doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com "The Queen of Guns"

I would suspect that if 16's were as common as 12's, they would be as desirable as 12's. I'd think all the clay target games, not just skeet, influence gauge popularity. Not necessarily gun up, but trap always seemed to me like better prep for the uplands than skeet, though variations like SC probably works out as intended.

To be in realm of possibility we would need fleet of dedicated (proper proportion and weight) 16ga guns plus readily available wide variety of loads like "reduced recoil", non-tox, spreader loads,..... That is less likely than working man being better off economically in four or eight years than they're today.

Since I can"t seem to find a proper Woodward, I guess I'll have to settle for this ugly stepchild:

http://stevebarnettfineguns.com/ww-greener-shotguns-for-sale/wwgreener-premier-sxs-16-gauge

6 lbs. 5 oz. of 16 ga goodness!!
Best regards,
JBP

Very, very nice and with Knights of Templar monogram on the trigger guard, bravo. Previous owner must have been a baron at least. It is strange that "Dukie" would pick W.W.Greener when Holland & Holland or a Purdey would seem much more appropriate.

Nice! I would need to grouse hunt with a small blanket though, just to have something to lay it on when I take a leak!

Lack of ammo v.s guns? If benelli or beretta made a scaled sixteen auto loader....and if ammo (phez, duck, goose and upland loads) were available at most any gun shop......there would be a lot sixteens being shot. The A5 is geared to a specific clientele, being a humpback and all. Bass pro sells 16ga. steel #2 and #4's. I just might need to look into a BPS....if it's not to heavy?

P.S. - I've been spoiled with my new to me BL-4 20ga. weighing in at 5lbs. 6 oz.

Nah, all you would have to do is pass it on to your gun carrier/bodyguard/servant.

You do not want BPS even with shorter barrel and straight grip stock 16ga scales 7lb or more. The best upland pump was sadly long discontinued 6.5lb 12ga Model 12 Featherweight 26" barrel with 1/4 choke standard.

King, it's probably best to look at the 16 as a very versatile UPLAND shotgun. The nontoxic options are very limited for waterfowl, but because you can shoot up to 1 1/4 oz of lead through a 16--or at least through SOME 16's--it will handle any upland needs with no problems.

As noted above, the exclusion of the 16 as an "official" skeet gauge certainly hurt. So did the advent of the 3" 20ga. So did American manufacturers cutting corners and building 16's on 12ga frames. I think it will retain popularity especially among sxs shooters. We're clearly a niche market anyhow. But a properly proportioned 16 is an excellent upland gun.

One factor affecting the desirability of the 16 in a SXS is that typically it is less expensive to acquire than a 20 gauge, but often weighs the same or less than a 20. I have 3 before or between the wars Birmingham boxlocks that weigh between 5 lbs. 12-13 oz that were acquired for slightly more than a 12 gauge,but considerably less than a 20, fit and finish equal.
In the past few years looking at French auction sites, I note far more 16 gauge accessories listed than 12 or 20 gauge. That, to me, is an indication of the popularity of the 16 in France.
While one of the Birmy's was re-proofed for 70mm, I hesitate to shoot the 2 3/4" 1 oz. loads because of the age of the gun and wood. I am content to either handload or shoot Polywads, handloading either 3/4 or 7/8 oz loads. I use the cheaper Herter's 16 gauge 1 oz. loads for dove and snipe shooting them out of my Ithaca 37's or M12.
Gil

Larry;
I think that is a pretty good summation of the falling popularity of the 16. Trap shooting was always primarily a 12 gauge game. The 16 was more popular in the uplands for many years. Those who shot Skeet as well as hunted naturally turned to the 20 for an upland gun for they were most likely set up to load for it. After Skeet was introduced the 20 gradually gained in popularity then with the introduction of the 3" chambering it gained even more. I am fastly approaching 79 years of age & can well remember when one saw more Southern "Bird Hunters" (Quail) carrying far more 16's than 20's & this applied to pumps & the Hump-Back Browning as well. The Browning Sweet 16 was a very popular gun among Bird Hunters.
In my part of the South at least one might go Turkey hunting, Dove Shooting, Duck or Goose Hunting etc, but nobody went Quail Hunting, they went Bird Hunting.

Miller, the 16 was reasonably popular in my part of the country as well, with pheasants and waterfowl being the primary species when I was starting to hunt. Back when we could shoot lead at ducks, a 16 wasn't much of a handicap. And although those Belgian Sweet 16's aren't ultralight by any means, they're one heck of a lot lighter than an A-5 in 12ga. Quite a few 16ga pumps in use back then.