machinisttx
Member
Now, it's easy enough to get a nice 7 lb. 12 Gauge from various vendors in any configuration you want. I wouldn't buy an 8 lb.
Remington claims their 12 gauge Wingmaster with a 30" barrel weighs 7.5 pounds. I just weighed my 18" barreled Wingmaster and it's at 8 pounds with five rounds of 3" 000 buck in it. That's about as light as I want to go with a 12 gauge pump. I've handled some lighter pumps, and I can only speculate that they are unpleasant to shoot with anything heavier than a 1 ounce load, at least in the context of something you plan on shooting all day. Even with a good recoil pad, recoil fatigue will set in after a while.
Remington also claims their 20 gauge Wingmaster weighs 6.5 pounds. I'm not pulling mine out of the safe to check, but it feels LOTS lighter than the 12. It swings faster and is a whole lot more pleasant to carry all day. I never have warmed up to it since it's field performance is seriously lacking in my hands. Breaking clays isn't much of a problem, but live birds are a different matter.
Oddly enough, I just checked my 1958 production 16 gauge Wingmaster and found it to weigh in at 6 pounds, even though it's built on the same receiver as the 12 gauge. I'll make a guess that the utility grade walnut furniture and short ribbed fore end are mostly the reason why. My gun was the very basic model and not one of the nicer ones...back then several grades of the Wingmaster were offered. Remington no longer offers the 16 gauge in the Wingmaster, so there isn't anything to compare mine to(unless you consider the Express comparable, and I don't).
Not long ago I had the chance to pick up a brand new 1100 in 16 gauge for around $400. It appears I should have because the Remington website no longer lists them.
If you want to get into doubles, the real beauty of the 16 comes out. Some of these are built on a 20 gauge frame, making them even lighter and more lively in the hands.
As I said in my previous post, manufacturers have done nearly everything possible to kill the 16. The only pump I can find chambered for it is the Remington 870 Express. Autoloaders? Gone. Over/unders? Maybe. SxS? There are a few left.
*Note--I don't address autoloaders because I don't use them much. My ideal dove gun would be Franchi 48AL in 16 with a full set of fixed choke barrels, so long as it was scaled down properly and not built on a 12 gauge receiver. Even if it was, I could probably get along with it since they're already pretty light. Of course, Franchi no longer offers the 48AL in 12 gauge, with the only two chamberings being 20 and 28 gauge.