doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com What is the status of the 16 Gauge Society?

RATM-- ROTM- right on the money. RATM-- Vas ist Los??

You can't be a Colonel- Lt. or full bird, without first being a Major. No big deal. In my 12 years as a Marine ( 8 of which were as a NCO) I had to salute them all. The best officers were the Mustangs and the Warrant Officers, the worst were the Annapolis graduates-

I believe that confidence is everything...guns, women, occupation, you name it...if you are confident with a 20, or a 12, or a 16, great! Shoot it!

Back in the day the 16 gauge was considered to be the "Queen of the Uplands" in the US because our 12 gauge guns tended to be quite heavy - in the 7-1/2 to 8-1/2lb range. Many considered them to be too heavy for typical Eastern upland work although that was not the opinion of the majority of Midwest pheasant hunters.

In the UK where the 12 bore guns being made in the early 1900's were relatively light a typical double weighed around 6lb 12oz and some were made weighing in at 6lb 4oz. 16 bores in the UK although used by several prominent people such as the Prince of Wales and Lord Walsingham were generally made for youths or ladies. Over there the 12 bore predominated then as it does now.

Are we still talking about the 16 ga society?

I appears that my thread has morphed into a general discussion of 16 gauge guns and loads. That's okay.

I remember Morph and Mindy. Great TV show indeed. Is there a: 20 gauge society? a 28 gauge society? a .410 society? Most serious shotgunners tend toward a 12 gauge- you can shoot 7/8 ounce lite loads, get 2.5" shells for your Limey doubleguns from RST, and when out in Nebraska or the Dakotas in late Oct-into Nov. after "ditch parrots"- every Mom and Pop small town hardware will have 12 gauge shells- not so certain about 16's. Why not ask all the Pheasant Hunting operations that advertise in Shooting Sportsman how many of their clients shoot 16 or 20 gauge shotguns when they are paying 4 figures for 3 days hunting cacklebirds-with room and board?? When the money is on the line, the 12 is just fine..

I love my 28, my 20, my 16's and my 12's...I have plenty of room in my rig to transport several guns and the shells needed to hunt with them. Limits are pretty low these days for even a mediocre shot like me to not run out of shells...to each is own.

Ah .. Morph (Mork) and Mindy and then there was Cheers with Cliff Clavin dispensing wisdom. Cliff was not a 16 Ga. fan and often argued his point ad nauseam.
Yes, there is a 28 gauge society. I think that everyone acknowledges that commercial 16 Ga. ammo is lacking in both quantity and ejecta diversity.
That said, in my opinion there is no finer upland bird gun than a 16 Ga. Game gun and I define game gun as a SxS weighing 6 lbs, with a straight stock, splinter forend and double triggers, choked Imp. Cyl. and Modified. And reloads make the gauge perfect.

what I love about my sub-gauge guns has nothing to do with shooting them...it has to do with the 99% of the time that I am simply carrying them...they a joy to carry. I recall taking an aya 4/53 20 gauge from a gun rack about ten years ago, and "getting it" instantly....12's don't affect me that way, but maybe there are some that would....but like someone had written, it was like taking a petite lady onto the dance floor...much different than anything I had experienced....