16ga.com ~ View topic

DMC,
At almost 65 I have about 10 years on you and have no plans on checking out. To many good guns to collect and use Grouse & Woodcock hunting, for me to ever think about selling my 16 gauge guns. Pass them on down thru the family, mentor some Grouse hunters and make sure they have a good gun to carry in the woods. I have enjoyed mentoring Grouse hunters for both the RGS & NRA. In the past few years a good number of female bird hunters have started to participate and I am sure glad to see it happening, my young wife was a serious Mearns Quail hunter, she does her bird hunting in God's never ending forest now. Hope to get to hunt with her again some day in the future. I do not sell any good double guns, many have been passed down to me and I will continue the family tradition myself. Never give up a good 16 gauge gun, some day you may need it to hunt food and protect your family.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Joined: 09 Dec 2022 Posts: 6 Location: Westport, Wa

If I was starting over I would still use a 16. I have 20 and 12 as well, but nothing handles like a 16, and using premium shot, I have taken my longest successful shots (Geese from a blind) with one. Ain't no turnin' back!
But, I agree it can be more work to find factory ammo.

Joined: 12 Mar 2012 Posts: 685 Location: Ontario

I shoot 16s because my dad hunted with an M12 16. I like them a lot.

But I’ve shot crappy 16s and I’ve shot fantastic 12s and 20s.

After nearly 50 years of hunting I now search out guns that handle the way I like and the gauge will be what it is. Sometimes it’s a 16. Sometimes a 12 and sometimes a 20.

I can’t imagine abandoning 16s, any more than 12s or 20s. And I don’t buy new guns so don’t really spend much time worrying about what current makers are doing.

Joined: 07 Jun 2020 Posts: 228

I started with a 16 and will likely die with a dozen or more. I do not worry about what happens when I am gone. I have set my kids on good paths and though they are not mine, I am good with their futures.

As for my guns, I have hopes and dreams, they are one and cannot be imposed on anyone who does not want them. My grandson may grow up a hunter, but I doubt it. If he does he will have a hell of a battery to engage birds.

canvasback,

I have never understood the talk of abandoning the 16, it has never made sense to me at all. Although I would never abandon any of the different gauge guns I own,
many would go before the 16 gauge guns. In fact we have more 16 gauge guns than any other Gauge. The 1st thing I do when looking on GI is look for another 16 gauge double gun, I like the side Lock Classic American, best German, Italian and Spanish made 16 gauge guns for Grouse & Woodcock hunting. My 20 & 28 gauge guns get used later in the season when the leaves are mostly gone from the trees. Never am I going to abandon my 16 gauge double guns, they get used way to much! My 12 gauge guns get used for Ducks & Pheasants most of the time, not going to abandon any of them either. A man should own as many good guns as he can afford.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Parts of my buddy Galen's 16 gauge Westley Richards Drop Lock, one serious 16 gauge bird gun for sure. Love to own one before I am no longer able to Grouse hunt.

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 691

I did my part to keep 16 gauges alive. I purchased a Citori O/U with 28" barrels today.

drcook,

Nice pick up!

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

It's true that 16's are a smaller niche, and ammo is an issue, but I just don't care. I love them, and for the kind of upland hunting I do, with regular 3-10 mile hikes up and down deep canyons, and frequent 30-50yd shots, they reign supreme. They are even great out of my layout boat for ducks, although I have a dedicated 12 duck gun I usually use. 16's are the goldilox of the uplands, and will always have a devoted following. I just picked up a nice straight grip H grade Lefever 16 this week to go with my Husky hammer gun. I don't care about the ammo. If you want to do something bad enough, you find a way. And discouraging people to own them isn't going to make the ammo situation any better. Quite the opposite. Wink

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 691

I found a box of Remington Game Load nbr 6's today at a flea market for $12.00. I grab them when ever and where ever I can.

Joined: 07 Mar 2010 Posts: 483 Location: South Eastern PA

I've got more than a few $$'s invested in the 16. I call it my red neck 401K. In the grand scheme of things, I hope my heirs appreciate them as much as I do. I know my sons will but they don't even have kids yet so who knows.

Joined: 28 Oct 2015 Posts: 166 Location: SWMO

Ok, I think the overwhelming consensus is the -6 has a few more years left in it and I can keep the current 2 I have.

What about rifles though? Should I replace my .22 Hornet, .250 Savage, .257 Roberts, 6.5x55, .300 Savage, and .300 H&H with a 6.5 Creedmoor? Or are all those antiques good to go for a while?

Joined: 08 Feb 2009 Posts: 1310 Location: Western WA

I am going far off topic here, but since you asked, the 6.5x55 can pretty much do everything the 6.5 Creedmoor can, but the latter has the edge for accuracy. Other than that, I’d keep the Hornet and dispense with the rest.

In my mind, hunting rifle and cartridge technology is different than shotguns with respect to acceptable use on live game. Rifle hunting and shooting authority Nathan Foster generally takes a dim view of most old cartridges. He contends that without extreme care in the choice of bullets and shooting technique, the use of obsolete cartridges for the sake of personal taste, tradition or nostalgia can be disrespectful of the game animal. In his publications, he advocates at length how modern cartridge and bullet technology can vastly increase the likelihood of fast and humane game kills.

Foster’s books on modern cartridges and shooting are remarkably extensive and instructive, and provide very provocative and fascinating reading for rifle hunters. If you open his volumes, be prepared to have your beliefs and understandings of hunting and rifle shooting shaken to the core.

V/R,
B.

Joined: 09 Mar 2016 Posts: 756 Location: Mn.

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 691

The real advantage that the new cartridges have is at distance, using long ballistically slick bullets. I have a .300 PRC, a 6.5 PRC and my buddy shoots a 6.5 Cm. He can regularly hit an 18" square at a mile BUT BUT BUT he is using a $2500.00 scope.

The new chamber dimensions allow the usage of these long bullets.

Inside of the yardages that most people shoot in, the old stuff is more than adequate just like our 16ga's are. More than adequate and more enjoyable to shoot.

Joined: 24 Jul 2016 Posts: 548 Location: Ohio

Cold Iron, what pray tell can be done to improve that stock?