Brand new 16 gauge

I was in Walmart today and saw something I never though I would see again, a brand new 16 gauge shotgun.

It was a fairly good looking double, with what looked to be 28" barrels. No idea if it had one or two triggers, it had a trigger lock on it in the display case. It did have choke tubes, which I'm not all that fond of.

Guessing it was made in Turkey, the price was $917.

No I didn't fondle it, I don't bird hunt anymore and have no real reason to buy a new shotgun.

Robert

I think that is pretty cool that they are giving the 16 ga. a chance unless somehow it was mistakenly ordered and maybe they will not have them in stock.
I like 16 ga. but don’t think it will sell in enough numbers to see them NEW for sale for long.
Over the years I have owned at least a dozen shotguns in 16 ga. and still own one in a single shot an old Iver Johnson Champion.
Jedman

Ahhh...the sweet sixteen! I've got a couple, and somehow the 16 Ga. always seemed just right. I've got 12s, but love my 16s. I've got a very old Stevens sxs 16 that probably dates to the 1920s. I couldn't hit anything with it as a teenager, but later with a bit of education learned that it was a 2 1/2" chamber, not so marked on the gun as I guess that was standard when it was made. I eventually acquired the tooling and reamed the chambers to 2 3/4"+ and re-did the tapered cone area in front of the chamber and it shoots wonderfully. Also have two Win. Mod. 37 single shots that are great guns. Solid Winchester quality, even though when made they were inexpensive compared to some. Finding factory loaded shells can be challenging, but they can sometimes be found at Midway. I load my own when I've got the time on a Lee Load All II.

DG

After I got brutalized by a 12GA 1 1/4 oz load in a light double when I was 12 years old, I bought a 16ga Stevens 58 bolt action from my Uncle Herv for $35,making paymentsof $4 a week, my newspaper route income then a year later, I bought a 16ga Stevens double with the Tenite stock for my father to use. Still have the Stevens double and a 16ga Sears bolt-action with the tube magazine that holds six. Mostly I shoot crows with the Sears when they stop in my trees to harass my great-horned owls and the Cooper's Hawk that nest there. That bolt action Sears is LONG with its 28" barrel. I have looked at few new 16ga doubles, but the 12's and 20's have shells so much cheaper that it makes it hard to go farther, kinda like the .410.

I've been a fan of the 16ga for a long time. I even have on next to the bed for "bump in the night" type stuff. It's a Mossberg 500 in 16ga with a 19" barrel and a pistol grip, holds 5+1. I typically load it with #4 Buckshot. But I also keep a few slugs next to the night stand just in case you need to penetrate something.

For hunting, I have an older H&R SB1 in 16ga that I absolutely love taking to the field. One of the finest squirrel shotguns ever made. Works well enough for rabbit as well, though I don't hunt those much any more.

I have always been a fan of the 16 gauge. I have my Dad's old Browning and my Father-in-Laws single barrel. I had one of the early Remington Model 1100's in 16 gauge but was stupid enough to allow a fellow worker to talk me out of it for a $50.00 profit after I had used it a year or two. Mistake big time. James

A big 16 ga fan here also. But that seems pretty high for a Turkish made “economy” double.

I inherited a 16ga Parker bird gun from my favorite great uncle who had purchased it new. Because of that I have concentrated on 16ga for anything else for the last 20 years or so (except for a 410 single truck gun for snakes.)
Have a 16ga Revelation pump (Mossberg 500B) and a scoped Savage 94 16ga barrel adapted to my Stevens 22/410.
I reload so no problem with ammo.

I love a 16. I think I'm up to 5 and I've been drooling over an A5 sweet sixteen. It would suit me to use a 16 for everything I didn't need a max payload for.

Neat, I own 4 shotguns 3 of them are 16ga. Still want a 20 slug gun but no want for a 12.

I made the original post because I too like the sixteen gauge and I never thought I would see another one.

If Remington and Browning couldn't bring the sixteen back to marketability twenty plus years ago, I highly doubt that a Turkish made gun will do it today. Especially given the cost of shotshells.

I do think a properly sized sixteen gauge is a delight for upland game. Enough bigger than a 20 to make a difference, but enough lighter than a 12. A sixteen gauge built on a 12 gauge frame is just wrong.

Magic may be involved.

Robert

I know people think of the 16 gauge as a bird gun but I for one can tell you that the 16 Browning in my Dad's hands was a duck whacker. He could really handle that thing on anything he went after. I have seen him make some incredible shots on game with it. He had a poly choke on it also. james

If a 16-gauge double is scaled down from a 12-gauge gun so that it is smaller and lighter, it would be a good thing. I have one of the CZ Ringnecks (out of production now) in 12 gauge and while I like it, a smaller trimmer version in 16-gauge might be even better. But availability of ammo is always going to be a big negative for 16-gauge. Could be somewhat overcome by loading your own, at least for availability if not a cost savings. The price sounds about right for a Turkish double to me. I bought my CZ, which is Turkish, about 2008 using my FFL from an actual wholesaler (Not Gunbroker in other words) and I paid something over $850. It is a shame the 16-gauge faded out. I'm surprised CZ doesn't offer at least one but they don't as far as I can see.

Mk42,

Thanks for the trip down memory lane back to the 16 gauge. My first shotgun was a 16 gauge Winchester M37 single barrel in 1958, when I was age 13 during my first hunting season. In southeast PA, we had many pheasants and other small game. Later I acquired a Remington 870 16 and a Browning Sweet 16, which still reside in my safe.

I loved carrying a 16 afield on my farm for grouse since I bought the land in 1988. Lately, we have very few grouse due to the federal protection of avian predators. The grouse of northcentral PA hardwoods are now only a memory. Ammo shortage of 16 gauge shells is not a concern with so few grouse. I have about 6 boxes of assorted 16 gauge shells that will probably never be used for grouse. At my age, it is probably the end of an era.

Be well.

Adam

A buddy tells a story of his dad bringing home a brand new Model 12 in 16 gauge for Mom's birthday present.

When Chris got home his dad told him he needed to retrieve the birthday present from the back yard and clean it for his mother.

It was making a great imitation of a tomato stake.

Chris still has that shot gun, he took a lot of ducks with it.

I've never seen it, he says there's no finish left on the gun and he has no intention of refinishing it. It'll go to his son when he's done with it.

And the story.

Way back in the early 70's I bought a used Winchester model 12 in 16 gauge and that started a love affair that exists through today. I've used it with slugs to hunt every type of mammal and game bird available in the State of Hawaii. At last count I have thirteen of them with the slight majority being SXS's.

A 16 on a properly scaled action is a treat. My favorite shot gun bore. My dad harvested 21 deer with his 16 and slugs.

My 16 is a model 12 built in 1943. I love that gun for hunting. It is my turkey gun with a full choke barrel. I actually use it occasionally for skeet too. I usually hit 19 or 20 out of 25. Not bad for a full choke hunting gun. I also reload so I'm shooting 1 oz. loads for skeet and 1 1/8 oz for hunting.

I bought a Browning 16 A5 last year. It is a 1947 low SN X3*** in very good condition. I've never shot it because I need shells, can't find a box locally and have the loader but I'm too lazy to order some or the components to load my own.

16 is a niche gauge. Every now and then they make a small comeback, then the demand gets satiated, and it ebbs.

Personally I love them. I have three. I have one of the limited run Citoris Browning does from time to time, mine is from the 2002 run. I have a 1966 Auto 5 Sweet 16, which ironically is a birth year gun for me, and I bought it as a 50th birthday gift to myself. I didn't realize it was a birth year gun until after I bought it. Bonus! Finally, I inherited my father in laws no name 16 ga SxS.
From time to time I have unhealthy thoughts about a 16 gauge Ithaca 37 pump. But I need another 16 like I need another hole in my head. Then again, what does need ever have to do with it?

Still miss my 11-48. Was sold years ago to keep food on the table and gas in my car so I could get to work.

I still have my GrandDads Remington model 11 in 16ga. I used it in the early 60's and 70's to do all my hunting and it still works great to this day.

I have not ever seen a 16 gauge on the used gun rack at my LGS since I retired in 1996. I put the word out to have the shop owner call me in case a 16 gauge ever shows up. Happily, my wife in 1985 gave me her deceased dad's Browning Sweet 16 as a wedding gift. Amen.

Adam

I killed my first squirrel in 1960 when I was 6 with my dad's Stevens 107B single barrel (still have it). It almost knocked my down when I shot it, he always hunted squirrels with "hi-base" 6's, so I'm sure that's what I was shooting (all 45 lbs of me!). Anyway, for Christmas in 1969, I got a 16 ga Savage Stevens 311D double barrel (still have it). I hunted everything with that gun 'till I was out of college and working. I bought a couple 12's over the years, but went back to 16 when the last run of 16 ga Citori's was introduced. I now have 6 16's in all including a Sweet 16 made in 1967 that is in barely shot condition that belonged to my Brother in Law. I love 16 ga!

There is ONLY one drawback to the 16 and that is reloading data and components to load it. Occasionally BP will have some but they are sold out in a hurry. Most of BP's 16 gauge load data is for components that are not available and is mostly their own brand which of course they do not have in stock. Don't waste your money on their 16 gauge loading book as they list loads with powder and wads no longer available. I love the 16 and wish the manufacturer's would stop trying to kill it off. james

Guys,

In my humble opinion, the corporate office leaders decided about 50-60 years ago to push the 12 and 20 gauge guns and ammo. The 16 gauge was left behind and that is reflected in the sparse loaded ammo now seen on the shelves. So sad....

Be well.

Adam

Yeah, TN, and that situation has gotten worse during, and after the pandemic. Prior to that, I got all my stuff from them and usually didn't have much trouble. They have SOME hulls now . Wads seem to to present. I didn't check primers but they aren't gauge specific.