doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Well Known & publicized "Facts"

No. I just go by feel. The GL, to me, had a very significant "weight forward" feel. Some people might prefer that. I don't. Ruger worked hard to reduce overall weight on that gun. They milled metal out of the receiver. Unfortunately, that only added to the gun's weight forward bias.

Re light American guns: While light 12's were relatively rare (compared to Brit/European guns), light smallbores definitely were not. A lot of Ithaca Flues 20's, for example, were very light. Plenty of light Fox and Parker 20's out there as well. Although I like Parker Repros in general, one place I think they went wrong was in the weight of their 20's. Although they were 0 frame guns, they're decidedly heavier than most original 0 frame Parker 20's.

The lightest double I have is a 20 ga custom Fox that weighs 5.4 and it is a great woodcock gun. Bobby

Do you disagree with the first premise or the latter, or both. Why?

QUOTE ""A 16 gauge shotgun carries like a 20 gauge, and hits like a 12 gauge."

Do you disagree with the first premise or the latter, or both. Why?"


Both are incorrect -- 16 gauge shotguns are usually heavier than 20 gauge shotguns...and 12 gauge shotguns normally throw more shot weight at the same or higher velocity.

Nevertheless, I do own and use a 16 gauge shotgun.

A better variation of the sixteen gauge axiom is:"It hits like a 20 and kicks like a 12" and shells are harder to come by...Geo

I druther say "A 16 carries better than a 12 and hits harder than a 20".

SRH

While readily that in this current age 16 gauge shells are harder to come by.
"Both" of the other Axioms are of course incorrect. For instance I have one 12 ga gun which is lighter than a couple of 16's I currently own & also lighter than a few 20's I have previously owned. I Could never see carrying around a 7 lb
20ga so those took the walk. If I'm going to carry around 7 lbs of gun it may as well be a 12. "Kick" is of course a result of the weight of the gun & the load used. Any of these gauges if the heaviest available load is fired from the lightest weight gun of the gauge can have a pretty vicious kick, while if a more moderate load is fired from a gun of slightly more weight then the kick comes under control. The old 2 3/4DE with 1 1/8 oz of shot is rather comfortable from any 16 of at least 6 lbs weight for most hunting situations. The 2� DE-1 oz is even more so, no viciousness at all there.
Of course if you insist on stuffing a 1� "Mag" load in a sub 6lb gun doesn't matter if its a standard 16 or 3" 20 it'll Kick the Snot out of Ya, more so than a 1� oz load from a 7lb 12.

One axiom you can bank on is the bigger the hole down the barrel the more shot it is capable of efficiently handling & also the gun will need to be heavier to handle the more shot.

Yes, Miller, there are exceptions. But, in general, 12s outweigh 16s, and 16s outweigh 20s.

Actually, a 16 ga. gun carries like a 16, and hits like a 16.

Other than that, there are no absolutes due to variations in guns and shotshell loads.

I have two small frame DS grade Lefevers that are less than 500 serial numbers apart. One is a 20 ga. and the other is a 16 ga. Both have 28" barrels, and they look virtually identical except for the slightly larger diameter barrels of the 16 ga. However, the 16 ga. weighs a full ounce less than its' 20 ga. twin.

There is no logical or rational explanation for the much lower popularity of the 16 gauge shotgun... especially in a nation of gun owners who aren't satisfied with having only about two dozen .30 caliber rifle cartridges.