Just to stir the pot:Why do they keep trying to resurrect the 16 ga? The 3” 20 ga dealt it a critical blow, followed by the gun and ammo manufacturers piling on. I started hunting with a 1930’s Stevens 16 ga SxS and when it was my daughter Meg’s turn, she took her first ducks and goose with it. But seriously the 3” 20 ga has better guns, ammo selection and generally a slightly higher payload then the 16. I understand the square load theory for lead field loads but with chilled shot and today’s better wads, is the benefit real?
When I was loading for it and shooting at clay targets frequently, I liked to load a 1oz target load. Then Remington stopped selling the wads and all that were available were the 1-1/8 & 1-1/4 wads. Which meant inserting filler wads. Good hulls didn’t exist and the fibber bottoms and 6 pt crimps were poor requiring a candle nearby to drip wax on them to seal.
I’ve thought about bringing her back out for stocked pheasant, but seriously, my 20 ga Benelli is such a pleasure to shoot and provides the awh-5hit 3rd shot that actually helps me maybe once a season. 20 ga ammo is less expensive and has a much better selection, although I simply shoot 1oz steel 4 duck loads, as my mental computer isn’t sharp enough to handle the different leads required by significantly different loads. Experience tells me, if I have to think, I’ve missed.
Bottom line for me, the 16 ga is relegated to the nostalgia corner. If I ever buy another new scatter gun, it will either be a SxS 20 ga. or a replacement for my worn & rusted out SBE.
Scott
