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I have a 12ga for utiility, but I love my 16ga. The fact that it's a flintlock double (modern-made, not original) makes it that much more special, and easy enough to feed.

Regards,
Joel

My first shotgun as young teenager was a very utilitarian 16GA Stevens SS. I had that gun for years and did quite a bit of hunting with it. Like an idiot, I sold it while in my 30s, along with a number of other guns, to recover from a divorce.

I've not had a 16 since, until this past Sunday. I had been reading about Browning's new 16 BPS and was curious about it. I went to a local gunshop, that has a very large selection of guns, to see if they had any BPS's in 16. They had a few used 12s. I asked about ordering one, and was given price (super deal, their quote, not mine) of $579. I said I'd think about it. I went over to Cabela's for some other things and just stuck my face in at the gun counter. Can't go without at least looking. I found a new 16 BPS Upland Special, with the English stock, and got it for $479. I'm now the proud owner of this beauty.

I'd been thinking about getting another 16 and decided that it better be soon or I'd not be able to enjoy it. So, at the ripe old age of almost 65, I purchased the second 16 of my life.

I'm thinking about getting a reloader for it and was wondering what you guys use. I like the price of the LEE, but know nothing about it.

Anyway, I'm now a member of the 16 gauge fraternaty again. Man is that new BPS a sweet handling gun. It makes my 12 Winchester 1300XTR feel like a lead weight.

SgtSam

16's are an upland bird hunter's best kept secret. And before steel shot was a mandate, a 16 ga. throwing 1 1/8 oz. or 1 1/4 oz. of 6's, 5's, 4's & 2's was a fair waterfowl gun and could handle ducks to geese. I shot a lot of ducks with my Parker 16 when I was young.

A proper Sixteen is trim. The A5 Sweet-Sixteen, the Win. M12, the Ithaca M37 are all good examples of a trim 16 ga. I think my Parker 16 SxS is the nicest and trimest example of an American upland bird gun. It's just the right size and dimensioned properly when viewed from any angle, and it just shoots so well and hits hard. A 12 ga. SxS appears bulbous to me, a 20 ga. SxS seems too trim, yet a 16 ga. SxS appears "just right" when sighting down the barrels.

I've been shooting and reloading 16's since the late 60's. The 16 ga. when properly loaded is no slouch and is the ideal pheasant round for most situations. 16's are everything everyone says about them and fall just short of the versatility of a 12 ga. when it comes to all types of load available. Manufacturers offer less load varieties in the way of 16's compared to their 20 or 12 counterparts. You will certainly get the most out of a 16 ga. if you reload.

What I wrote here isn't compelling enough to make anyone go out and buy the next 16 ga. they see, this is simply my opinion and experience of more than 40 years of use. However, those who own a 16 ga. know what I am talking about.

I don't have a 16 ga. O/U yet, but plan for one someday.

This is one of those, "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" questions! It just can't be answered by anyone but the asker. Obviously anyone who logs onto the "16 Ga. Lovers" site is going to reply that the 16 ga. is great.

I shoot a 16 ga. Win Model 12, with 2 9/16" chamber. I reload my shells and have a ball with it. I used it several times this year during dove season and shot my limit most days. I load 7/8 oz. shot exclusively and will probably go down to 3/4 oz. I'm about to load some #9 shot for skeet. I have been shooting #7.5 at skeet, just because thats what I had loaded.

IMO, the combination of the sweet feel and light weight of a well balanced 16 ga. is very hard to beat. I'd far rather carry my model 12 into the field than my 12 ga. Rem 870. On the other hand, if I want to hunt waterfowl with steel shot, out comes the 870. So it just depends on what you want to do with your shooting.

Bruce

Out of all the shotguns I and my father have collected over the years - Browning Winchester and Remington autos, Browning BSS 20 ga, LC Smith Lefever Fulton and Model B Fox SXS's, even an occasional pump here and there, in various gauges - over the past 40 years our favorites and "go to" guns have boiled down to these - His is a Browning Sweet Sixteen, mine is a Winchester Model 24 16 ga SXS choked Mod and Full that I picked up in a pawnshop in Bremerton WA in '91 for $300. At the time, I hadn't even realized that Winchester had made SXS's in the past. I was in something of a gun collecting phase at the time, liked the unique looks of the gun with that streamlined receiver, and thought it would be neat to have a Winchester SXS in my "collection". Turned out to be the best shotgun of the lot.

Where with other guns, you could almost hear the doves laugh as they continued on their way without changing course or ruffling a feather, with that Winchester 16 ga I can make them bob and weave for their lives, and put a fair number of them on the dinner table. For the Piedmont of NC, a 16 ga handles it all. Never worried about how much shot was in the shell, just that the size was appropriate for the game, and that Winchester always threw it in a tight pattern. Over in Europe, the 16 is considered the "proper" gauge for hunting, the 12 considered overkill and a meat market gun - maybe those guys are on to something. With the exception of waterfowl, with all the modern restrictions on the type of shot used, a properly crafted 16 ga that handles like a 20 and coughs lead like a 12 can't be beat.

I love a good 16. My favorite was my Ithaca 37s with upgraded wood made in 1945. I had to sell that gun last year due to financial issues and I really miss it. But things got better and last month I bought a B. Rizzini Aurum classic 16 ga 29 in barrels choked IC/MOD. Won't try it on birds this year but shot it on the trap range 2 weeks ago and hit 23 out of 25. I think I will grow fond of this gun quickly.