First pheasant I killed was with a 16ga J.C. Higgins bolt action; one with a tubular magazine, not one of the clumsy detachable boxes that came along later. Those were very common farm guns once upon a time, and worked very well.
If I was looking for a 16, first thing I’d do is secure the shells, then look for a gun. Someone that wants to shoot clays or other high-consumption activity would be better off with a light 12 or 20. Can’t imagine anything more frustrating than having a nice bird gun and no ammo-nition.
Still have my dad’s 12 but it had a box magazine. Strangely to me anyway, it’s very light for gauge. Cheap American guns usually weighed and handled like a fence pole.
Speaking of shot shells, Scheels the other day were fully stocked with 28’s, 20’s, 16’s…but no 12’s!
