My 16 is a 1943 Win. Model 12 choked full. Took my turkey with one shot this fall. All but removed her head. I also shoot skeet with it on occasion. Average 18 but have shot as high as 23 with it. I reload 1 1/8 oz #6 loads. Works for me.
My 16 is a 1943 Win. Model 12 choked full. Took my turkey with one shot this fall. All but removed her head. I also shoot skeet with it on occasion. Average 18 but have shot as high as 23 with it. I reload 1 1/8 oz #6 loads. Works for me.
I traded my sweet Browning Sweet 16 ga. for a Weatherby Regency O/U 20 ga. in 3" Mag. My 16 had a Mod. choke, no rib. It was a great field gun that accounted for a small truck load of dove, a wad of Florida river swamp squirrel, a few ducks and one deer but the ammo section was limited and it was already getting harder to find; I knew it wouldn't get better.
When I picked up the W'bly double in an Asheville, NC, gun shop in '73 it was beautiful and it felt really good; I immediately loved it. It had almost exactly the same deadly heft, balance and pointing quality (for me) as my Browning 16 and had a much better selection of off-the shelf shells. I wanted it !
I was young, we had three kids and a lot of more important places to put our money than guns. I couldn't afford to buy the new gun straight out (it's still in my safe) and keep the old one too so I made a deal. That Browning was the first gun I ever bought for myself and, with a few silent tears, it was also the first I ever sold. I've really not regreted the exchange but I do often wish I still had my Sweety; ($147.50, full retail, + 3% sales tax, at the Jacksonville, FL, Sears in late 1963).
But, for what it's worth, I don't miss the 16 ga. part ... not at all.
Back around 1956 I purchased a used 16 Ga. side-by-side at a surplus store in N. Calif. It was (and is!) a Ranger, which was Sears brand, made by Savage Stevens, perhaps in the 1920s. It appears to be very closely related to the 311 model, but has no markings on it other that "Ranger 16 Ga." It cost me about $25. I bought a box of shells in 7 1/2 shot, but never hit anything with it. I was a Po' boy, so set it aside in favor of my dad's Win. Mod.37 Steelbuilt .410. Eventually I acquired a Win. Mod. 37 in 16 Ga., a wonderful shotgun. The Ranger languished for many years until I eventually became interested in shotguns. I investigated and found that the chambers were for 2 1/2" shells, so poor accuracy with the 2 3/4" shells was understandable. I bought a chamber reamer and forcing cone reamer, did the work, and the difference was amazing. It will be in my estate sale*........
DG
* Date to be determined.
I made a deal over the weekend to add twelve bags of Winchester AA16 wads to my accumulation . So now I’ve got actual WIN AA16 wads, the Claybuster knockoff of the AA wad , the other Claybuster wad that’s the same copy of the AA16 with a displacement dimple in the bottom , Remington SP-16’s and some Gualandi wads . More than enough for the rest of my life .
Parker's , 6.5mm's and my family in the Philippines
Don't do it! We 16 ga shooters don't need another person competing for ammo wad and cases. Some times we find lots of supplies and some time we can't find any. Don't need more competition.
Had an 11-48 that I loved, had to go to pay bills years ago. Still have several boxes of Federal field loads in yellow plastic hulls, when I last looked at those about 15 years ago many of the hulls had splits in them.
Spell check doesn't work in Chrome, so if something is spelled wrong, it's just a typo that I missed.
About 25 yrs ago, +/-, I began looking for a 16 ga. just because I wanted one. My budget was limited, and I limited myself to $200. With a plan, I passed up, at a LGS, a Rem 1100 w/vent rib, as new in the box,for $250. I t did not take very long for me to realize my mistake. It took awhile, but I did find a Rem 870 16 ga. and I still have it. Maybe, someday I might shoot it; I have six boxes of factory shells, and a Lee loader.
I recently snagged this 16 Gauge Parker off the net while everyone else was asleep at the switch. It's a #1 frame 1938 DHE. According to the Parker Book it was a Special Order Code #19. Single Selective trigger, auto ejectors and a ventilated rib. The barrel length is 30". The listing agent "Cabela's" set the price much lower than what it should have been. I just love it when they have a lapse in good judgment. When I saw the photos it took me about 10 seconds to make the call. It may very well be a one of a kind, since they made less than 300 in all grades and gauges with a ventilated rib. The only distraction is the "Mershon" Pad, but it's well done and they were in production in 1938 before Pachmayr bought them out. Is is pretty much petrified though.
I have 100 Magtech Brass shot shells and was going to load some mild square loads (2-1/2 Dram - One Ounce) but the good folks on the Parker Association Forum advised against the "Holy Black" due to possible excessive heat that my damage the rib footings. Though I've never experienced any metal fatigue when shooting other doubles I suppose it's better safe than sorry. So anyway, I believe with reasonable care Smokeless could be loaded in those brass hulls. I've seen 20gr. of "Red Dot" suggested on the web. Does anyone here have any comment or recommendations?
Last edited by M71; 03-03-2021 at 07:36 PM. Reason: Milestone- 100 posts
LGS has two Austrian combo guns in 16ga one over 8mm mauser the other over 9.3x72R man I wish I was rich! cause I'd still be poor.
Browning Sweet 16 with gold trigger,
full choke.
Bought at Sears 1964 in E St Louis, IL. for $147.95.
First shotgun was a Mossberg 500 in 16ga. $75 at a gun show. Still have it.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |