Cool! I had a single shot in 16 ga once but let it go. Had a nicely figured buttstock on it too.

 

Nice gun, Two years ago I grabbed the wrong box of shells off the store shelf. They were 16 ga, I didn't bring them back, now I have to get a sweet 16 shotgun.

 

I suffer from the same affliction. I call it "the cart before the horse" syndrome. I've had it for years.

I bought 105 boxes of shells from an auction and didn't have a 16 gauge. Now I have a Winchester Model 12 skeet with cylinder choke, a Belgian Browning Sweet 16 with modifed choke, and a Remington 870 NIB with screw in chokes but haven't been bird hunting since!

The ammo was my enabler. Not the first time either...

 

I have an Ithaca Model 37 16 Gauge Featherlight made in 1956, the year I was born that I bought several years ago. Grandfather had one and I used it when I was a youngster and my uncle currently has it. I have been trying to buy it for decades, but no luck, so I found this one in excellent condition. Great Gauge and Gun. I have used it a few times Bunny Hunting and Pheasant Hunting.

 

Here is a picture of my 1956 Ithaca Featherlight in 16 Gauge I mentioned earlier- 68 years old.

 

I have a 16 gauge single shot built from parts on a H&R frame. Haven't done a lot of shooting with it but it's been pretty sweet so far.

 

my brother recently brother recently bought a 100+ year old diamond arms single shot, just a good little shooter. I wouldnt mind getting a 16

 

I have 2 16 ga SxSs, an OU and a single shot and an old SxS hammer gun. It was my primary pheasant ga and took its share of ducks. Handloaded it and liked the Cheddite and Fiochji cases bes for heavy loads. Had a 1 oz steel load and a tungsten polymer load that was good.
Big thing with the 16 is that you wanted one on a 16 ga frame. Many used a 12 ga receiver and a 16 ga barrel. The 20 ga 3 inch was marketed as better. It is not. Generally the 16 ga handloads gave better patterns and were faster. It handled the tungsten polymer shot far better. The 20 just had too much pressure. With leas shot using copper plated or nickel they were about equal. But the 20 magnum performed best with 1 1/8 loads. More shot in the 30 in citcle. The 1 1/4 oz loads were notoriously poor out of the magnum as were the 1 1/8 out of the 20 ga 2 3/4.
16 ga was an example of manufacturing shortcuts and clever marketing trying to eliminate a good cartridge. You se it in rifles in the 7mm Mauser and it's off shoots. Generally they are better than the 308 based equivalents but they require their own action length.

DEP

 

"16 gauge isn't 100% Dead."

.... 16 gauge is about 99.999% dead ... haven't seen a 16 gauge shotgun or box of ammo on a rack or shelf in 20 years ... back in the 60s when I was growing up there were lots of hunters packing 16 gauge shotguns ... 12 & 20 gauge are still popular and to a lesser degree 410 still has a small dedicated following especially among smaller stature hunters ... even see the odd box of 28 gauge on store shelves but never 16 gauge

 

My local bass pro has every gauge available from .410 to 10 gauge, in ample supply. But Oklahoma is pretty different than Canada

 

Plenty of 16 gauge ammo available online.

 

My LGS seems to always have a sampling of 16 gauge ammo on the shelf.

 

LGS is the last place I look for ammo, it's usually easy to beat their prices by a decent margin.

 

Well I have been a 16 gauge owner since I was 12. I still have the original STEVENS 940D I got for my birthday way back then.
I have added to my 16 bore stable several many times since.
Marlin 90 O/U
2 Ithaca 37s
A 16 Gauge barrel for my Savage 219 frame. I am still for an affordable forearm for it.

I think one of the blows to the 16 is for a while companies dropped the 16 ga frame and changed it to a 12 ga frame. It does not make sense to lug all that extra weight around. I saw this on Remington's attempt to revive the 16. Now had they used the 20 frame I might own one of them.

I am seeing ammo on the shelf at local gun stores and even picked up 2 boxes at Walmart.

The 2 influencers in my youth to own a 16 were Dad and Jack O'Conner. Dad because I used his Ithaca 16 and O'Conner because he whooped up his 16 gauge Winchester 21s.

 

I see 16ga ammunition on the shelves here. I have a 28” and 36” barrels, both full choke. It’s alive and well in Appalachia.

 

I have 3, 1 o/u, 1 s/s & a s/s Darn sliding breach. As a general rule a 16 will pattern better than a 20 any day of the week. A 1oz load in a 16 is a square charge. Mind I am not short on 20ies either. But as a walked up bird gun it takes a lot of beating. Gar.

 

The 16 has become my full on favorite for bird hunting for about the last 10 years - carry an 870 or a Citori O/U ( which is preferred because it handles better for me than the 870).
I've used the Citori on sporting clays as well as upland birds - have no problem finding shells - and reloading them is not difficult. Components are readily available.

And for those who really want to question my sanity - I love shooting my 28 gauges as well. . . LOL

 

My granddad had a LC Smith made for him in the mid 20’s. 16 Ga. That was the first gun I ever used for hunting Squirrels in the 50’s.

 

I seem to remember a sales pitch from years ago - "Shoots like a 12, carries like a 20."

I actually sent Henry a message within the last year suggesting they make a one year run of their single-shot shotguns in 16 gauge and call it "Classic" or something similar. Have not seem much action in response to my suggestion but it would seem to be a nostalgic rabbit gun.

 

Gareth mentioned the square shot load theory. 16 ga will fit 16 1 oz balls to make a pound where the 20 takes 20 bore sized ball.
Two things affect shot patterns. Bore scrub or the amount of shot pellets that get rubbed against the sides of of the barrel on ignition ad set back. How the upper pellets deform the bottom ones on discharge. Longer shot columns are worse on both. Plastic wads and hard shot have alleviated both to some extent. But require cushioning.
Some of the English shotguns were 12 bore but had shorter chambers as shorter shot columns were felt to be better. They shot 1 oz loads in a 2.5 inch shell. Very light for gauge shotguns. English rule is that the shot charge should not exceed 1/96 the weight of the shotgun. 6.5 shotgun only should shoot 1 1/16 oz of shot.
The American 2 3/4 in shell with its standard loads was amazingly efficient. For ducks I finally settled on the 12 bore 1 1/4 oz load as good enough. (When leadcwas legal) 1 1/8 in the 16. 3 inch magnums did not perform so well. Guy by the name of Tom Roster did a lot of research and found that also. A bore size was efficient at certain weights of shot and too much was not so good.

DEP

 

I still shoot my old 16 gague side by side and do pretty well on hand thrown clay birds and the odd partridge. It's a Kettner,and it's got just about 20 years on me age wise, very good handling shotgun, think I'll keep it.

 

I had an Ithaca model 37 in 16 ga. but when I moved to the Hill Country I needed to trim down on the number of firearms I would move to a limited space. Sadly, I sold it.

As a kid, I would hunt geese with my grandfather. I would use his Remington model 11 (a Browning A-5 clone) chambered in 16 ga, 2/34 inch. When he passed away some of my lowlife relatives went to his house and took all of his guns. I have no idea where they are now.

In the following years, I have been buying firearms models that my grandfather had - primarily model 11s and Savage 99s. The 16 gauge shotguns I currently own are a Remington model 11 and a FN model A-5 which operates with 2 9/16 shells. I found the FN one day when I took a new truck in to have the bed sprayed with a Rhino coating. While I was waiting I walked across the street to a gun shop and there it was. I subsequently found 2 1/2 16 ga. shells so I bought a case. Both shotguns shoot very well. Below is a pic of the two. Note the FN on the right has an adjustable (twist) choke and the safety is forward of the trigger in the trigger guard. I love the humpbacks. The shotguns bring back good memories. - T.S.

 

How about a J.C. Higgins Bolt action 16

 

I Like It ! ! ! ! Have a.410 like it by Stevens with a tube magazine. I'd love a 16 in the fold. Thanks for sharing

 

I’ve been trying to find a 16 for the Wifey for some time now. She’s got an Ithaca 37 in 20 but it doesn’t pattern so well much past 30 or so yards. She used a friend’s 16 to drop several ducks and now has to have one.

 

I love my shotguns for Trap, Sporting Clays, and hunting. I own all gauges but the 16. I was always told the 16ga kicked like a 12 but performed like a 20. I personally, have no experience with the 16 ga. I've always been a sucker for odd ball cartridges, so, this is no different. I guess I want one now.

 

A 16 was the first shotgun I ever shot. I now own that shotgun. Also a 37 from 1954 and a REM 11 in 16 that is in fantastic shape. Lots of 16g shells for sale around me. Even Walmart has a lot every year.

 

Ok I am officially banning myself from Gunbroker. I could of PROBABLY said no, but the "buy now" button is just too easy.

 

Ok I am officially banning myself from Gunbroker. I could of PROBABLY said no, but the "buy now" button is just too easy.

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... I have a few guns and at my age should be thinning out the stable ... the guns I own have APPRECIATED in value since I bought them so I look on them as an investment that keeps increasing in value ... Q: why do I keep them? ... A: because I like them!! ... each gun has a wealth of memories associated with it of people long gone to the happy hunting ground ... life isn't worth living if you can't have things around you that you like ... you can't put a dollar value on that

 

“16 gage isn’t 100% dead” . . . .
Sure isn’t at my house! . . . .
I’m down to three now (LC Smith field, Ithaca No. 2 grade, Winchester M12)

 

Always liked the 16 ga, 1st shotgun was a 16 ga Stevens 58 Bolt Action(1963). I got pounded/scared by a 12 ga Fox double with high brass #5's(brother-in-law's) when I was 12, so I got the 16 ga. I bought my father a 16 ga Stevens double with the Tenite stock so he had a hunting gun. Still have that 16 ga double, also have a 16 ga Sears bolt action with 6 shot tube feed. There were a few 16 ga slug guns in the deer woods of eastern PA back in the 60's. Use the 16 ga Sears when the crows visit my trees harassing my owls and hawks.

 

The first shotgun I was given was a H&R bolt action 16ga, had a 28" barrel and I must of put hundreds of birdshot rounds through it shooting rats, cans, until I found out that a number 2 load was deadly on geese and as it only held 3 rounds that was my goose and duck gun from then on until I moved to Florida 40 some years ago and there isn't much migratory bird hunting here.