16ga.com ~ View topic

Joined: 21 May 2024 Posts: 25 Location: Eastern Tennessee

Friends, 16er’s, Outdoorsmen, lend me your ears. We all have our endeavors we wish to see come to pass to better our noble yet limited company of souls. A bright future plentiful with the gauge once left for dead by the sporting associations.

It is with this vision I ask of you but a basic question so that our focus and desires should be known and a priority ideally realized. What 16 gauge wants and needs do we need most of all? What, as a group, should we see to be developed or changed?

Pray share your thoughts and desires, be heard so the good may be served.

*I for one see the limit of rifled barrels, but a more practical option might be the development of rifled choke tubes. Opening the door to better options to expand our gauge into larger game hunting.

*I would like to see steel ammunition offerings for dove and sporting purposes, open the door up to our brethren whom don’t reload and live in areas required to conduct nontoxic activities.

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1899 Location: Central ND

Here is the problem.......$$$. There is not enough interest in the 16 gauge for companies to invest in tooling. A perfect example of the problem lies with the DR16 wad, lots of folks scream for it to be made, but relatively few buy enough wads to make it worth the setup time. We, as a group, do not shoot enough ammo or buy enough shotguns and accessories for the 16 gauge.

A few years back a number of us got Jim Muller to produce choke tubes for the 16 ga. Browning Invector system. He made the chokes but that was the end, mostly because not enough folks bought the chokes. I don't think there are enough folks out there, shooting 16 gauge slugs to get any choke manufacturer to start making rifled choke tubes for the 16.

Steel target loads? Yeah same thing, how many of us shoot more than 500 rounds of 16 gauge a year? I am right around 2,500 rounds for clay targets.....all lead. With the exception of my Citori, I wouldn't ever use steel shot in any of my 16 gauge guns. Bismuth and lead only......and I am not alone.

Where does my opinion come from? I worked for Precision Reloading Inc. when the company was in CT, before it was sold and moved to SD. I know what we sold for 16 gauge stuff, because I did almost 100% of the ordering for many years.

Joined: 08 Oct 2005 Posts: 243

I would like the old AA16 hull manufactured again.

Also in general I would like to see powder easier to obtain and cheaper.

Case in point I saw a 8 pound jug of RedDot for sale today for$385. Ouch

Joined: 07 Jun 2020 Posts: 250

I would like to see RST and another maker or more have available 16ga vintage loads again. Only with multiple suppliers will prices stay reasonable

While I am well stocked with components for 16 and for some select 2.5 inch 12ga, I realize not everyone wants to reload.

Joined: 07 Jun 2020 Posts: 250

Joined: 21 May 2024 Posts: 25 Location: Eastern Tennessee

Hmmm, where do I begin?

I would like to see:
-new compression formed hulls, bring back the Win AA or even make some Remington which I don’t believe were ever made. Maybe even Activ hulls.

-more 16 ga wad options here in the US

-reduced prices on factory loads

-more options in factory loads, like 7/8 oz or 3/4 oz

-bring back the Spred-R

-and to spur it all on, some sponsored 16 ga only events

A man can dream, I suppose…

I am of the mind that if more of us shoot 16’s in league or registered matches, and let people know, we might get closer to that dream…especially if you do well

I would like to see some more 16 ga sporting guns with 32 in tubes.

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1899 Location: Central ND

Citori16,

You have it right. We all need to shoot more 16 gauge ammo or reload more 16 gauge ammo and/or buy more new 16 gauge guns in order for anything 16 gauge to move forward. The 16 gauge market share was between 3% & 4% of all shotshell ammo. I believe it was Remington that made all 16 gauge ammo for the year in one day.

Money talks.........we are barely above silent.

Joined: 26 Jun 2020 Posts: 148 Location: Spokane, WA

X- Stream Spreader Inserts in 12,16 and 20 gauge at BPI check online for price and availability.

Joined: 25 Jan 2014 Posts: 237 Location: MN

More availability of TSS shot.

I think TSS is going to be great for hunters using the smaller gauges, 16 included, at least in modern guns. While I have not yet shot tss at flying birds, from what I read the small tss shot is deadly on geese at normal ranges. This shot will allow hunters to use modern 16 guns for everyday waterfowl hunting.

Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 973 Location: Minnesota

High quality factory loads in Win AA hulls or Rem STS hulls. Those are a long shot as are most every thing else above, in my opinion. The demand isn’t there, plain and simple.

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2383 Location: West MI

".... and I’ll speak to Trulock about a small run of rifled choke tubes."

Charlie16ga Redux, I too was searching strongly for rifled options for 16ga slug shooting/hunting. With no options found/available I found a couple other ways of skinning that cat. I hope you get somewhere w/Trulock in your en devour. Briley entertained the idea but in the end a "one off" custom rifled 16ga tube was not going to happen.

Thoughts for you to take into your discussion with Turlock. IF they seem interested I would like to see them produce a rifled tube for an OEM thread, say Invector and also one threaded for after market threading since not many aftermarket choke tube threading services offer OEM thread installs, especially in 16ga.

I might be out in left field on this one, but, I think Trulock doesn't support the 16ga in their Truchoke (thread pattern) tubes any longer. Colonial does in their Truesize thread pattern. FWIW; Colonial wasn't interested in making me a 16ga rifled tube. It has to do with post processing the cut tube. Stress relieving and finishing a one off was way too intensive for them to be interested, although they did look into it, kudos, but, as with Briley it wasn't going to happen.

Simply sharing my experience so you might cut to the chase a bit....best of luck!

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1899 Location: Central ND

By all accounts TSS is good stuff, especially for the folks that pass shoot waterfowl. I have thought about using it in my 16 ga. Citori, but then I don't pass shoot any waterfowl. So after further review, I guess I don't need it and my wallet thanked me.

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1899 Location: Central ND

These would be my wants for the 16 gauge. This is a "never in my wildest dreams" list as I would have a better chance of seeing Elvis.

Guns - a 16 ga. Benelli SS with a 28" barrel, ported, with choke tubes and composite stock. A 16 ga. Beretta 686 with 30" barrels and choke tubes.

Ammunition? I hardly ever use factory ammo of any kind, so there is no want on my list for this.

Reloading Hulls - A more durable version of the original 16 ga. 2 piece plastic Remington RGL, AND/OR, a more durable version of the current 16 ga. Federal hull....purple of course. The paper basewad is fine with me. (You folks can have my share of the 16 ga. Winchester CF hulls.)

Wads - A 7/8 oz. version of the Gualandi BRG 16/21(SG16) that is available all the time. A 1 1/8 oz. version of the CB0100-16 made by Claybuster.

Powders - Bring back PB, SR7625 and 800-X.