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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Shotguns

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Ripp
.577 member

Reged: 19/02/07
Posts: 16072
Loc: Montana, USA

16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge
#355926 - 11/08/21 12:18 AM

The 16-Gauge Is A Most Versatile Shotgun. But Why Didn’t It Take Off?
The 16 is the ultimate hunting gauge, but it never reached true popularity.

https://www.outdoorlife.com/guns/16-gaug...AurpEMG1daD82nM

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ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

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93x64mm
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Reged: 07/12/11
Posts: 4200
Loc: Nth QLD Australia

Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: Ripp]
#355932 - 11/08/21 07:23 AM

Correct me if I'm wrong here, I thought that 16 gauge was a European development, hence most drillings etc being in that size?

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85lc
.400 member

Reged: 19/01/18
Posts: 1031
Loc: Georgia, USA

Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: 93x64mm]
#355937 - 11/08/21 10:38 AM

I think there are several issues.

The 12 ga gun was popular in England whereas the 16 ga was popular in German and elsewhere on the Continent. I think gun trends followed England and, after 2 world wars, German things were not very popular.

In the age of black powder, the 12 ga just out performed the 16 ga. I think that image has stuck in the minds of American hunters.

There is no 3-inch 16-gauge. Had that been developed, perhaps people wouldn't be swooning over the light weight 20 ga as an upland game gun.

Now on a personal level, I like a 16 ga and have hunted ducks and quail with one. However, if goose hunting with steel, I am using my 3 1/2" 12 ga.

--------------------
RB

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Ripp
.577 member

Reged: 19/02/07
Posts: 16072
Loc: Montana, USA

Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: 93x64mm]
#355944 - 11/08/21 11:32 PM

Quote:

Correct me if I'm wrong here, I thought that 16 gauge was a European development, hence most drillings etc being in that size?

https://projectupland.com/shotguns-and-s...-gauge-shotgun/

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ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

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Ripp
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Reged: 19/02/07
Posts: 16072
Loc: Montana, USA

Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: Ripp]
#355945 - 11/08/21 11:33 PM

FOR ME, this has been my shotgun of choice for pheasants for the past 15 years.. all I use..

https://projectupland.com/shotguns-and-shooting/shotguns/a-love-for-the-fox-sterlingworth-2/

--------------------
ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

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85lc
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Reged: 19/01/18
Posts: 1031
Loc: Georgia, USA

Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: Ripp]
#355949 - 12/08/21 03:04 AM

Ripp,

Great info, As one video states, the 16 ga is severely impacted by cost and availability of ammo.

I think it could make a better showing if

(1) a major manufacturer brought out a 16 ga 3" mag shell that overrshowed the 20 3" mag AND

(2) there were a few 16 ga guns built on a 16 ga frame for the 3" shell.

Until that time, it will unfortunately remain the favorite of a very few and somewhat unknown to many.

One of the very nicest guns I have is a pre=war 16 ga double barrel shotgun. When lead shot was legal, I hunted ducks with it and was never under gunned.

--------------------
RB

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NitroX
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Reged: 25/12/02
Posts: 39883
Loc: Barossa Valley, South Australi...

Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: Ripp]
#355968 - 12/08/21 01:02 PM

Quote:

Sure, all of those previously mentioned gauges are capable of killing your intended quarry. But do you really want to lug a 10 or 12 up the side of a mountain to hunt quail? There are 12 gauges light enough for such pursuits, but I wouldn’t want to soak up the recoil of those guns on a daily basis.

Why not iust use a lighter load? As is common with Brit game guns. One doesn't use some magnum blaster load for quail does one?

Quote:

The 16 isn’t overly superior to the any of the other gauges

Quote:

A 3-inch 16-gauge would probably lend more credence to the shotgun, at least with the general shooting public

Now he wants magnum loads for those light not overly superior 16 gs. The guy contradicts himself.

Quote:

If you’re looking for a fine 16-gauge

The purpose of the article.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

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"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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NitroX
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Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: NitroX]
#355969 - 12/08/21 01:08 PM

16 or 12 no big difference, and the 12 gause is obviously more versatile.

At one time, fairly ordinary 16 gauges and also smaller chamber 12 gauges were available for around $400 from a local gunshop, galore. The supply dried up over time. I considered one but didn't need it. Got enough 12 bores to kee me happy and can use more 12's.

A 20 gauge makes sense if one wants a really nice light shotgun, especially for a woman. Though 12's can do that too with the right one and right shells.

BTW I once used nothing but 1 oz/28 gms shot loads or maybe 95% of the time. Had a huge bag of 28 gm plastic shells/wads and hadloaded 28/30 gm shot loads. Worked fine. Shot better back then to now.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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JHeath
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Reged: 26/07/21
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Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: NitroX]
#356028 - 14/08/21 03:48 AM

Some companies build their 16 gauge guns on 20 ga. receivers. More bang for the weight.

My first centerfire gun was a 16ga Remington Model 31L, "L" for lightweight, built on the aluminum 20ga frame. The 31 was a slick "ball bearing" action and I would buy another 16ga M31L in a flash. In fact, I think I'll start looking right now.

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Yochanan
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Reged: 26/01/03
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Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: JHeath]
#371649 - 20/11/22 10:48 PM

16ga is popular in some south america countries, and seen in Europe from time to time in shotguns, drillings and doublerifle drilings.

There has been a regained interest in UK for a few years. I would any day of the week choose 16 ga over a 20ga. I shoot 12ga at moment but use 28-32 gram loads, shotsize 2,6-3mm for just about everything.

A browning B25, Piotti, F.lli. Rizzini or Perazzi in 16ga would be simply gobsmacking.

I would say 15 is perfect for quail, prairie hens, snipes, partridge, pheasants, pigeons, rabbits and hares.

20ga is nice but its not suiteable for loads over 28grams and best at 23-26grams in my opinion.

Squareshot theory is intetresting.

10ga is a great wildfowling on the shores or marshlands. There should be more guns made in 16ga and 10ga.

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© "I have never been able to appreciate 'shock' as applied to killing big game. It seems to me that you cannot kill an elephant weighing six tons by ´shock´unless you advocate the use of a field gun." - W.D.M. Bell: Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter.

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sharps4590
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Reged: 09/03/16
Posts: 270
Loc: Missouri Ozarks

Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: Yochanan]
#371651 - 20/11/22 11:22 PM

To sound like the elderly curmudgeon, "when I was a kid", back in the 50's and 60's, the 16 bore was quite popular where I grew up, in the northern Ozarks. To those hardscrabble hill folks the ultimate was a Belgian, Browning "Sweet 16" and, we had a neighbor who actually owned and used one. Quail were plentiful back then and the 16 was literally the perfect upland gun but, changes in farming practices have largely eliminated any huntable population of quail and rabbits, locally.

As a shotgun it's what I cut my teeth on, a Marlin, bolt action, full choked. As I got older I tried 12's and 20's but always came home to the 16. Today, it's all I own, in drillings, combination guns and one treasured Ithaca, Flues. My only 12 is a Winchester 1200 I inherited, I never would have bought the gun and have yet to fire it.

--------------------
Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." John14:6

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lancaster
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Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: Yochanan]
#371692 - 22/11/22 12:38 AM

Quote:

10ga is a great wildfowling on the shores or marshlands. There should be more guns made in 16ga and 10ga.

girlfriend get the hunting licence and was first time on a goose hunt. shoot one with the Gebr. Adamy 16 ga double, her first game. I shot two with the old 4 ga pinfire fowler coming from the swedish coast.
10 ga is not enough, to small.

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bringing civilisation to the barbarians

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NitroX
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Reged: 25/12/02
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Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: lancaster]
#371694 - 22/11/22 01:12 AM

I think I shot a 16 ga a friend had once. Not common here at all. Everyone use 12 ga. Very occasonally a 20nga.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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DarylS
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Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: NitroX]
#371710 - 22/11/22 05:51 AM

Growing up, I had a school mate chum who used his dad's model 12, 16 bore for upland birds, but when it came to shooting ducks or European Hares in the winter time, he used his own bold action Mossberg with 3" #4's on ducks and 2" on the bunnies. It also had a crank down choke which was on modified for ducks and cranked right down tight for the hares(& fox). It worked for him. So did the 16 on grouse and pheasant with #6's, seems to me - 1 ounce high brass.

--------------------
Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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Longknife
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Reged: 17/04/08
Posts: 263
Loc: Illinois

Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: DarylS]
#371801 - 26/11/22 02:36 AM

I purchased an old Cresent Arms 16-gauge SXS hammer gun in about '85. I used it for many years on rabbits and squirrels. This "Cheepo" shotgun performed great! When I would tell someone I had a 16 they would have a story about some old 16 in their past and a lot of time the conversation would end with, "Hey I have some old shells left, you want them?". I picked up another German made one after that and I used them for many years FREE, I still have them along with some freebie shells!...LK

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Longknife

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85lc
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Reged: 19/01/18
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Loc: Georgia, USA

Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: Longknife]
#371810 - 26/11/22 06:39 AM

When I lived in Louisiana in the 1960, I hunted duck at Pass A Loutre (mouth of the River) with a Ernst Steigleder 16 bore DB gun and always shot my limit, sometimes by 7:00AM. I never felt undergunned by only having 1 1/8 oz shot vrs 1 1/4 oz shot in a 12 ga gun. I used the same gun for dove and quail; it is very responsive.

I also hunted with a 12 bore Remington Model 11 (humpback) and didn;t notioce any difference in performance on ducks; that is, that extra 1/8oz of shot didn't make me a better duck hunter or maybe I just shot the DB gun better. I didn't like the Remington M11 that much.

Now, some 8 years ago for goose hunting with steel shot, I decided to get a Beretta A400 as it would take 3 1/2" shells. I guess I could use bismith shot with a vintage 16 ga gun. I am less concerned about using the Beretta in rough, brackash marshes where I would not want to use a nice, vintage gun.

For what it is worth, the Beretta is a nice shooting gun. I recently used it on a quail hunt, partially because 12 ga shells are less expensive (and I had a supply of 12 ga shells bought before the shortge for a cheap price).

--------------------
RB

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85lc
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Reged: 19/01/18
Posts: 1031
Loc: Georgia, USA

Re: 16 Gauge--Is the ultimate hunting gauge [Re: 85lc]
#371811 - 26/11/22 06:57 AM

BTW, Bud's has 16 bore dove loads for $11.99 which is the least expensive price that I have seen recently. See https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_info...hot+25+bx+10+cs

--------------------
RB

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