Another of today's finds. S&W 916-A

Shot a friends. Unimpressed.

I think that's wise. Short of just keeping the thing around as a curiosity / "It's a SMITH!", I'd leave it be.

Had one, traded it for a Winchester Defender 7 shot.
Never looked back until now...

The first shotgun I personally owned was a 916. I baled hay for a month my thirteenth summer to get the $70 to pay for it. It was a 12 ga. but IIRC they made a 20 also.

That thing shot slugs into a 3" group at 75 yards...when it worked. It went to the local gunsmith three times in two years for failure to feed or fire, just before deer season. It was replaced by a Mossberg.

Someone should do the world a favor by cutting the reciever in half. They are the pooh everyone says they are.

That's what I think of the S&W 916.

I have one of those also. It has Eastfield on the barrel and from the reviews I found I may not ever shoot it!! Bad thing is I gave $100 for it.

The 916 reminds me of the old Nobel pump. I paid under a hundred dollars for my Model 916 years ago-and got rid of it years ago. I bought it thinking it might serve well as a "truck" gun or a decent loaner but I could never get it to function properly and it didn't seem worth fixing.

I would make fine boat anchor...if you don't like your boat.

I hear and read all the bad things about these guns Yet I have one mom bought me in 1975. I have fired thousands of rounds through it with out a single failure including many remington nitro mag #2 shot rounds. It will flat anchor a fox at 50 yards with that load. The only compliant I have ever had with it was at less than 20 yards it tore rabbit up to bad to eat . Mine has a 30" barrel with a full choke I had one like in the picture except with out the iron sights and never had a problem with it eather
Roy

I have a 916A unfired and it will remain so, I am afraid of it, I also have an Ithaca m37 and racking the Actions of both is like comparing a Yugo to a Mercedes Benz!

I remember thinking when these first came out how low budget they looked and operated. Sure glad I got a Remington Model 870 for my first shotgun instead of something like the S&W Model 916. The only S&W shotgun that I thought was designed and built worthy of the S&W name was their semi-auto Model 1000 Super Skeet.

Had one back in the 70s. Not one of S&W's better ideas. It actually IS the old Nobel design.

They say that the trigger plate assemblies are quite weak, and that is what attaches the butt stock to the gun, have seen several broke off..............

SwampWolf said:

The 916 reminds me of the old Nobel pump. I paid under a hundred dollars for my Model 916 years ago-and got rid of it years ago. I bought it thinking it might serve well as a "truck" gun or a decent loaner but I could never get it to function properly and it didn't seem worth fixing.

Click to expand...

The S&W 916 Eastfield actually IS the old Nobel pump gun. When S&W decided they wanted to have a shotgun bearing their brand name, they bought the Nobel factory down the road from their HQ and just changed the name stamped on the receivers.
I picked up a 916 at an estate sale as part of a lot up for bid, just to get another couple of guns that I did want. I've fired it a few times, and it does work, mostly, but sometimes misfeeds with 2 3/4" shells, to the point where I wouldn't want to bet my life on it working for a fast second shot. I don't like it mainly because the barrel is screwed to the receiver, and it can't be taken down for transport, but its "rigid barrel to frame mounting" was one of its advertised selling points when it first came out.

Thanks Drail and GCBurner. You've both confirmed my long-standing suspicions as to the origin of the Model 916 shotgun.

The 916 reminds me of the old Nobel pump

It is indeed the old Nobel Model 60 design, as stated earlier. According to Swearengen, the police models of the 916 were announced late in 1973.

I've handled and shot a couple of them over the years. Essentially the best I can offer is that, while most manufacturers of pump shotguns occasionally turn out a lemon, with the 916, S&W occasionally turned out one that actually worked.

Smith and Wesson has had a terrible record on shotguns. They were poor when new and never succeeded with any of them. That leave the owners with guns that are hard to get parts for to keep them running.

Yup. I actually bought one back in the 70s when I was young enough and dumb enough to believe that if S&W made it then it must be good. I also used to actually believe that everything we used in the military was the best stuff obtainable. Boy, was I stupid. After being trained on and qualifying Expert on an M 16 rifle I haven't had any desire to ever pick one up again. It is incredible to me that people are paying the prices asked for ARs now. I would lug an M 1 Garand or an M 14 any day. Or even a Springfield 03.

Smith and Wesson has had a terrible record on shotguns. They were poor when new and never succeeded with any of them.

Click to expand...

Actually, the Japanese-made (I believe by Howa) Model 3000 pump and the Model 1000 semi-auto were very nicely-made and reliable Smith&Wesson shotguns. I suppose acquiring parts for these long-discontinued guns could pose a problem.