Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns 16 ga. advice ?

Thinking about adding a 16 ga. to my shotgun collection. Need advice or opinions on different guns. Not looking for a collector or show piece. I will use it to hunt. Remington model 31, 11-48, 58 , 870 ? Winchester model 12 ? Other models or brands ? $400-$500 range. Pro's ? Con's?

I like my Remington 31 and 870 16s. The 31s are about as slick a pumpgun as any ever made, and the 870s are pretty good for 'slick', too. If you get an 870, look for an early one with a plain, fixed-choke barrel and a 'corncob' fore-end. The beavertail fore-ends and vent ribs on later guns added weight and mass to front end of the gun and pretty much negated the handling advantages of a 16 over a 12, IMO. The late production 870 16s(2000s) were fitted with over-heavy, choke-tube barrels that, added to the vent rib and beavertail fore-end, actually weighed up more than 12 ga. 870s.

I have no experience with auto-loaders, but I've noticed that there seem to be more barrels for sale in the world for Remington self-loading 16s compared to Remington 16 ga. pumps, if getting extra barrels is important to you.

Belgian Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen...

400-500 will limit you to the Rem 31 and 870 with plain barrel, they are fine guns. M-12 will run you a bit more

Model 12 16 ga is on the 20 ga frame. Pros are quality all steel construction, excellent trigger, weight-less than the 20-and balance. They don't make a pump shotgun today with the quality mechanicals and care that went into the Model 12 and probably never will again.

Rem 870 16's are on the 12 frame and end up weighing as much or more than a 12. What then is the advantage? Might has well have the 12, which is more versatile when you consider shell variety.

Don't underestimate balance and how the Winchester handles. With the exception of the Ithaca 37 featherweight 16-another excellent choice-no pump comes close.

Bad pic, good gun.

Ithaca 37

My 16 ga is an Ithaca Model 37. My father's 16 ga is an Ithaca Flues field grade sxs. So maybe Ithaca??

Thanks for all the info.

I am with battue, the model 12 16 ga. handles very well.. Never owned one buy one of my pals had one.. If I could find one with a rib, I might be tempted.. The 37 was the favorite of many of my cousins.. Again, if I could find one with a rib, I might be tempted, but at my age with lots of pumps in 12, 20 and even a 28, it would have to be a super deal..

Picked this up for $275 on Gunbroker not too long ago.

Nice shotgun. Good buy.

I bought an Ithaca M37 for a good price on GB a few years ago. It's in great shape but has a Polychoke so the collectors didn't want it. I have an 870 with all three plain barrels I'm fond of too. Ithaca 37s, Winchester M12s, and Browning Sweet 18s are sized for the gauge. Early model 12s have a 2 9/16 inch chamber.

I have 3 16 gauge shotguns; I like and use all three. The first one I owned was a Remington model 11. It originally came wiht 28" full choke barrel and I had the barrel cut down to 26" and added a poly choke. The gun has accompanied me on many trips and accounted for a lot of game.

The other guns are an Ithaca M37 pump with a 28" modified barrel; I bought a slug barrel with rifled sights to go with that one. Finally, I have a Stoeger Uplander shotgun with 26" barrels and IC/Mod chokes. I like taking that one to the pheasant preserves and into the grouse woods.
If you do get a 16 gauge, you might want to consider reloading for it.....16 gauge target shells are becoming scarcer and scarcer at the big box stores anymore.

If you're hell-bent on a pump, get a M12 or Ithaca M37 and don't look back. Don't, however, overlook a Smith field grade/Sterlingworth/Ithaca NID SxS.

Shouldn't be oo hard as all of the classic pumps m12, m37, m31, m870, m97 were made in 16 ga, as were. Many of the autos. I love all of the classic pumps and they are quite numerous. The A-5 is coming down in price if you want an auto and I love mine. As two doubles the savage 311 and old lefever nitros were made in 16 ga and should be in your budget range. The two caveats I'll trhow in is be aware that some of the older 16s were chambered for 2 9/16 shells which are available but mostly mail order and the later reintroduced remington 870s $1100s are quite a bit heavier than the originals. Other than that get a nice o.der gun in good shape and you re golden and own an American Classic.

You can seldom go wrong with the Ithaca 37, Remington 870, or Winchester Model 12.

If you shoot factory ammo, 16 gauge is more expensive to shoot than 12 or 20, as it is less common/popular, and there are fewer factory ammo options. I have a couple of Remingtons in 16 gauge, a 1960s vintage 1100 and a 2007 limited run 870 Express.

More expensive yes, although Remingtons can be bought reasonably.

Few options? Here are two pages of options and they are a good shell. There are others also, such a B&P. More expensive, but a couple flats should last the average hunter a while.

Lead, copper, paper, slow, faster. fiber wads, plastic wads, 3/4oz, 7/8oz and 1oz. And 2.5in, so will work in just about everything.

Shipped to your door, so you make up some of the extra cost in time and gas.

http://www.rstshells.com/store/m/3-16-Gauge.aspx

battue, weren't the older 870's on a smaller frame? A pal had one that I really wanted but he gave it to his son.

When I handled it it seemed smaller that my 12's. The Rem 31's seemed nice also.

WCH,

Perhaps, I'm wrong on the frame size. I always thought they were on the 12 frame. Maybe someone else can verify one way or the other.

WCH,

Found this article. If correct, and they made a smaller 870 frame 16 then it would have been prior to 1964.

http://www.fourten.org.uk/wingmaster.pdf