That 16 is neither light, nor heavy.

For SxS game guns, I think that the chart on this page gives a pretty good list of what "ideal" weights are.

http://purdey.com/guns/side-by-side/

I have never seen a Purdey .410. Has anyone? Very few makers offer scaled .410 frames like Purdey. I'd love to see one!

 

to me, under "7.5 lbs" in a 12 gauge is getting light, and over 8 lbs is getting "heavy."

 

If you carry a lot and shoot little; light gun.

If you shoot a lot and carry a little; heavy gun.

I don't think there is a standard for gun weight. It will depend on dimensions of the gun, density of the wood and the original purpose set forth by the manufacturer.

 

If you carry a lot and shoot little; light gun.If you shoot a lot and carry a little; heavy gun.

That hits the nail on the head when it comes to the 12 gauge.

Dan

 

That 16 is neither light, nor heavy.

For SxS game guns, I think that the chart on this page gives a pretty good list of what "ideal" weights are.

http://purdey.com/guns/side-by-side/

I have never seen a Purdey .410. Has anyone? Very few makers offer scaled .410 frames like Purdey. I'd love to see one!

Barry, I saw one several years ago while at the Vegas show (in jan.)

If I sold my house, I couldn't have bought it! But it was the SWEETEST thing! I have never seen such! Nor will I likely see another! I think it was priced at 140,000

FWIW, the Vegas show is not what it used to be... Used to have Purdy, Westley Richards, Holland & Holland, Churchill, et al. I once handled a Churchill that had a tag of 186,000 on it. It was incredible!

 

I'm with BillM and Rastoff.

 

There's another aspect to the question and that is the purpose for the gun.

To me, a 9 pound gun, K80, is perfect for my clays shooting, but would be awesomely heavy for a field gun.

My upland hunting SxSs all weigh about 6.5 pounds. To me, that's a perfect weight for a gun I'm carrying all day and shooting less than a box of shells. It's far too light for me to shoot a round of clays with.

 

That 16 ga gun is about the ideal weight for hunting with 1 1/8 oz loads......According to Saint William Wellington Greener, a gun (I'll assume he was talking about "walking around hunting guns") should weigh 96 times the weight of the load it shoots.....He wrote this in regards to recoil control.....
Personally I feel I'm in the right ball park with a 16 ga that weighs between 96oz. and 112oz. 6lb.-7lb. anything more is getting heavy, anything less is gonna bite after more than a few shots.
I'd guess that Greener's formulae could stand some modification when it comes to guns that would be used mostly for heavy waterfowl loads and/or a lot of shooting generally. The same for guns that are .410 cal. or other extremely light guns, I'd think such very light guns if made to the 96x load plan (they probably couldn't actually be 3.5 lbs.) would swing horridly, or at the very least, stop instantaneously if not driven...in those cases I'd toss out any old fixed ideas. IMO......Art

 

That 16 is neither light, nor heavy.

For SxS game guns, I think that the chart on this page gives a pretty good list of what "ideal" weights are.

http://purdey.com/guns/side-by-side/

I have never seen a Purdey .410. Has anyone? Very few makers offer scaled .410 frames like Purdey. I'd love to see one!

Barry, I saw one several years ago while at the Vegas show (in jan.)

If I sold my house, I couldn't have bought it! But it was the SWEETEST thing! I have never seen such! Nor will I likely see another! I think it was priced at 140,000

FWIW, the Vegas show is not what it used to be... Used to have Purdy, Westley Richards, Holland & Holland, Churchill, et al. I once handled a Churchill that had a tag of 186,000 on it. It was incredible!

140k and 186k ? cheap at twice the price id be lookin a house a 4x4 and a couple of guns an two dogs for that money! but you will get people who shell out big money. at a driven shoot i was at last year the man on the next peg was shootin a 100k purdey and i was stood there with a £1500 o/u but thats not the worst of it at the end of the shoot he THREW it into the back of his 4x4 the rest of the guys looked on in awe!!

 

For a twelve gauge shotgun, we'll consider it as heavy if it tips the scales at eight pounds or more, and light if it comes in under seven pounds. For a twenty, it's heavy if it weighs more than seven and light if it weighs less than six pounds.

For over one hundred years, regardless of action type, an all around twelve gauge shotgun has weighed a few ounces more than seven pounds and a twenty gauge has weighed a few ounces less than seven pounds.

The difference between a very light shotgun and a very heavy one (for it's gauge) is never more than three pounds, and is more often just a couple of pounds.

A very well balanced shotgun is difficult to tell what it weighs, too. :wink:

 

I tryed a very light o/u this weekend at the range and gave it a good try shooting 3 rounds with it and to me no way it was going to work. I could not keep the gun moving as i need to and for some reason my head would come off the stock missing the bird with it. Went back to my browning at 9+ pounds and didnt have that problem again. I could see where lightness would be good for snap shooting in the field tho.

 

There is not a lot I can add to what has already been said. As already stated, much depends on how far you have to carry it & the type of shooting you are doing. A heavy 32" SXS 10ga. has fantastic follow through for those long shots at waterfowl but I would hate to carry one all day after pheasant. Also, if the shooting is fast & close, the bird would probably be gone before you could get it moving. There are exceptions. I remember paddling my pirogue up a creek one morning shooting wood ducks back when lead was still legal here. The gun was by any measure the worst possible choice for fast shooting at woodies. It was a SXS 32" 10 ga. shooting 1 5/8 oz. #4's. I don't remember how many I killed (probably too many) but I couldn't miss. I would consider my 20ga. Elsey ideal & I invariably do my best shooting with it. It is hard to beat a standard weight 12 ga. (7+lbs.) for an all around gun. It is heavy enough for good follow through but light enough that it won't kill you to carry it. The ideal gun/weight depends on who is shooting it.

 

I like an 8 pound gun for clays and waterfowl. I've got a 6 pound 5 ounce 20 that's great for birds.

 

Weight doesn't bother me at all. Balance however is another issue. I'd rather shoot an 8+ pound gun that's balanced than swing around a 6 pound gun that's overly front heavy.

 

Weight doesn't bother me at all. Balance however is another issue. I'd rather shoot an 8+ pound gun that's balanced than swing around a 6 pound gun that's overly front heavy.

+1 ,weight plays second fiddle to balance

 

I would say 6.5 lbs. and lighter is light.. So your gun is on the top range os light by my definition. I think both light and heavy shotguns have their place in your safe.

 

My 101 'sporter' weighs a little over 8lbs but is fine for driven shooting,but after a couple of hours on a rough shoot along with a game bag (if you've bagged something)and cartridges you know you're carrying it!