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

I sold a model 58 in 16 gauge on here last year and it was lighter than my 1100 LT-20. It was a winner.


Edited to add:

Just found this on another site
http://www.huntingpa.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=4335305#Post4335305

It's not mine and I don't know the seller, just stumbled upon it after making my post above. He says FTF, but I've had more than one seller agree to ship after posting FTF only.

battue, thanks, that 16 sure felt good.. I looked at them when they made the later run, but as you said they were on a 12 ga. frame. All this talk of shotguns reminds me grouse season is only 27 days away!!!

No wnoder Kate is excited!! Maggie hasn't quite caught on yet!!

Maggie should fire up this season with time. Then the competition between her and Kate will also kick in and she should be pulling on the leash.

Merlot the new guy is wired already. Pull up next to a field and he pops out head high and on a swivel; looking for what he thinks is the best tangle to jump into.

Browning BPS

I have an 870, a Remington 11 and an ancient single barrel that came to me from my father. Of those the 11 is my favorite, it is death on quail; the 870 is on the 12 ga receiver and heavier than it needs to be.

A BPS would be my choice if I were to buy another, it is only slightly heavier than the 20 ga BPS.

+1 on an 870 preferably older Wingnaster or Model 12 . I have both and its a tossup for me. 37s and BPS are nice , just never got used to the ejection on those

870 16's have always been made on the 12 gauge frame. The difference is in the barrels. The early guns were trim and light without vent ribs, etc. Later guns, the mandate of steel shot and economics created the pigs that are late model 870 16 gauges. The new barrels are made from 12 gauge blanks, so are thicker and heavier, add a vent rib and the weight increases again.

Yep.....I just put a fresh supply of Vienna Sausage, Crackers, and Smoked Herring in the camp box the other day so I'm ready to roll.....

Hope you have a good one.. We will probably hit the blues first then try for some ruffs, but a lot of my ruff area is on fire!!

Fire's kept me out of my favorite Grouse haunts last year too.....

They also kept a friend in WY who had planned a Wolf hunt all year home....I know bupkis about hunting Wolves but I was sure looking forward to seeing him....

So far so good this year but I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway....

Luck....

I think you won't have any trouble getting a 16-gauge Model 12 for $300-$400, I found mine for about $300, it doesn't have a rib and is a full choke 28" barrel, but I still can't wait to take it for a walk this season. I might have the choke opened up a bit, but either way I am happy for what it is now!

I would vote for a Browning auto. A used A-5 goes for 500.00.
A Browning Sweet 16 costs A1000.00. A Browning BPS is the best pump out there. I have several in12 gauge. There is used BPS's from 350.00 to new ones for 500.00 on gunbroker.

Another vote for the Humpback. They drip class.

This is what I finally picked out!
http://www.gunbroker.com/item/573380245

Damn!! That's quite a find.
I wouldn't mind having that myself....and I'm not a pump gun guy.

Enjoy....

Love that picture. I wish the manufacturer of 16 gauge shells would still make them with purple hulls.

Glad you saw that one first, because I would have been tempted.

Really nice!!!!

Today I bought an older , plain barrel Rem. 1100 16 ga. It's a real cream puff. Hardly been used at all . It matches the 1100 LW 20 ga.my dad bought me in 1973. Thanks everyone for all the thoughts and opinions.

I saw it and wanted to buy it,,BUT my better judgement kicked in. I'm about to turn 79. I should be selling, not buying.
Best wishes,
Jack

There's nothing like Belgium Sweet Sixteen.

I have 2 on GB watch-list, one is 499 and the other is 599!

When Dad passed last year I inherited his Sportsman 58 with poly choke. It's always been a little fussy but never had a good cleaning of the internals that I know of. I've yet to get a chance to run it much since cleaning it. That gun always had sentimental value.

I'd offer that a mid-50's Model 12 may hit your sweet spot. For some reason, the earlier Model 12 16s often have cycling troubles, especially the very early ones with 2 9/16" chambers. I also prefer the latest model forearm which I find fits better for me.

That is really nice. A m12 16 gauge with Modified choke is in my opinion about the best shotgun ever made for Western upland game hunting and the variation you bought is really clean and my favorite era for production.

They are a little expensive at $14-$15 per box, but buy a case of Remington Express number 6s. They will knock pheasant and wild flushing blue quail down a long way out when fired from a M12.

Very wise choice, grasshopper. ;-{>8

Where can I buy 16Ga B&P shells? Thanks

I think Federal still has purple hull 16 gauge shells.

They're Great shells, but they Never had an importer/dealer worth a damned.

I am always told they are sold out. It is the height of ignorance to be sold out so much. If you're "sold out" there is a bigger demand for something.

Stock more, idiots!

FWIW, here is the link...

http://www.aerostaroutdoors.com/catalog/


and another...

http://carolans.com/R/bp-1/f2-classic-16-ga/index.html

I forgot these guys for classic 16gauge ammo. It's good ammo, and they have the line made for shooting in an A-5.

http://www.rstshells.com/

I'm kind of enamored with the sixteen, one of my goto coyote guns is a 1926 Drilling 2 1/2" 16 ga with 1 oz of NP BB's.



Rarely need to use the rifle barrel.



Most of my 16's have short chambers so I have a Mec 600 set up with a short shell kit, never in need of shells NP BB's and 2's for predator hunting, 3/4 oz ITX 6's for waterfowl and 7/8 oz lead 5's and NP 7's for upland.

I went to a gun show in Kerrville today and saw a pretty minty and original Ithaca M37 16 with a 28" modified barrel. An old "corn cob" gun. The guy was asking $375. A bargain I thought.

The 870 16ga guns were indeed built on the 12ga frame.
I own and very much like a M31 with a 30" plain FULL barrel from the mid 30's. The action is incredibly smooth.
The M31 the model Remington built to compete with the Winchester M12, the Cadillac of its time. They can still be had very affordably.

I ve had most all of them at one time or the other. Ithaca m37, Win m12, a early 870, sweet 16 A5, Citori o/u, Win m97. As you might guess I'm a bit of a 16 ga. Fan They are all wonderful guns and you should be able to find one in your price range save the o/u. I will mention that some of the older guns have 2 9/16" chambers. You can get shells from rst but you should be aware. Though I'm a bit loath to admit it I have found that there really isn't much difference in the field between a 20 & a 16. An oz. of shot is pretty much and oz of shot regardless of the gauge.

This is where I buy my 2-1/2" 16ga. ammo.

Hard to better a 1950s era 16ga Ithaca M37 for the money.


Still undervalued in some places.


95% factory original. Purchased locally in 2016 for $300.00

That was a steal!!! Just let me know if you ever get tired of it

I snagged one for $250 a couple of years ago, but it does not look THAT good!

Me too, I had a short-chambered Model 12 a few years ago and got a case of 2 1/2" #5 shot from RST. They seem fine, they leave a little more residue in the barrel than I am used to but no harm done.

I have my Dads m37 and they are wonderful guns for sure. I have had my best luck ordering my shells from the following sources

Bass Pro. Remington game loads
Cabelas. Herters
Gramaile Shooters Supply. Nobel Sports

Basically I shoot either 7 1/2 or #6 shot and find thos cover most all of my bird hunting as well as small game. I have a couple of 5 round boxes of #1 buck probably 25 years old.

Another old M37, my grandpa's.

Last Fall.

Great pic

5 or so years ago, local shop had a minty Ithaca 37 in 16 for $300. I looked it over, handled it, gave it back and left. Next day I came back to buy it, I was 2 hours too late. Kick myself for not buying it when I first saw it. I did pick up another one a few years later. Nowhere near the condition for $200. It works though.

Early 870 16 gauges were not on the 12gauge frame. My Dads was new in 1951 and is slimmer than a 12 gauge. My brother has it now and uses it.
Carried a 16 gauge 11-48 last fall for pheasants in South Dakota. Joy to carry and performed perfectly. Fall before was a 16 gauge Model 31 lightweight. That likewise was good. I put about 4 oz of lead in the butt to make it balance better, still very light to carry. Shot it very well on pheasants and sharptails.
Both the 11-48 and the Model 31 were under $300.00 shotguns in very nice shape. Dale