Is the weight of the Model 11 16 gauge the same as the standard 16 Auto Five? Or the weight of a Sweet Sixteen?
I'm pretty sure the M-11 and standard A-5 weights are roughly equal. The added time and effort to lighten the stock and receiver would likely not have been cost effective on the M-11. To further bolster this idea, I have not seen nor heard of such a thing being done to the M-11. If efforts to lighten the gun had been undertaken, it is probable this would have been commented on to get a less expensive "Sweet 16".
I have three Model 11's in the house - two 12s and a 16. One of the 12s has a 28 inch Imp Cyl barrel with a solid rib. The 16 is the same, except with a Mod choke. According to my bathroom scale (and it tells me i've lost weight, so it's most likely not anywhere near accurate) the 16ga weighs in at 8lbs even, the 12 hits 8.4 lbs. Neither is a lightweight.....
I grew up shooting the 12 ga. Shot my first pheasant with it when I was eleven. Killed tons of ducks, geese, pheasants with it. It's an old one, with the safety in front of the trigger. Belonged to my Grandfather - he bought the other M11 (Sportsman) for my Dad. When my brother and I became old enough to hunt, the M11s became "ours" and my Dad bought a Browning A5 Magnum with a 32" Full barrel. I have that here too, somewhere. Got my first triple on gamebirds (hungarian partridge) with the A5. As a side note: DO NOT shoot partridge at 20 yards with 3 inch #2s through a full choke. I bought the 16ga (also a Sportsman) through the classifieds here many years ago, in order to fulfill my need for a 16ga autoloader to sate my addiction to that gauge.
As a previous poster has said, the M11 does have less refinements than the A5. Most of those, though, you are not going to notice when the shooting starts.
Kaiser Norton
