20ga - rating the effectiveness of a ga on the basis of popular vote ignores the simple fact that more than the majority of shooters (actually nearly any adult) don't know WTF they're talking about regardless of subject.
16ga - if it is so foo king wonderful why is it nearly extinct? Maybe the 20ga shooters should be told about it?
have another day
Dr.WtS
Well . . . we're talking GROUSE hunters here, weight being an important factor because you end up doing a fair amount of one-hand carrying if you're actually in the woods where the birds live. Easier to find a light 20 than a light 12, and you certainly don't need more than an ounce of shot to kill a grouse. The same statistics that showed the 20 to be the choice of over half the grouse hunters who responded also showed that the 28ga has gained significantly in popularity with those who chase woods birds, compared to surveys conducted back in the 80's--which would indicate that even 3/4 ounce works well for many hunters. The surge in interest among grouse hunters is likely due to the fact that most 28's back then were skeet guns, and while skeet chokes are fine for grouse, skeet gun weight is not. Parker Repro showed up in the 80's, and the Spanish started sending a lot more 28ga doubles our way.
The problem with the 16--which has also shown a modest gain in popularity with grouse hunters over the last 3 decades--is that it's not one of the "official" gauges in competition skeet. Therefore, the ammo companies don't crank out 16ga shells in good, reloadable hulls. And, like with 28's, the shells are more expensive than either 20's or 12's--or at least they have been until Cabela's started selling some pretty nice Herters-branded 16's. But just plain not a lot of 16ga guns out there in comparison to 20's, and never will be. Yet whenever Browning stops making Citori 16's, some volume dealer will come along and say they should make more of them--and Browning will do another special run. And they don't stay on the shelves for very long.
