The full frame 870 is not a lite weight gun nor is it a heavy gun either. I prefer the fit and feel of an 870 over the other two you mentioned. Any of the three will serve you well.
The first question I answer before purchasing a gun is, does it fit me correctly. I've tried the model twelve and the model 37, they are both time tested designs, but the 870 fits me with my eyes closed.

 

You want a 1940-1964 or so Ithaca Model 37 without the rib.

Piano has it right, but you don't want an 870, you want a Wingmaster. It's not going to be light as the Ithaca. And if you wanted a Model 12, you would already know it.

If you were in Wisconsin, I'd invite you to look at the two I have...just post ww2 and early 60s. Minor changes of little consequence.

The good news- model 37s in 16 gauge sell at a discount because I have no idea. They are lovely.

IM or Mod choke is perfect. Full is going to be fine, too.

 

I have a 1966 Ithaca 37 16 gauge, no rib, fixed Mod choke. It's a great upland pheasant gun. It's light enough to carry all day. I use 1 1/8 oz #5 Golden Pheasant loads. I used to use Federal 1 1/4 oz loads, but they quit making them.

 

I had a 1973 12ga 3inch vent rib Remington 870 Wingmaster. Great gun. Fit, mount, and swing. I sold it in 1998. Dumbest move I can remember.

 

Browning BPS. Top tang safety, bottom load and eject, full complement of Invector tubes.

 

"Better" than a M37 mechanically and for replacement parts, but hunting with a 12 gauge BPS is like carrying a model 37 and an extra box of shells.

Beretta Novas were on sale, new, at a couple of big box stores last Christmas and are still a bargain. Cheaper and dependable, low resale price, and 3.5" chambers. Great duck/turkey guns though certainly not a classic or in the running for that. Same weight class as a BPS, I would imagine, so if weight is an issue the earlier recommendations get my vote.

 

Winchester model 12 or Remington model 31 would be my choices...........Ithaca's of similar vintage are very nice but they've never fit me right.

 

Buy the one that has the smoothest action .... and obviously fits you. Some older pumps have a lot of drop .....

 

Each has different stock measurements. Model 37 highest comb, Remington next lowest and BPS most drop at comp. Model 12 same as 870 as far as drop and Mossberg 500 about same as model 37. Get the one that comes up best for you. For myself that would be the BPS due to more drop at comb & heel. You may need different or may not. All of them work fine but a well worn/slicked up used one of either is a thing of beauty in operation.

 

If you want a lightweight 16, it probably doesn't get any lighter than the Ithaca 37. If you can find an older (1950's) 870 Wingmaster in 16 ga with plain barrel it will be a lighter gun than later models.

My favorite 16 ga pump is a Wingmaster 20 ga magnum.

 

The 870 was built on a 12ga frame so they had to use a thicker barrel and is thus heavier than a 12ga (others chime in if there were years where this isn't true).

 

26”, IC choked 16ga(middle), favorite of my Winchester Model 12’s…Field models, 12, 16,20ga..

 

I have a 16ga pump in Remington Model 31 / 870. Win model 12 and Browning BPS. I like The BPS the most because of the bottom eject and changeable chokes. I had a 37 but it did not fit so it was sold off.
The 31 and 12 are the very lite they both are plain barrels. The 31 is very smooth cycling and are known for that.

 

Tie Remington 870 and Winchester Model 12.

 

I've got a Remington 31 in 16 gauge on the way, but it's the steel receiver, and around 6¾ lb. There was a lightweight Aeromet (aluminum alloy) receiver version (31L), that was sub 6 lbs in the 16 gauge. Apparently they don't get any smoother than a 31

Nice one on GB currently, with a 28" modified barrel.

 

Of the guns mentioned I think you’ve got great options. The thing is to find some examples and see what fits you best.

As for a Wingmaster, I don’t know if Remington ever made a Remchoke 16ga barrel. If so, and if it’s anything like a 12ga Remchoke barrel, I’d stay away from that. Two of my 870s came with Remchoke barrels. They are ungainly and heavy. They’ve both been replace by older fixed mod barrels.

 

Thx for all the quick responses. Shot my first pheasant back in the early 70’s with my dad’s western field 16 gauge. Been a 12 gauge guy ever since. shot a 870 for years, then moved on to a semi.
I want to go back to a pump, so I picked up a used BPS 12 gauge. Love it! Great for waterfowl, & clays, but too heavy for an old man to chase pheasant with.
have thought of a 20, and would work, but the heart says 16. A sub gauge BPS would be heavy. A Ithaca 37 would be a good match to the BPS 12. An older Wingmaster might be the way to go (16 or 20). Does anyone know what the weight would be for an older Wingmaster or BPS would be?

 

870 20 ga large frame 28" vent rib 7#
870 20 ga LW 28" vent rib rem choke 6 3/4#
870 12 ga 1954 28" plain barrel 6 3/4#

 

A Wingmaster 20ga built before about 1980 is built on a 12ga receiver. There isn’t too much weight difference between the 12 and 20. I’ll weigh my two and post. The 20ga LW, a newer model, is built on a true 20ga receiver.

I don’t know if older 16ga Wingmasters were built on 12ga or lighter receivers.

 

A Wingmaster 20ga built before about 1980 is built on a 12ga receiver. There isn’t too much weight difference between the 12 and 20. I’ll weigh my two and post. The 20ga LW, a newer model, is built on a true 20ga receiver.

I don’t know if older 16ga Wingmasters were built on 12ga or lighter receivers.

I weighed my Wingmasters this morning. Both are late 1970s production, about 1978. My 20ga is built on the 12ga receiver.
Both have 28” VR fixed mod barrels. The 12ga weighs 7lbs 6oz and the 20ga weighs 7lbs 2oz.

I agree that the Remchoke barrels are really heavy and throw off the balance. The exception is a Light Contour Remchoke barrel. The LC has the same profile and similar weight as the older fixed choke barrels. Nowadays Light Contours seem to be scarce- and pricey when you do find one.

 

All the BPS sub bores are built on the 20ga frame yes even the 16ga but people still think it is heavy. I dont have a good scale or i would weight it.

Remington did make rem choke barrels for the 870 and 1100. The blued barrels are not bad but the black express rem choke barrels are pigs.

 

I agree with most, Model 37 will be the lightest if weight is prime consideration. Older 870s, especially with plain barrels and corn cob fore ends will be a tad heavier but not excessive. I would avoid the 1995 ish reintroduced 870 16s, the Remchoke barrels are noticeably thick and heavy. The older fixed choke barrels not too bad at all.

I can't offer an opinion on Model 12s other than those that have them seem to love them. I never owned one so I will refrain.

 

this...........

https://www.shotgunforums.com/threads/1940-winchester-model-12-16ga-skeet-26-solid-rib-mint.29596/?post_id=191281#post-191281

you asked for best pump. here it is.
then it got changed to best pump for pheasent.
for that you need cheap. youre gonna bounce it around in a truck, then in a field. get a used... anything.

 

On the less expensive end, consider a 20ga Mossberg 500 from the 70s. Plain barrel and fixed choke will make it light(er) and fast(er) handling. By the mid 70s they all had twin action bars, earlier models had a lonely action bar. Plus it’ll have a 3” chamber, not so with some of the others under consideration on this thread.

 

I do like screw ins, so I had Tru choke/Colonial style fitted to several older fixed choke Remington barrels. IMHO that's the way to go if you really want screw ins.

My older 20 ga Wingmaster is fixed IC, absolutely perfect for all my uses, no need to change anything there.

 

So the best 16 gauge pump is either a Mossberg 500, Rem 31, Rem870, Win M12, Ithaca 37 or BPS. All the usual suspects. They all work so pick the one you like the best. I will say that when I ran the Sweet 16 gauge shoot we had all these guns show up and get shot a lot. The only pump that didn't regularly have issues was the 870. Put in ammo, shoot and pump. No problem. All the other guns had issues with various ammo. All of them. Individual examples of any of these guns may handle ammo well (steel headed ammo seems to be the biggest problem followed by longer hulls), but 870s have the reputation they do for a reason. They just plain work.

 

This will start a firestorm with the Ithaca fanboys(of which I am one) but IN MY EXPERIENCE with Ithaca 37s, I know of four personally (my own and 3 belonging to friends) that occasionally have issues with reloaded ammo sticking at the point where the mag tube feeds into the receiver. It just seems a tad "tighter" than other guns. If the ammo is properly resized, no problem. But take the very shell that hangs up in the Ithaca and feed it through an 870, 1100, or A5 and it feeds "snick snick" no problem. Again, NOT BASHING ITHACAS I LOVE THEM just an observation.

I lightly relieved that opening in my own 37, problem solved.

 

Ithaca 37s are fabulous handling field guns. If I wanted to hunt one I would just make sure I had ammo that worked in my gun. I saw lots of guns at our shoot getting disassembled out on the course getting stuck shells unstuck. There were o/u and sxs guns also having issues with ammo. Living with the 16 gauge does require a bit of extra love on our parts.

 

#1....mid 1950s Model 870 16 gauge....6-8#, plain 26" barrel, choke up to you.

#2...early PB or solid rib Model 37 16 gauge....again, fiddly bits of balance and choke up to you. The only small difference twixt the two would be the need to load the M37 from the magazine.

Personally, I have the PB Model 37, M.......I preferred the Model 870 but mine was used and someone bent the barrel.

Honorable mention...the Model 12 16 gauge.....had one, it could balk at certain shotshells...the others, never did....fwltw.

Good luck..."thoughts and opinions" are well worth their cost.

 

I was afraid the 870 w/o gauge would weigh over 7 lbs. My 12 gauge Maxus weighs 7 lbs 2 oz. Would a Wingmaster LW weigh less?
As to being picky about ammo, I never thought about that. I figures a pump from the paper shell days would handle modern ammo just fine.