Revive the 16 ga!!!!

[Avenger11]

The 16 is my favorite for field and sporting clays. Most are made on a 20 ga. frame so they are light to carry but come close to the power of a 12 ga.
I own a couple but ammo is getting scarce and more and more manufacturers, no longer make a 16. They are still popular in Europe, but seem to be dying out in the U.S. Yes, Iv'e been to the 16ga.com forum, but it's a small group of afficiandos.
If your looking for a new shotgun, consider the 16. I think you will be pleased.

[bigghoss]

nah I'll stick to the 12ga

[fisherman66]

If your looking for a new shotgun, consider the 16. I think you will be pleased.

I'd love to, but they are so darn hard to find, and then you have to deal with the ammo. A Browning 16 gauge SxS would be a sweetheart upland gun. Sadly it will probably be a 20 gauge by the time I get around to dealing with that desire. I'll try not to let it affect me too much:).

[ligonierbill]

I think it's being revived. I'm privileged to have my Dad's Hunter Arms 16 double. Plain, but a pleasure to carry and shoot. The side plate is marked "The Fulton". That's Fulton, NY, this being a "bargain" gun by the L. C. Smith folks. We have a Winchester Model 12 16 ga. full choke advertised in the paper. Not a bad price. Should I risk its use upon my person by purchasing this firearm? (I believe that's what she promised if I bought another old gun.)

[Shell Shucker]

I wish I could warm-up to the 16 ga. I've tried and found that it just doesn't do it for me.
I think the reasons that it is near obsolete are obvious. The 16s built on the 12 ga frame weigh the same as a 12 ga. They fire light 12 ga payloads without the ability to fire heavy 12 ga payloads. They recoil like a 12 ga with matching loads. The 16s built on a 20 ga frame kick like a mule as they fire loads that approximate a 12 ga. Heavy 20 ga loads can approximate 16s.
I would buy a 16 if the GUN was of interest (and I have). If I were choosing based on gauge I would buy a 12 or 20. I don't dislike 16s; I find them difficult to like. If you want one go for it!

[Picher]

I had a 16 ga double back in the early sixties and even back then experienced problems finding ammo that I wanted to shoot. Today, you can't even find any 16 ga. ammo in most of the larger sporting goods counters.

The 16 had some good virtues; however, it's next to dead. The 20 gauge 3" magnum is probably killing it.

It's almost as good as a 12, but not quite. It's a bit better than a 20, but not enough to make it worthwhile to get one and carry a bit heavier gun.

The 28 has found a following, so there may be hope for the 16, but it doesn't look good at this point.

Picher

[fisherman66]

Another part of the problem is that the 16 must compete against the 12 in competitions.

[ActivShootr]

I love the 16ga! My Remmington 11-48 is the best rabbit gun I own. (The best ever is my grandfathers sigle shot 1913 Oak Leaf 16ga.)

[Justme]

I have a 28 gauge and a 16 gauge, I must be old now. I don't use the 16 much it has a mile long barrel my dad set up for shooting ducks and such. I don't shoot ducks so it's not much good to me, oh,and I can't hit grouse or quail or squirrels or rabbits with the damn thing.

[BigJimP]

I still have one 16ga in my safe - but seriously, since there are no competitions or registered shoots for the 16ga - it's kind of killed it. Many of us have found the 28ga - or the 20ga - will do everything a 16ga will do.

I'm all for having more guns in my safe - but personally a 20, 28 and .410 all built on a 20ga frame are really a perfect set of guns ( and I have a variety of 12ga's that I can carry as well ). I like carrying a 28ga for quail etc / but even a good light synthetic stock 12ga semi-auto with light loads can be pretty versatile.

[ligonierbill]

Just looking at the Browning website, and I notice they are selling the BPS in 16. Hasn't Remington brought it back also?

[jimcorbin]

I love my Winchester 16 gauge pump!! It is hard to find ammo. I am thinking about reloading!!

[Shell Shucker]

In SW Missouri 16 ga shells are NOT hard to find. I've seen game loads for the same price or $1 more than 12 or 20 ga. If you're looking for a specific load it may be hard to find. A decent variety is available locally (here).
16 ga wads ARE hard to find locally and come in one flavor; Remington SP-16 1 1/8 oz. I think you can load 1 oz with them also. Ballistic Products carries 16 ga wads for different loads. They are not cheap, but they are available.

[jlbpa]

I also have a remington 11-48 in 16 ga that was my maternal grandfather's. I like it alot. I also have a 16ga model 12 that was my paternal grandfather's. I use my 11-48 more because I like the semi. But with the model 12 I've taken dove, pheasant, rabbit and many squirrels trying to keep up the tradition. I remember always seeing the model 12 leaning against the the door frame at my grandparents house.

[Ruger4570]

I have an OLD Ithaca 16 guage NID that looks almost new, I love the gun, but seldon use it. It is also getting harder and harder to find shells for it also. It won't surprise me to see it simply fade away, regardless of how good it might be.
They make 3 inch Mags for the 12 and the 20, but not the 16. Is that important? I don't know.
Many years ago there were 14 guages, 18 guages and many other un heard of today guages. They simply were not as good as the bigger guages just above them so the bigger ones won out. Even the 10 guage goes up and down in popularity with basically waterfowl hunters being the only ones buying them.

[Scorch]

I learned to hunt and shoot with a 16 ga. It was also the gun I took the first time I shot a round of trap. It is nice, but is eclipsed by the 12 and 20 because it is used in competition and a lot of money goes into making shells for the 12 and 20, and because of the volume of shells made, they are cheaper. Nothing wrong with the 16 gauge, but it probably will fade away eventually. I buy all the 16 gauge ammo I see just in case.

[jrothWA]

www.16ga.com

Back at the last Grand American in Ohio, I talked with Rem, WIn, & Fed about getting wads out. REm & FED were polite. The Win JERK laughed at me.

Well, on the above site, they got Rem to produce the R16 wads, BUT Rem required a minimum of 100,000 to produce.

THEY RECIEVED AN ORDER FOR 350,000.

Which has been duplicated twice, since then.

The Middleman has started offering the R16, thru his website.

Fiocchi and Rem are major producers of ammo, with Fed third and win not in the running as they import from Australia.

[Shell Shucker]

What loads are the Remington R16 wads suited for? I remember when Winchester made AA type hulls and wads for the 16 in the late 80s/early 90s. Sad lose for 16 ga reloaders.

[gordo b.]

Well the 16 is NOT good for serious clay games IMHO as the 12 is easier to hit clays with. The 16 ga. , which I too learned to hunt in the 50s, is a great field gun. Although I have a $4000 Darne sxs 16 for snob hunts,and a Browning sweet 16 which is well used but still pretty, I like my Remington Model 31 Deluxe and my Winchester model 97(more for nostalgia-the 31 is slicker by far) pumps for general upland birds. Fiocchi Golden Pheasant #5 and #6 (more common) in a modified choke 16 just doesn't get any better for pheasants.Grouse and similar species the same load in #6 is very good over a good ranging dog. I prefer a 20 on closer quail however , prolly because I don't have a 28! I also inherited an old Sauer Drilling in 16s over 8x57 that was handy for my old uncle on the East Coast for many years.:)

[big_jack11]

I would rather just stick with a 12 or 20 gauge rather than a 16 gauge.

[armedandsafe]

The range of different loads are more available in 12 and 20, but the standard loads for the 3 gauges are:

12ga - 1 oz @ ~1250fps
16ga - 1 oz @ ~1250fps
20ga - 1 oz @ ~1250fps

I reload for my 16s because every one but one has a shorter than 2.75 chamber. The Model 12 has a 2.75 chamber, but the ejection port was cut for roll-crimp shells. S0, I use brass hulls and load on a Lee LoadAll III.

Pops

[cobra81]

I bought a Remington 1100 16 gauge this year, and I love it. In this part of Illinois, finding ammo is not a problem, as long as you aren't real picky in shot size. Mostly I find #6, 7 1/2, and 8, for about the same price as 12 or 20.

I use mine as a dove gun, and it has worked out great. If I had one beef, it would be the overall weight of the gun. I think Remington screwed up by not building it on a dedicated 16 gauge frame, rather than the heavier 12 gauge frame they chose to use....cost issues, no doubt.

And one more thing, while I'm solving the 16 gauge riddle: Why doesn't someone do the obvious and make a 16 gauge chambered for a 3" magnum load? Evidently most gunmakers believe the 20 gauge to be too firmly entrenched in this market to gamble the money to dislodge it with the 16.

Even so, I have no regrets buying my 16. It's a classic, and it's fun to shoot. I save all my hulls, and have been stocking up on wads. I bought a cheap Lee Load-All and it works fine for the limited number of 16-gauge shells I reload on it.

[wingshooter1]

I have been looking for a 16ga SxS for bird hunting, was looking for used in tghe $400 range but they are basicaly impossible to find

[Boris Bush]

I would have said something like "nah, I'll keep my 12 ga......." Until I handled a Browning sweet 16. Nuff said........

[10-96]

Different strokes for different folks.
Just because of the sentimental reasons, I'll likely never part with my Win 1200 or Brng A5 both in 16ga flavor... at least not of my own free will!

[surveyor]

while I enjoy the old sportsman I have (forerunner to the 11-48)
I'll probabally not buy a new shotgun in 16..
mainly for the lack of options in shells. ( I know about the 16 ga web site)

but mainly, the 12s I have I can find shells less expensive, and a wider selection than the 16..

like others I pick up 16 ga shells when I come across them.

[okiewita40]

I have a an old stevens 16ga. It was given to me by my grandfather as it was my great-grandfathers. It is a single shot. I took a lot of pheasants with it when I was a teenager. Would to be able to find shells for it that are bigger than 7.5 shot.

[remjeep75]

sweet 16 is all i can say