tuna
NES Member
Someone cleans an A5?
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the death of the 16 Ga....Why?
- Thread starter Smith33
- Start date
Someone cleans an A5?
Well, I did say that I am not a shotgun guy!
Kidding aside, all the safe queens are cleaned and lubed.
KBCraig
NES Member
Naw.
Back in its day, it delivered almost the load of a 12, and more than a 20, but with less recoil and faster recovery. Before prices got stupid, dove and quail hunters loved it because they burned through a lot of ammo without a lot of success.
At the Lunenburg Walmart yesterday checking out the almost empty ammo shelf. About the only thing in the shotgun case was 4 boxes of 16 gauge and a few .410.
Knob Creek
NES Member
I have my Grandfathers 16 Stevens. The 16 went into decline when Skeet shooting began and used 12,20,28, and 410. The 16 Ga was left out at a time when Shotgun games took off.
one-eyed Jack
Manufacturer
Back when, every farmer in the country had a mail order Sears 16. Not being that much into ballistics and having to decide which gauge, 20, 16, or 12, they just chose the "middle" one. Jack.
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
KBCraig
NES Member
Since most 16s are lightweight SxS or O/U guns meant for carrying in the field and swinging quickly, you're going to have that, especially compared to a pump gun.
They went the way of Punt Guns.
D
Deleted member 67409
10-gauge was popular in the US during two time periods: black powder guns up until the early 1930s, then the initial introduction of non-toxic shot.
10-gauge historically was mostly a waterfowling cartridge. With the state and then Federal banning of market hunting from about 1910 to 1930, the advantage of 10-gauge went away. Plus, with black powder, the way to get more power was to increase payload and powder capacity. With smokeless powder, its easier to increase velocity, so there's less reason to increase payload (shot), especially considering that increased payload also means more recoil. Finally, once the gun and ammo industries settled on 2.75", 3", and now 3.5" 12-gauge, what's the reason to make a 2 5/8" 12-gauge and a 2 7/8" 10-gauge, when a 2.75" 12-gauge does both jobs?
10-gauge came back with the introduction of non-toxic shot requirements. Steel shot wasn't as effective, so people wanted more payload. Now with more advanced steel shot and lead alternatives like bismuth and others, I don't think many people buy 10s anymore except maybe for someone really wanting a big turkey or goose gun.
Both 8 and 10 gauges lasted longer in the UK for waterfowling because the British "solution" to conservation issues was to instead increase licensing requirements to own guns - the British solution was to control who could own guns, the American solution was to control what guns people could own, considering that American anti-market hunting laws banned 8-gauge for quite some time.
There used to be a lot more shotgun gauges for niche purposes:
2-bore
4-bore/4-gauge/quarter-bore
8-gauge
10-gauge
12-gauge
14-gauge
16-gauge
20-gauge
24-gauge
28-gauge
32-gauge
.410 bore, which is something like 67-gauge
All gauge means is a fraction. A 16-gauge nominally shoots 1/16 of a pound of lead, i.e., an ounce. A quarter-bore shoots a quarter pound of lead, typically a slug or ball. In days before standardized, industrialized gunmaking, when most shotguns came from small manufacturers or gunsmiths, especially high end gunsmiths with wealthy clients (Holland and Holland, Purdey, Boss, Dickson, Rigby), there was a lot more potential for gauge variation. Then add in the factor that in black powder days, people made their own load with each shot, and black powder could only get so much velocity, and there's a lot more variation of gauges.
These days, most people don't load their own shotshells and instead buy their guns and ammo from industrial manufacturers who make thousands of shotguns and millions if not billions of shotshells. We're not talking about a member of the English gentry buying a custom waterfowling gun for shooting ducks on his estate, or grouse in Scotland. However, historically, those landed gentry greatly influenced shotgun and ammo development; that heritage remains, but times have changed.
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KMM696
NES Member
In stock at Targetsport - Dec 14 Remington 16ga #6
Remington Game Load 16 Gauge Ammo 2-3/4" 1 oz #6 Shot Case of 250
Figured most of those interested would be here...
Remington Game Load 16 Gauge Ammo 2-3/4" 1 oz #6 Shot Case of 250
Figured most of those interested would be here...
