16ga.com ~ View topic

Joined: 18 Oct 2015 Posts: 30 Location: Minnesota

My first shotgun was a 16ga...55 years later, I still have it! The 16ga is not dead! As a matter of fact, in the last 15 years, there has seen exponential growth in interest in the 16ga. No! The 16ga isn't going anywhere any time soon.

They say the 16ga declined in popularity because it was dropped from the "clay" shooting games. WELL, isn't it time clay shooters start demanding the 16ga have its class restored to the clay shooting sports?

Joined: 18 Oct 2015 Posts: 30 Location: Minnesota

My first shotgun was a 16ga...55 years later, I still have it! The 16ga is not dead! As a matter of fact, in the last 15 years, there has been exponential growth in interest in the 16ga. No! The 16ga isn't going anywhere any time soon.

They say the 16ga declined in popularity because it was dropped from the "clay" shooting games. WELL, isn't it time clay shooters start demanding the 16ga have its class restored to the clay shooting sports?

Sorry Rogue Hunter, the 16 was never in the clay target games as a special event. It has always been welcome to shoot however, in the 12 gauge events, against which is exhibits little to no handicap. It was not the "games" that shrunk the market for the 16, but the fact that it was a "tweener", the use for which was covered by guns of 12 and 20 gauge. This is news more than a half century old -- more like 70 or 80 years old. The lack of attention to the 16 is, of course, a matter of dollars and sense to the manufacuturers of "mainstream" guns and ammo. The 16 is, however, a recognized specialty of upland game shooters/hunters "in the know", because it represents, in a properly proportioned gun, the most capability the average person can likely carry most comfortably and use effectively. I know you know this, or at least have sensed it, so I apologize for "preaching to the choir", so to speak. The point I want to emphasize is that one cannot blame the trap/skeet/sporting clays games for the apparent shrunken demand for the 16.

I will digress to mention the 28 gauge, the existence of which is probably totally the result of American skeet, needing something of lesser capability than the 20 and greater than the .410 to give a noticeable difference in difficulty between the two. I will say, however, I do not notice that difference, as my 28 gauge scores typically exceed my 20 gauge scores (and I never use the 12, but shoot the 20 in the 12 gauge and doubles skeet events, as do many others). I find little practical justification of the 28 in the field, since I can find plenty of 20 gauge guns as wieldy or more-so than those of 28 gauge. Nonetheless, being a total shotgun nut, I cannot resist the 28, (nor the 24, for that matter) and I'll be proud to have and use to good effect such guns till the day I die.

I'm glad, Rogue Hunter, that you are a "dyed in the wool" 16 gauge user.

Cheers!
Tony

Max Smoke,

Well said sir, those of us who bird hunt, especially Grouse & Woodcock know the 16 gauge gun is the best hunting gun there is, no matter which kind you happen to own, and I have owned SXS, O/U, Pump and Semi-Auto.

I also own all the gauges from 12 to .410 and use them all for different purposes.

The 16 gauge gun will never become extinct as long as there are birds to hunt.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 691

Back in 1926 the 16 gauge was excluded from skeet competition.

OK Doctor Cook -- I see what you've been reading, but it is wrong, or at best wrongly worded.

I've excerpted this from your quote --

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 691

1. if you really read, you would see it says

Dave,

To quote you:

MaxSmoke,

I agree with most of what you wrote. However if you mean that a 16 gauge SXS double gun is limited because it happens to be the finest gun for Grouse & Woodcock hunting, to me and many other sportsman, you might call this a nitch, not a limitation in any way. In fact sportsman like myself own more 16 gauge guns than any other gauge gun.

Having RST make 2 1/2" 16 gauge shells is not a mistake in manufacturing, the sales rate, for these shells is definitely there. In fact a lot of my Grouse hunting friends were pretty upset when RST had to cut back production of these shells because of COVID.

Now a lot of the new 16 gauge owners are using the 2 3/4" 16 gauge guns for doing their Pheasant hunting. Many upland hunters now believe the 16 gauge gun is the best over all upland gun ever made. Us Grouse hunters have always believed in that manner, now with the modern 16 gauge guns being made today, many of the upland hunters are hunting with them instead of the 12 gauge guns.

Right now there are more gun manufacturers making modern 16 gauge guns than ever before, because the American Sportsman wants to own and use them. What actually hurts the 16 gauge gun sales is the incredible quality of the Classic American 16 gauge double gun, in reality the Classic American gun hardly ever wears out. In fact guns in pristine condition do not last very long on the GI sales board, especially the American Classics. The Classics are being sold for more money most times, than the new modern 16 gauge guns. The 16 gauge gun maybe a nitch for the gun manufacturers, it has become a fair sized nitch however, and has become stronger over the past few years averaging a 10% jump in sales each year, over the last few years.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Classic American 16 gauge double guns, still some of the finest guns ever made.
Original Fox A grade with upgraded wood.

MaxSmoke,

Respectfully, I disagree with your opinion that the 16 has a limited scope. This post and it's replies got me thinking about why I shoot a 16, and I read all of them. So this is one man's opinion, but it's rooted in experience.

I first got hooked on the thought of a 16 gauge reading the articles of Larry Brown. At the time when I started truly hunting, I had a family to feed, so the concept of "Shoot one gun well" appealed to me. My first gun was a JC Higgins 12 ga pump with a poly choke on it and 2 3/4" chambers. Adequate, but left me tired at the end of a long pheasant hunt. After reading about the 16, and I'll admit to being swayed by a number that was partial to me being my birthday, I understood that the 16 covered a lot of ground that I was looking for. I sold the pump and bought two Savage/Stevens 16 gauge guns. Soon after I bought an Ithaca Flues that had been sitting on display in a LGS for quite some time. I eventually bought a Mossberg 835 as well as an Ithaca 37 in 20 gauge. The Mossberg covered my goose & deer hunting while the Ithaca became a backup to the Flues, and occasionally, due to it's light weight, I took it on longer jaunts.

I realized this:
If I only hunted geese for pass shooting, I would be better served by a heavy 10 gauge. If I only hunted big ducks & geese while chasing pheasant on short jaunts, I would be better served by a 12 gauge. If I only hunted Grouse, Woodcock & Ducks by hiking in to seldom visited covers 7 to 10 miles from the vehicle, I would be better served by a light 20, or maybe a 28.

But if I were to limit my purchases to one gun, the 16 could cover them all. I will grab the 935 if I'm pass shooting geese from a blind, but I shot my first goose with my Citori 16 as it passed by my spread which was set on a puddle for ducks.

I agree with you that the NSSA games are fine without one extra gun that is covered by the existing gauges, but truly, you could shorten it to 12 gauge & 410 and cover all of those bases.

The competition for a 16 gauge would be a sporting clays type event, with no carts allowed, and a 10 - 15 mile course. And only one gun. I believe that's where the 16 gauge would truly shine in competition. Beyond that, I'll take solace in the fact that I can reach those far off covers & puddles on public lands that offer me good shooting for half a day and then allow me to mow the lawn after cleaning my limit of birds. For me, it is a form follows function type of thing first, but having been there & done that, I'll celebrate the gun that carries like a 20 but hits like a 12 by buying a few more "One gauge to rule them all" guns to admire.

And yes, I always secretly root for the underdog, so that's part of it.

Hey, Citori16! -- You said it best. I agree with you!