Why a 16ga?

[Marshall]

Yes, Ithaca does make a great gun. Expensive though. To some, 6-7 ounces one way or the other makes a lot of difference, I'm just not that way. I grew up shooting guns that weighed, and anything up to about 7.6 lbs is just fine for me. More importantly than weight is balance and fit. The same gun to two people may be completely different. I have some heavier guns that I shoot better than lighter ones so a few ounces of weight is not a major factor to me.

 

[ArmedBear]

Since you quoted the weight, I thought it was important to you.

To me, it depends on what I'm doing with the gun. If I just waltz into a field from a car at the edge of it, I don't much care. If I'm hiking around in the high desert mountains, I care a lot.

 

[1557]

My dad started me on quail with his 16 ga. Remington 870.He could get three birds on a covey rise with regularity. It was bought in the early fifties.
Quail and duck gun. Two barrels,a 26 in. improved cylinder and a 28 in. full choke. He always nailed it at turkey shoots with that full choke barel.
I still have it and it's almost mint in appearance.He took care of his stuff.
I put a lot of 2 1/2 in. number 7 1/2 and 8's through this one.
It handles like a dream. Good old Wingmaster.

 

[RNB65]

Tradition... Style... History.

There once was a time when the 16ga was the most popular shotty on the planet. Then the skeeting shooting crowd decided not to include it in registered skeet competitions and the trap shooting crowd decided that bigger is better and it's been dying a slow death for the past half century. I was hoping that Sporting Clays might give the 16ga a bit of a boost in popularity, but it didn't happen. However, there's enough old 16ga shotguns sitting in people's closets to keep the shells in production for a long time to come.

 

[oneounceload]

Skeet, at one time, did have the 16 as a part of the game, back when skeet was a 5 gauge game.....to the diehard fans, it is a great upland gauge. Personally, I find it a bit much for quail, especially over dogs, but it works well for pheasants.....is supposed to have that mystical "square" load.

IMO, what killed the 16 was when most companies started making them on 12 gauge frames - you were carrying a 12 without the 12's capabilities....

 

[tinygnat219]

There's nothing wrong with them, except ammo choices are fewer and further between.