Nostalgic purchase....

[edcknives]

So over the weekend one my favorite sellers on GunBroker had a 16 gauge single shot WW1 vintage. Very clean and tight and IM choked. The first gun I really shot was my grandpa’s 16 gauge Hopkins and Allen’s single shot that was an abused rattle trap but nonetheless I didn’t know any better. I was 12 years old standing on the levee on the Missouri River bottoms with my dad where his side of the family has been farming since the 1840’s. Tossed an apple in a slough pond and fired at it once and the second shot it went click. After numerous more tries it was determined that the firing pin had blown out and from then forward was rendered non-serviceable.

Move forward 50 years and there was a similar style shotgun in very nice condition and who doesn’t appreciate the gestalt of a vintage single shot. Picked it up from my local FFL today and here she is. Fortunately I have plenty of 16 gauge accumulated and will enjoy leaving this one at the cabin as well.

 

[e rex]

I like your shotgun and I like the 16 gauge also.

 

[bannockburn]

edcknives

I like it! Classic single shot design and in 16 gauge make it a real nice find from a bygone era. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[Cvans]

Very nice purchase. Long live the single shot.

 

[22250Rem]

Very cool. I have an attachment to 16 ga. single shots, as that's what my first shotgun was and I still have it. Back before the rise of the 20 ga. a lot of the old pheasant hunters used to carry 16 ga. guns and said it was ideal for pheasants and 12 ga. guns were "overkill". Still a nice all around gauge today.

 

[Riomouse911]

Nice match with the finished pine wall in the background!

Like most of us I cut my teeth on a single shot shotgun...but mine was in .410. I took a few mourning doves and some fox squirrels in the oak-bottom canyons.

But I quickly graduated to my Grandfathers Model 12 in 16 gauge and hunted with that gun a lot more than the .410.

I get the love for the 16, I still have that Model 12 and I’ve added a BPS 16 gauge as well. It really is a nice balance of effective payload and moderate recoil .

Stay safe.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

I like them a whole lot. Federal makes a wicked #1 buckshot 12 pellet load for social work.

A single shot shotgun can be a surprisingly effective self defense weapon in trained hands:



An inexpensive stock mounted shell carrier is a great addition and with practice you can get a lot of lead down range with a single, either for sport or self preservation applications.

 

[Riomouse911]

I like them a whole lot. Federal makes a wicked #1 buckshot 12 pellet load for social work.

A single shot shotgun can be a surprisingly effective self defense weapon in trained hands:



An inexpensive stock mounted shell carrier is a great addition and with practice you can get a lot of lead down range with a single, either for sport or self preservation applications.

I bought ten 5-round boxes of those 16 ga #1 buck Federal loads several years ago from sportsman’s guide. They do look pretty effective should they be pressed into service.

Stay safe.