doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com popularity of 16 guage shotguns

Tut,
I thought they did that a while back, the Citori 16 on a 20 frame.

http://www.billhanusbirdguns.com/browning16.html

Twenty to thirty years ago selling any double was hard and a 16 almost had to be given away to sell them. Common myth was that ammo was not available. It was just not a discount sellers and often in limited quantities. I bought several 16 Sterlingworths for less than the going 12 rate and half what a 20 was selling for. A 30" 16 bore Fox is a very nice gun to carry.

Today there is a market for 16's. Almost a cult, like the 28 has enjoyed for years has created a decent number of buyers. I think the internet has saved the 16. On the net you can find ammo, wads and complete range of reloading materials. Without ammo that is affordable and plentiful these old guns just become all hangers or closet queens. Kind of like a muscle car without gas to run them. Not much fun.

When I grew up in NE GA back in the stone age (the 1950's and into the early 1970's), a 16-bore was THE gun for all the "bird" (quail) hunters and rabbit chasers in the county. But no one I knew shot a side x side in those days (never saw a Parker until after I was married), they all shot auto shuckers; those considered more well-to-do sporting Browning A-5's (Sweet 16's), and the less well off toting a Remington Sportsman 58. The first "real" gun I ever purchased was 16-bore Rem. 1100 with which I bagged truck loads of game; but 16-bore 1100's haven't been manufactured in years and are now considered "collectible". I graduated to a 12-bore Browning A-5 because I got into reloading and Win AA hulls and wads were obtainable; whereas components to load the 16-bore at the time were almost non-existant. It was the guys in my generation who graduated to 12-bores; and I vividly remember my father telling me that I was an idiot for trading the best gun ever made (the Browning A-5) for an Ithaca 200E double. I wanted a side by side because gun writers of the day waxed lovingly over "romances" with side x side; and I also wanted a side x side to increase the difficulty factor in my shooting, as almost never missing with the A-5 was making my chosen sport a bit monotonous. I have some great memories afield with 16 bores, and especially with my 16 gauge side x sides; the most memorable event that of scoring a left and right on a pair of grey fox my beagles flushed from a brier thicket (I don't suppose too many doubles have been scored on grey fox?). But alas, those grizzled old bird hunters have now died off along with their beloved quarry, the Bobwhite Quail; and with their demise, so came the demise of the 16-bore as regards popularity in my area so no shooter I know now carries a 16-bore afield. Contemplating all these changes make me a bit sad; but I'm glad to know that the 16-bore is still alive and well in some parts of the country.

www.16ga.com take a look at this site. The 16 has a dedicated following.

that looks like bing crosby. the other person i dont recognize. i asked the question basically because i see a great interest in the 20 guage of late and many 16s seem to be far less expensive
and of equal quality. i do have several 16s of fine makers and prefer them over my others [12s, 20s, 28s, and 410s] i seldom see 16s in the field or on the range.

I've got a 16ga Fox Sterlingworth that weighs 5 lbs, 11oz. Easy to carry, easy to point, throws a beautiful pattern of 1 oz shot. What more could you ask for in the uplands?

I own a couple of 16 bore shotguns. I really like a 16 and as the old saying goes, the 16 carries like a 20, but kills like a 12. The perfect upland gun IMHO. In answer to your question, I think they are getting a little more popular but I don't have any statistics to back that up. I wish they were cheap because I'd like to have a Holland or Purdey 16 but they seem very high priced to me. :-(

If you want a 16 gauge repeater on a 16 gauge frame, get an Ithaca. Still produced and still on a 16 gauge frame.
BTW, my dad's favorite gun was a borrowed 16 ga. Fox Sterlingworth. Guess he hadn't progressed up to an Ithaca. Just reporting the history.

I have one. Don't like the way it looks compared to all my SxS guns but I sure like the way I shoot it.

They carry well, point better, and do the job. Love them! But then I'm biased! Taken woodcock to Canada geese (just started turkey hunting). I'm sure a slug in the side of a deer will drop them also.

They just 'feel' right
(time for this noob to brag)