go ahead, believe what you want; I don't care.

Frankly, I liked it better when the 16ga was the forgotten darling of the uplands; when shooting one put you (as Gene Hill once put it in a letter to me) outside the mainstream, where all the good things really are.

I loved it when someone said, What is that, anyway? or when somebody said, Oh, a 16; nice gun for a woman, and then that old 16 that they disparaged outshot every 12 and 20 in the place.

Now that all the shooters have "discovered" the 16ga, it ain't near as much fun as it used to be. I just wish they's all move on to the next "discovery", and then maybe there wouldn't be as big a fight over the next Fox A Grade I come across Wink

.

As for me, I've been shooting 16's for over 50 years; not about to stop now. But when it comes to explaining it or selling the concept to somebody else...sorry; I'm over it.

Fin (the 16ga Curmudgeon)

Because I can. I started with a no name double in upstate NY back in the early 60's. And now I own 4 of them, Ithaca 37, NID, Browning Citori & Lefever DS. I use them for everything from turkey to quail.

Member Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 48 Location: NJ

One more comment on the subject. I will be in South Dakota opening week for pheasants. At least three of us (from a group of 16) will be carrying SxS 16 ga. The 16 ga guys will often discuss the ballistics of 16 ga loads, the fine looks of beautifully made SxS's, and the joy of carrying these fine guns afield. The other guys all carrying 12's just don't understand our enthusiasm for this great gauge.

I'm a pragmatist by nature. I do almost everything out of practicality. A well designed modern 16 ga repeating or double gun is the most practical choice for all the upland hunting I do. It offers the best compromise between power, weight, and handling qualities available IMO. Ammo is far from scarce contrary to common belief. I also reload, so I can assemble any hunting or target load I want from 5/8 ounce through 1-1/4 ounce magnums easily enough. The gauge and the ammo work for me. Reasons enough I'd 'spect.

I shoot a 16 because I enjoy being a bit different, but mostly because it is deadly effective for the upland hunting I do, and because it just feels right. It may sound corny, but it really is the goldilox of the uplands. I also like their relative rarity, especially among the classic sxs's I prefer to shoot.

I have four shotguns in my cabinet now: My go-to 16 Lefever H, a .410 single (which is a hoot to shoot on dog trial quail), a 20ga. mossberg pump and a 12ga. H&R turkey gun which I have yet to use. I also just sold a 12 bps because I never use it anymore. I'm thinking about trading in the 20ga and the turkey gun for a 16 bps or other pump capable of shooting modern loads including steel. With my 16 Lefever and a newer 16 pump, I would be covered for everything that flies.

Anyone interested in a 20 ga pump or 12 ga turkey gun?

Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 110

For those who know...no explanation is necessary...

For those who ask...no explanation is possible...

Henry

Golfswith wolves wrote:
[quote]Can it be that the trim, handy and hard-hitting 16 gauge is to be likened to heavy, underpowered and poorly handling boutique motorcycles?

Golfswithwolves, I guess you haven't riden a Harley lately.

There is no real reason not to shoot a 16. Shoot 'em if you got 'em. Get one if you want one. Don't worry...be happy.

Joined: 28 Mar 2008 Posts: 1460 Location: Eagle, Nebraska

ANother reason I like the 16ga is it is a hoot I think, reloading and trying to find that perfect load! And if anyone reads this forum, there are a thousand plus opinions on that. Part of the fun too!

Oh sure, I could load 12's (and do) but what is the fun in that?

I also have a blast trying to get a good short load for 10ga.

I killed all 119 ducks last year with a 16 ga. Every single one of my guests in my blind used 12's with those big old shoulder buster 3.5" shells. I killed more birds, faster and cleaner than any of them. I even downed 5 geese which is kind of rare out of a rice pit blind in my area.

this fall, I got caught with my 16 ga drawers down. I ended up in Indiana when opening day of dove season arrived. I usually carry at least two of my 6 sixteens with me. Had to leave home in a hurry and forgot my guns. I told the guys I was hunting with to dig me up a 16 and I would go with them. Had plenty of shells, just no gun. They came up with an ancient Rem 11-48 with not one square inch of blue left on it. Of all the 16 guns I have, I'd never shot an 1148. I put down the first six doves with 6 shots. killed a limit with less than two boxes of shells. I thought I had an 1148 bought off this board this week, but missed it. I tried to buy that one but it was "grandad's old gun". I want to add an 11-48 and a Mod 12 to my collection.

another reason to shoot a 16. Not counting my Citori white lightning that I bought off this board, I have an average of $185 in the rest of them. I own a Fox Mod B, Ithaca 37, Browning A-5 (1929 mod), a mod 11 rem, and a winchester 1400 all in 16. all great guns in great shape and cheap.

I too reload out of necessity.