16ga.com ~ View topic

Joined: 11 Jan 2006 Posts: 311

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=174512&start=20&sid=6bc43575ae8af5de00fcf536cdb15308

Charles posted 1.7% in response to my wondering what percentage of shotshells sold each year were 16 gage.

I have stated before I am drawn to less popular cartridges like the 32 H&R, 41 magnum, and the 16 gage. I like shooting something different from the "other guy". That's why I like the 16.

I suppose an optimist will look at 1.7% and say there is no where for the 16 to go but up. Myself, I expect the 16 will always remain a niche cartridge.

Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Posts: 477

I'm willing to bet most 16 owners are also reloaders. The only reason I buy factory ammo is to get more hulls. The average guy has a 12 or a 20 and probably buys his shells. The 16 isn't particulary popular, but I think new shell sales may not give the whole picture.

I agree. I buy few shells any more, but I buy lots of wads and powder. Even so, I suppose an optimistic percentage of 16ga. shooters is between 5 and 10%.

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

New shooters are turned away from the 16 from other "experienced" shooters and this is but one of our troubles.The legacy of the 16 is carried on mostly by those of us 45 plus years old.A minority turned into a smaller ,specialized minority

Yep, we're a small minority.

We're going to remain a small minority.

But, being an ornery contrarian, I'm extremely proud to be a part of the 16 gauge minority.

The 16 bore has survived because it is a market base of 18% in Europe and those folks have never cottoned to Autoloaders nor Magnums that the folks here in the US seem to clamber to .

Now lets go out there and share with the folks out there the merits of the 16 bore and expand this thing to 3% of the market share .

Regards Charles

Joined: 11 Jan 2006 Posts: 311

Sneem & UncleDan,

If you are going to add reloaded shells to the mix then you will have to add in all the 12, 20, 28, and 410s that are reloaded as well. I would not be surprised if 16 gage "market share" actually decreased when you add in reloaded shells.

Out of my shooting group I'm the only one that has a 16. Everyone else is 12 or 20.

What remains to be seen is will expanded ammo offerings by Federal and Fiocchi, the Claybuster WAA16 clone, the upcoming DR wad, and the Browning BPS lift the 16 to more market share. I suspect we will know in 5 years.

Promotion, promotion, promotion. That is what lifts anything in this country. We are a media driven society. Without them, the 16 will grow slowly but will never be a force in the market.

Joined: 28 Mar 2007 Posts: 154 Location: Denver, Colorado

While directed to grouse hunters, the strong majority of people responding to the following survey prefered hunting with a 16ga:

http://www.uplandjournal.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard312a/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=2;t=48009

As of the date of this reply, 103 people had responded to the survey with the following talley:

16ga - 42%
20ga - 31%
12ga - 18%
28ga - 9%

At least in some quarters the question isn't "how much of a minority is the 16ga," but rather "just how far in the lead is the 16ga?"

--shinbone

Joined: 11 Jan 2006 Posts: 311

Such a survey is useless in a way. Just like the survey on your local paper's web site that says "not a scientific survey". You can usually delete cookies and vote in these online surveys numerous times to run up the total. I don't think even the most ardent 16 supporters on this site believe 42% of hunters use a 16!

Joined: 28 Mar 2007 Posts: 154 Location: Denver, Colorado

clayflingythingy - I agree that we can't know the accuracy of the results.

However, the survey wasn't directed to all hunters but only a specific group of hunters - grouse hunters. I, for one, would not be surprised if the most popular gauge for grouse hunting was a 16ga since it is the best combination of carry-weight and knockdown power for that application. This is just my own experience, but, I have hardly ever seen a 12ga gun in the grouse woods, so parts of the survey results roughly fit with my own general observations.

--shinbone

I agree with Shinbone. Upland journal is for dedicated upland hunters, and we know that the 16 is the king of the uplands. Why would it surprise anyone that grouse hunters prefer a 16? I'm sure if the poll was for quail or pheasant hunters, the numbers might be different. Or, perhaps not.

Joined: 11 Jan 2006 Posts: 311

110 responses does not a poll make.

110 is probably twice the number of grouse hunters left in Massachusetts. However, grouse hunting in Maine is still very popular. One of the top salemen at Kittery Trading Post told me the 16 ga Ithaca 37 is about the most sought after grouse gun at the shop he could think of. The requests far outnumber the available guns.

I would not doubt it. KTP prices on any available 16 ga Ithaca in any reasonable condition are always are ridiculously high. they also always sell quickly.

The same man said the 16 ammo outsells all other gauges for Maine grouse hunting. So I'd have to think the poll is close to being accurate.

I happen to use a SxS 16 and only one other grouse hunter I know uses a 16. The balance of maybe 25 grouse hunters I know almost all use O/U 20's, one uses a O/U 28, one uses a pump 12 and two a SxS 12 with light loads. All but four of us live in Michigan's U.P.

I think 110 is enough responses to get a pretty good feel for what people use. I was surprised with the numbers and would have expected maybe 60% + to be 20 ga users in the uplands.

Glad to see that many 16 users responded to the survey. Along with this crew that makes at least a few hundred of us that enjoy the best ga.

Chicago Mike