OntarioHunter
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I have never heard a wing shooter complain about the weight of trigger pull. We proudly jerk the trigger so a heavy pull isn't noticable. Turkey hunters are different of course.
The death of the 16 Ga....Why?
- Thread starter Gunner46
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1100RemingtonMan
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Yes I reload for both the 12ga & 28ga. 28ga are crazy priced for shells.
I did not say you can not enjoy your 16ga, I just think if one was advising a younger person on what to get a 16ga is a poor choice because of ammo choices take a look over 233 for 12ga and the 16ga has 6 choices the 28ga have 13 and the 20ga has 56 choices.
Where I live the local Farm supply store in the fall has sales on 12ga and 20ga but not 16ga 28ga or .410ga.
that’s all I’m saying.
I did not say you can not enjoy your 16ga, I just think if one was advising a younger person on what to get a 16ga is a poor choice because of ammo choices take a look over 233 for 12ga and the 16ga has 6 choices the 28ga have 13 and the 20ga has 56 choices.
Where I live the local Farm supply store in the fall has sales on 12ga and 20ga but not 16ga 28ga or .410ga.
that’s all I’m saying.
G
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You haven't talked to too many wings shooters then. Type in "trigger pull on cz shotguns" and pick your poison. I've never once heard any of our trap/ skeet/ sporting clays coaches tell our shooters to "jerk" the trigger. Must be a Canadian thing.
BrentD
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Absolutely! Trigger pull is everything on a hunting shotgun. I had to work on one of mine last year.
Don Fischer
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Have two 16's, SxS and a pump, Ithica. I love my 16's and would not give one up for a 12 or a 20. Used mostly 12 ga many years ago and there's something about a 12ga. anything you can do with a 16, you can do with a 12! and if you rally feel the need for a magnum then the 20 can step right up to the 16ga. These days I have the two 16's, a 20, two 28's and a 410. Everything but the Ithica is a SxS. The gun I got to mostly is the 28ga. Light weight is great compare one of my 16's to it and the 16's feel like a dump truck. Even the 20 is nowhere near as nice to carry around and recoil of the 28 is well less than anything bigger even though the gun is lighter! If I was to take up duck hunting again I'd grab one of the 16's but I do not really enjoy duck hunting! And they are not my favorite meal! I'm old now and don't enjoy recoil or carrying around heavy thing's, come's with time to all of us sooner or later. I recall shooting a 12ga 3" magnum out of one of my old 12ga guns years ago. Fired one round and threw the rest away. Back then my duck loads, yep hunted them at one time, were 2 3/4" 1 1/4oz #6 shot. Didn't seem to bad back then, today it would let the air out of me. Used to run a bunch of NSTRA and the gun I used was a 12ga SxS with handloads, 1 1/8oz target loads, it was a pussy cat. Now I could have loaded upa 16 to do the same thing And I don't see where there would be a big difference in them. But I think something the 16 has going against it badly is the frame they are made on. Seem's most are made on 12 ga frames and so I've heard in the heyday of the 16 they were made on the 20ga frame. Huge difference in weight!
I think starting a kid out with a 20ga is a mistake. 28ga is a lit lighter and less recoil, 410 even less! I take my 410 out to shoot birds over my dog's training now and then, works fine. And until I got my second 28 I took the 410 as a back up grouse hunting. In fact now and then it was the primary gun. Stat a kid out on a 410 and teach him to use it and if he learn's well, he'll smoke most people. Can't say the same for the 16!
I suspect that the thing I really like about my 16's is that most other people don't have one. When I shot 12's I figured out how to overcome the recoil I didn't like with reloading, simply load it like a 16! Used a 20ga some to, had an 879 Special Field and that was a light gun but had to throw it up and shoot, couldn't track a bird to save my life. Somethng I could notimagine doing with it was shooting a 3" load. Oh no, not in this life time. That gun was as light as my 28's are now, recoil would have killed me. I shot 3/4oz target loads in it also!
I'm not sure what the reason ever was for the 16 in the first place, other than few people other than myself have one. shoot, I don't know one other person today that has one! But with my dislike of recoil and having my 16's and loading for them, I'll never own another 12!
I think starting a kid out with a 20ga is a mistake. 28ga is a lit lighter and less recoil, 410 even less! I take my 410 out to shoot birds over my dog's training now and then, works fine. And until I got my second 28 I took the 410 as a back up grouse hunting. In fact now and then it was the primary gun. Stat a kid out on a 410 and teach him to use it and if he learn's well, he'll smoke most people. Can't say the same for the 16!
I suspect that the thing I really like about my 16's is that most other people don't have one. When I shot 12's I figured out how to overcome the recoil I didn't like with reloading, simply load it like a 16! Used a 20ga some to, had an 879 Special Field and that was a light gun but had to throw it up and shoot, couldn't track a bird to save my life. Somethng I could notimagine doing with it was shooting a 3" load. Oh no, not in this life time. That gun was as light as my 28's are now, recoil would have killed me. I shot 3/4oz target loads in it also!
I'm not sure what the reason ever was for the 16 in the first place, other than few people other than myself have one. shoot, I don't know one other person today that has one! But with my dislike of recoil and having my 16's and loading for them, I'll never own another 12!
OntarioHunter
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Heh, heh. Yeah, I'm sure you've heard them tell your shooters to squeeze the trigger. Like a wing shooter is ever going to have time to do that! The shooter needs to be concentrating on the target/bird NOT the gun. My 870, Citori, and two A5s have widely different trigger weights. But I don't notice the difference at all when shooting them. However, having said that, I once was compelled to work on a shotgun trigger. Two years ago a good friend at the club picked up an Ithaca/SKB O/U 12 gauge cheap from a relative and had me refinish the wood. Then he let me shoot it a few weeks at trap. Well ... that trigger pull was ridiculous! Maybe fifteen pounds. I have handled them before and this one was way beyond abnormal. I shot a perfect round the first time up ... but it was work! Surprisingly for a "cheap" O/U of that vintage, it had an adjustable trigger. Real's in-law had really screwed it up tight. I backed it off to reality but never bothered checking the weight. Not that important.
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Knight.54
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I was taught to “slap” a shotgun trigger when wingshooting.
OntarioHunter
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Physically I suppose there is a fine line between "slap" and "jerk". As a description I do find slap more palatable. Jerk has connotations of being clumsy or stupid. This is a derailment from the original one. But at least an interesting topic worthy of discussion. Apologies to original poster.
Your brain has no cognitive ability to tell your finger to press the trigger as you would when shooting a rifle. Your brain is focused on watching the bird.
So yes, for all intents and purposes you are slapping the trigger. That said, a heavy trigger pull will certainly hinder your shooting.
OntarioHunter
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Double post eliminated
Randi, the boys here will be able to give you far better guidance than I, but I like the 16 gauge. However, there were far more of them in use in the 1940's and 50's, so I grew up using them and not realizing that they were inferior (-:
The bottom line, no amount of sugar coating, is going to change the fact that the 12 gauge provides more ammo options, velocity, projectiles, and shotgun's to choose from. This can make a difference when goose, crane and turkey hunting, however I have successfully hunted all three with the 16 gauge.
The A5, I suggested to Cheyenne is under 6 pounds and will not send you to the chiropractor after a day in the field or marsh. I would recommend the A5 over the CZ. I personally prefer CSMC, but they are a bit more
To address your second question : A lot of younger or new "shotgunners" subscribe to "the shorter the barrel the better. theory". I dont personally subscribe to that theory, but possibly I am just out of step with the times.
Excellent points Don
__________________
Gunner46 : The 16----- even back in the 1940's the 16 was less popular than the 12 and 20. But, It had its supporters, then and now, but was never a favorite, or even close to be honest. Same with the 300 H & H. Very hard to find a new one today and it was the finest mid caliber ever made
The bottom line, no amount of sugar coating, is going to change the fact that the 12 gauge provides more ammo options, velocity, projectiles, and shotgun's to choose from. This can make a difference when goose, crane and turkey hunting, however I have successfully hunted all three with the 16 gauge.
The A5, I suggested to Cheyenne is under 6 pounds and will not send you to the chiropractor after a day in the field or marsh. I would recommend the A5 over the CZ. I personally prefer CSMC, but they are a bit more
To address your second question : A lot of younger or new "shotgunners" subscribe to "the shorter the barrel the better. theory". I dont personally subscribe to that theory, but possibly I am just out of step with the times.
Excellent points Don
__________________
Gunner46 : The 16----- even back in the 1940's the 16 was less popular than the 12 and 20. But, It had its supporters, then and now, but was never a favorite, or even close to be honest. Same with the 300 H & H. Very hard to find a new one today and it was the finest mid caliber ever made
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Schaaf
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I’m not saying the only ruggedly handsome people in this world carry 16 gauges. I’m just saying every person I see carrying a 16 gauge is ruggedly handsome.
or "devastating beautiful" if female
Schaaf
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Yes. We speak from first hand accounts.or "devastating beautiful" if female
MThuntr
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I will not be objectified!
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shrapnel
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Is the 16 gauge really dead? Well, if it died, it has been resurrected, which may be an appropriate comparison on Easter Sunday.
The 16 gauge is a viable sporting round and can kill birds as easily as any other shotgun gauge, but so will a 410 when shot properly.
The truth is simply in the following of which gauges really sell the most and that remains in 12 an 20 gauge. You can’t find 16 gauge shells anywhere near as often or abundance of offerings because there just isn’t the demand for it.
If you want to shoot the 16 gauge, you can still find shells on occasion, but if you really like the traditional SXS shotgun, you won’t be saving any weight over a nice Birmingham 12 gauge shooting a light 2 1/2 inch shell, and we all know the larger bore will generally shoot a better pattern.
The 16 gauge is a viable sporting round and can kill birds as easily as any other shotgun gauge, but so will a 410 when shot properly.
The truth is simply in the following of which gauges really sell the most and that remains in 12 an 20 gauge. You can’t find 16 gauge shells anywhere near as often or abundance of offerings because there just isn’t the demand for it.
If you want to shoot the 16 gauge, you can still find shells on occasion, but if you really like the traditional SXS shotgun, you won’t be saving any weight over a nice Birmingham 12 gauge shooting a light 2 1/2 inch shell, and we all know the larger bore will generally shoot a better pattern.
It’s all about the balance of the gun.
Balace is important, which is one of the reasons I recommended CSMC to her if they fit within her budget
Amen Brent. trigger pull, balance, and looks. I will not hunt with an ugly shotgun
Seriously, you, Ben and Happy Myles do own some nice shotguns and rifles, as do several other fellows here
Happy Easter to all 16 gauge shotgun owners
