doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Why not the sixteen

Tell him about these. they are great, and even with shipping, still reasonable:
http://www.gamaliel.com/pc_product_detail.asp?key=D85561AE98714571B344079757E13965&
JR

I shoot 16ga 90-95% of the time for upland and clays. If I start waterfowl again I will shoot 16 more often than not.

That said 16 has become an affectation. Something that sets some apart from others. Similar to my monolithic love of SxS.

The market forces today guarantee 16 will stay marginalized. It will never "come back." However, it will not disappear either.

I had thought a few years back that non toxic might not do well in the smaller gauges to the extent 16 might get another look. That has not shown to be the case.

It's an affectation to the extent we draw attention from others to ourselves but not consciously contrived behaviour if the shooter see no distinction between gauges for the mission i.e. anything within 25-30 yards or, here or in Kansas, size of hoe for weeding beets. I don't think of discriminating use of the 16 as affectation in that sense. I'm alone most of the time anyway as I imagine you are on the prairies.

Old Colonel wrote, "That said 16 has become an affectation. Something that sets some apart from others. Similar to my monolithic love of SxS."

I certainly have an affection for my AyA and after thinking about it, I have concluded that the reason for my preferences are associated with refining my upland bird hunting.

I shoot my AyA better than I did my BSS's and the differences are the AyA carries better, has been fitted to me and definitely patterns better; therefore I'm happier with the AyA. Happiness is an important part of the equation regardless of gauge or gun.

I got the 16 ga bug about 10 years ago with a Jap made Sweet Sixteen. That gun was so-so in handling and weight.
I graduated to a high end citori and recently added a Merkel SxS.
I shoot both quite well and will be hammering doves with the Merkel, next week.
If I couldn't reload for it, I likely would not keep the guns. Ammo is fairly easy to find, cause I live close to cabelas, but except for light clays loads (herters) its pricey.
Its a fun gauge. Necessary? No, but I enjoy trying different guns and gauges. If I didn't I'd still be shooting that 1968 Winchester 1200, no rib, fixed full choke 12 ga.

Those not wishing to reload for the 16 now have another option: Herters 1 oz loads, available from Cabela's. Usually around $6/box; a little less when Cabela's has them on sale.

I'm currently field testing one of the new A-5 Sweet 16's from Browning. 3 rounds of skeet the other day, with the IC choke tube in place. Shooting low gun: 24-23-24. Mine tips the scale at 5/15. I was a fan of the original Sweet 16, but never carried it afield because a 16 that weighs right around 7# (you're unlikely to find an old one under than unless it has a plain 26" barrel) doesn't make a lot of sense to me. This gun does. Function was perfect . . . once I realized that the through bolt hadn't been properly tightened. Borrowed one for a couple rounds from fellow writer Phil Bourjaily a few weeks ago. Discovered with that one that RST's, either 3/4 or 7/8 oz, wouldn't cycle it. But no worries, because there's no real issue with recoil from the 1 oz loads in that gun. Tomorrow I'm going to try a few 1 1/8 oz loads, just to see how they feel.

The gauge has seen somewhat of a resurgence in popularity. You can get a BPS 16ga as well as the A-5, if you're into magazine guns. And you see a higher % of Spanish 16's these days than 30 years ago. In addition to really light sxs like Merkel's 1620. And looking at data from the Loyal Order of Dedicated Grouse Hunters, 30 years ago vs currently, there's been a bit of an uptick in the gun's popularity.

I'll be doing an article on doing it all with one gun--if by ALL you mean all upland hunting--later this year. It'll be based on my experiences with this A-5, plus my hunting notes from several years ago when I did nearly all my hunting, from woodcock to pheasants, with a Poli sxs I'd had Briley fit with choke tubes. That's one I wish I still had.

I only hunt with 16 ga, not to be "different", but because it suits me best. I almost always use 1 1/8 oz loads with game appropriate shot size. As an exception, I used 1 1/4 oz #2 in a cyl bore o/u in Germany for hare(and if a pheasant flushed). I also started with a Sweet Sixteen(Belgian). No regrets whatsoever.
Mike

Be glad the Poli's gone, Larry. It would be in the shop somewhere awaiting repair.

The new "A5" 16 from Browning is very light, by all accounts, including yours. A 6 lb. gun is difficult for me to shoot well, 6 1/2 being about my lower limit. I suppose some who need three shots and walk with their gun a lot will find it useful enough, though much longer than a sxs or o/u, the price paid for an autoloader's third shot.

Don't really know what the appeal for this gun is other than an oddball grouse/pheasant gun.
JR

When I was a kid starting out with a 16 sxs blne I fell in love with gauge and through more 16's than I now remember I have stuck with it.

I did have a sweet sixteen auto which was not pretty, but I shot it well, a buddy shot it well too and he now has it.

Thanks for that, John. I've forwarded it.

Mike