I've never owned a 16 but when I was kid (12-15) a good buddy had one and I shot it a bit. Honestly, being a kid, all I saw was a gun near the size and weight of a 12 with ammo harder to find with no perceived advantages. The article above details the actual numbers, but these stats never were evident in use. Later on I got a 20Ga which was 2 lbs lighter and with 3" mag loads carried a pretty hefty lead payload albeit moving a bit slower and not as clean of a pattern. I can however see the nostalgic value of a cool 16 and wouldn't mind seeing one in my safe.

My dad shot a 16ga shotgun all his life. I don't believe I've ever fired it, though. (I'm not a bird hunter.)

flashguy

A properly scaled 16ga is a bird hunters magic wand. The field is where it really shines.

The latest Browning Sweet Sixteen (made in Portugal) is truly a sweet shotgun. Much better than the Auto Five Belgium/Japan model.

Sixteen gauge works just fine...

quote:

Originally posted by mesabi:
Sixteen gauge works just fine...

That is a sweet looking English stocked, two trigger double gun right there. You of course need to wear an English tweed shooting jacket when afield with that beauty.

During the 50’s in w/central Ohio the “16” was the go to gauge for hunting. My three brothers each had one and most other hunters around used them. My dad got me one for Christmas when I turned 15.