Where have all the 16g shotties gone?

[darend505]

The first gun I ever bought myself when I was around 20 I think, was a single shot Stevens 16 gauge! Still one of my favorite guns! Finding ammo reasonable priced in this area however can be tricky! Would love to add a 16 gauge pump to the collection, double barrel as well!

 

[Iroquois]

Last I read about the 16...the Europeans were still using it. Still a viable gun as long as you have shells.

 

[Badmac 183]

Why would anyone want a 16 gauge when you can have a 20 that will do the same thing with less recoil? or a 12 that will do it better with a little more recoil?

 

[03A3]

Why would anyone want a 16 gauge when you can have a 20 that will do the same thing with less recoil? or a 12 that will do it better with a little more recoil?

A 20 that will do the same thing as 16 but with less recoil?
I'd be interested in hearing the physics that's based on.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

A box of shells aint just a box of shells. Promo loads outside of informal clay busting suck.
How much are premium 16 gauge hunting loads? What is available?

16 Gauge Shotgun Ammo | Ammunition at Brownells

 

[PGRChaplain]

One of my best memories is passing the Winchester Mod 12, 16 Ga my dad bought new, on to my son. I took a lot of game with that gun. Still one of my favorites.

 

[Leo]

I always kind of liked the 16 gauge, I cannot really say why it has lost so much market share. I guess light 12 gauge and heavy 20 gauge loads kind of overlap the 16 gauge performance level. You can still get some of the higher end european shotguns in 16 gauge. Even though I like them, I would never buy one because they are really hard to sell.

The 28 guage is pretty much only kept alive because that is one of the classifications in registered skeet shooting competition. The 28 has a definite advantage over the little .410, but not many people buy the 28 gauge outside of skeet.

Did you know that there is even a 24 gauge? I thought it was a misprint, but I saw it myself, it was a modern production Beretta. This one was brought in by an individual, Beretta does not import them. He was trying to sell it.....because it was too hard to get shells.

 

[Loc n load]

Love the 16ga.

I learned to hunt in the 60's with a 16ga. A few years ago I made it "a project" to buy some new 16 ga.'s......Browning was making some special prod runs of "for real" 16 ga. O/U's ( 6.5 lb guns)...not built on 12 ga. frames....plus I picked up a BSA SxS which is my birdgun and I picked up a BPS with an English stock in 16 as well......I also have a vintage Win 12, 870 wingmaster and an A-5 Belgian chambered for 2.5" shells. Why the 16? Because it is a very efficient smoothbore, but I shoot mine because of the same reason I shoot 41 mag's and 10mm pistols - cause I like em. Yes you can argue there are other rounds out there that can duplicate their performance. And there is some sentimentality for me in the 16's, as every male member of my family 50 years ago hunted and shot 16's. Ballistic products is also a great source for loaded 16's as well as "the place" for components. I also shoot 12's, 20's and 28 gauges. Also check out the "16 ga. society" site on the net.

 

[Archer46176]

I have no clue what a "shottie" is but I have my grand dads 16 gauge double barrel SHOTGUN and use it for rabbit quite a bit...

 

[BogWalker]

I'm a sucker for non-mainstream cartridges, much to the disdain of my wallet, and I might just have to look into getting a 16g.

 

[Zoub]

I wonder why this round has fallen by the way side? Fewer people hunting small game or what?

Light 12's and heavy 20's kind of cover up the 16 and of course ammo selection has been weak for 30 years on 16's.

I have been thinking about a double for awhile or a Model 12.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I inherited my dad's Sweet 16 (among the last of the Belgians) and several 25 boxes of birdshot. I haven't fired it yet, but one of these days. I've perused the shelves informally, haven't seen much other than bird, and not much of that.

 

[bgcatty]

My first shotgun was a 16 guage 1950's manufacture Marlin Model 90 over/under that my dad gave me when I turned 16. 40+years later I still have it and hunt with it regularly. Went on an upland bird hunt for grouse in Maine with it and limited out every day. Since I loved the gun so much about 15 years ago I found the same gun in 12 ga and bought it. Then on New Years Day 2013 I found one in 20 ga. and bought it. Even though I now have a set, the 16 ga. is my favorite.

 

[SecondhandSnake]

They're definitely a unique niche at this point. I got an old Ithaca Featherlight in 16ga from my grandfather, and it has been hands down my favorite rabbit gun.

The odd size even seemed to work in my favor. Store shelves were bare of 12, 20, and .22, but lo and behold there was a small pile of 16.

 

[Miles42]

I really like the 16G. I can not figure out why it is not that popular. The Browning Sweet 16 was an great one.

 

[1911ly]

I have my wife's grandfathers Ithica. From the SN it is a 1940ish era. Really pretty. I picked up some ammo but haven't shot it yet. Hopefully this summer that will change. It will go to my son as a family heirloom.

 

[Loc n load]

The immortal 16

The primary reason the 16 faded on the American market is that it was passed over as a "official skeet" load in the 60's and the American manufacturers simply promoted the 20 and 12's instead. In the last decade there has been a resurgence of interest in the 16, with Browning, Remington, and others making special production runs of the 16.....the late Bill Hanus was responsible in a large part for promoting 16's on his site " Birdguns" and he was largely responsible for putting those imported and domestic 16's into our hands as a dealer. The old adage for the 16 was "carries like a 20 - hit's like a 12".....There are plenty of loads for the 16 out there....and there is an "underground society" of us who still collect and shoot them.

 

[Limpy88]

the 16ga has always been a hunting round. not much of a sporting round. with 12ga being very versatile can be both. with more modern ammo the 20ga can do most of the 16ga range with a lighter gun to carry in the field. really the 16ga was out by the 70's but their were still many guns being used so the ammo was available. but as those cheap single shots broke from misuse or the pumps rusted in the closet's. the replaced them with the lighter 20ga as the shot weight was similar and you could carry more shells. less demand for the ammo less production.

kinda the same way 10ga has disappeared with 3 and 3.5 inch 12ga shells preforming better in cheaper and lighter guns.

The 28 guage is pretty much only kept alive because that is one of the classifications in registered skeet shooting competition. The 28 has a definite advantage over the little .410, but not many people buy the 28 gauge outside of skeet.

Did you know that there is even a 24 gauge? I thought it was a misprint, but I saw it myself, it was a modern production Beretta. This one was brought in by an individual, Beretta does not import them. He was trying to sell it.....because it was too hard to get shells.

there was a 4 ga down to 9mm.

here is a pic of most of them
10,12,14,16,20,24,32,.410,9mm

i will have to disagree with you on 28ga. 28ga is used all over the world as a bird gun. small pheasant and doves. a true 28 ga gun is the best. out of all the gauges the 28ga is one of the most efficient sizes. a good short shot string, and very low recoil. if the gun is is a true 28ga not 28ga barrel on 20ga frame. the gun is very light, 5lbs or so. near prefect for a 10 hr day walking and shooting. both hunting loads for 20ga and 28ga are 7/8oz.

 

[Leo]

That is a great picture of shells, I didn't know about the 14 or the 32 either. Thanks for posting. I believe you are right about the 28 being a great woodland bird gun, I just never saw anyone carry one in the field ( I have only hunted in the US) and have never seen one in a store, other than the Beretta Gallery in Dallas. Those were skeet models. After shooting the 28, I really liked it. Mine is just 28 gauge Kolar tubes inside a 12 gauge O/U so there is NO recoil. Like you said, a dedicated, properly proportioned 28 gauge is a real sweet gun.

 

[Loc n load]

Side bar on the 28

I bought a Citori 16 gran lightning from Bill Hanus back in 05 and he wrote me a letter saying that he had a twin to my 16 in 28... he referred me to his web site where he had several articles abt the virtues of the 16 & 28....I bought the 28 also....it is an amazing small bore load...considering it's bore size...WW was making 1oz loads for it and I have bagged a bunch of birds with mine...and u r correct...u don't see many of them in the field, but they are like the 16's....they are out there.