For all that, Fox, no one ever said British and European shooters aren't discriminating in their choice of shotguns---and the 16 is right up there. Bourjaily's article comparing 3- and 3.5-inch magnums would appear as nutty over there, as it is in Atlantic Canada. We see them rarely in the hands of experienced waterfowlers. In my view, "solid absence of the bastard gauge here" says more about a bigger-is-better mentality than the gauge.