doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 16 bore shotguns

I'm with Dig on this - I use a Darlow of Norwich 16 bore s*s sidelock for a number of types of shooting and really enjoy using it. We have a reasonable selection of ammunition here in the UK, although for traditional 2.5 chambers, (understandably) this is generally restricted to 1oz loads and below. See attached for interest.

http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/guns/ammo/226013/16bore_cartridge_review.html

Craig.

The folks at 16ga.com will tell you just about any 2 3/4 inch load for a 16 can be reworked by cutting off the fold crimp and roll crimping into a 2 1/2 inch load with no appreciable difference in pressure. A couple months back, I bought a flat of Estates on sale at Cabelas for like $50 or so and have been working my way through them, one box at a time, cutting them down and roll crimping them. And I'll reload them.

Works fine, though it's a bit tedious. Having done both, for this purpose I'll suggest the Federal/Estates as the better choice over the black Remington GL b/c the Federal/Estate plastic is more pliable and works more easily. But for target shooting it's a lot cheaper than $13 or so retail for a box of the very excellent RSTs at Bean's. For reloading, there's a mountain of loads compiled over at 16ga.com and in the low-pressure group there, too.

I think it's the ideal upland gauge, though I do tend to slightly prefer a 12 when hunting pheasants.

To my knowledge, ALL the "promotional" 1 oz 16ga loads from Rem/Fed/Win are 1165 fps. Given that the velocity and shot charge are the same, I never found much of a difference in recoil. I agree that the Wins seem the lightest-recoiling of the bunch, but not by a whole lot. But 7/8 is definitely the way you want to go in a light 16. RST's are absolutely great, but pricey if you shoot a lot. And economics is one reason to reload 7/8 oz 16's . . . but the DR wads are also on the pricey side. And not as readily available as 12ga or 20ga components.

The reason I went away from the 16, after shooting a lot of them for a lot of years, is that I got tired of tinkering around with reloads. It's all so much easier with 12's and 20's (and even 28's). And there are plenty of light 12's on the market, and plenty of even lighter 20's.

Be careful with the Federal Estates, they have a paper based inner wad that has been known to loosen and could lodge in your barrel.
This is especially true if you find them after they have been lying on the ground after a dew or rain.

I use the Cheddite red hulls that come primed already that were available from Grafs. They were 2 9/16" and I roll crimp them.
The black Remingtons are good if you can find them.

Larry, where did you find the "even lighter 20's"? They are about the hardest shell to find in a light load. I would reload them to 2 1/2" and roll crimp them, but I have only found a few loads light enough to use. These were 2 3/4" 6 fold, but will work in a 2 1/2" hull roll crimped.

Like what many others have said; the 16ga is my primary hunting gauge. And, I have no problem finding the shells I want on the interent or buying up a dozen flats when the promo loads go on sale at Dick's near the beginning of the season.

Except for goose hunting, I don't know why the other gauges exist. :-)

--shinbone

Dover- I'm not very recoil sensitive so am probably not the guy for this opinion but I haven't found any problem with them. I do wish also that they had a better selection.

I've not shot the RSTs - maybe I'll try them but the BPs work well.

I agree. I have three 16's and a light 12, and the 12 I shoot as a 16, with light 1 oz. loads.

But..but...REAL MEN shoot 12 gauges !

A few years ago I did an informal comparison on doves, using an Elsie Ideal 16 FWE with 30" barrels and tight chokes. Shot Fed blue box field loads, Rem promo field loads, and Win Super-X silver box field loads, all from WalMart and K-Mart, all 1oz. All three killed doves nicely, but the Rems kicked the most and the Wins were softest. Very noticeable difference to me.

Can't add much other than personal experience. My handle is a clue to my preference, and the only 12 I own is limited to turkey and waterfowl. Otherwise, the three sxs 16's get the nod. I have a large build and very large hands, but a 12 just feels like a cinder block married to a 2x4. Likewise a 20 or 28 is too small and whippy, the recoil in the former sharp and wicked with many loads. The 16, to me, is just right. YMMV.

A short time ago, someone posted that if he needed to shoot 7/8 or 3/4, he just picked up a 20 or 28. I am not a natural or a great shot, so anything I can do to keep following the fundamentals is a plus. Thus it makes sense for me to change the load, and not the gun- perhaps not unlike subgauge tubes for serious skeet shooters.

You do have to be more proactive with your ammo than a 12 or 20, but it's not the big deal that skeptics claim. I reload on a PW 375c, and mostly load 65's since two outa the three are 2.5 " chambers. I'm loading them mostly with 3/4 oz, and if I do my part, am consistently surprised how far out they will break targets. This one load covers me for targets, quail, and dove: for roosters and grouse I have a flat of RST 1 oz mixed (they do so happily for you) between 6's and 7's. One oz is usually plenty: I took out a long, crossing rooster the last week of KS pheasant season this year with an ounce of RST Lite 6's in a 65mm hull out of a light mod barrel. Post-mortem revealed numerous pellet strikes going past the meat well into the vitals.

The 16 has been called Queen of the Uplands for good reason, and is my go to gauge for even more. Long live the purple shell.

Mike