A 16ga was the "Darling" of many an old Southern "Bird" hunter both in doubles & in the early pumps & semi autos. The A5 in Sweet 16 guise was a great favorite of many. To you yanks, in the South Bird means the Bob White quail. Any other species one might hunt was called by name, but when one went after quail they were Bird Hunting. I think the fact that the 16 was skipped in the regular line up in skeet probably had more to do with its decline than any other factor. The 16 could only be shot against the 12s, so if one had a twenty to shoot in that class it simply didn't make much sense to also have a 16.
The vast majority of my hunting has been done with the 12 & 20s, but I do like the 16 as well. For those of us who still like the classical American doubles it is still easier to find a 16 in the 6-6˝ lb range than a 12 & they are generally less costlier than the same grade gun in a 20. The vast majority of US 12s are over 7lbs, I do realize lighter ones were built, they are not the ones most commonly found.
I do have A Lefever 12ga in H grade with 28" twist bbls which weighs 6˝lbs. Also have an H grade 16 with 28" twist bbls that weighs 6 3/4lbs. And "YES" stood up across the room, even looking through my glasses for my less than perfect 74 year old eyes, that 16 still has a neater & trimmer look. Also in spite of its heavier than normal for a 16 weight it was built on the smaller XX frame. I did pay more for this 16 than I did for a 12ga FE, but the fact it was some 20 yrars later was the major factor there.

Miller/TN
I Didn't Say Everything I Said, Yogi Berra