16ga.com Forum Index
Author Message
<  16ga. General Discussion  ~  16 ga article in May Fur-Fish-Game
3birddogs
PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 2:34 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 07 Sep 2011
Posts: 567
Location: wheeling, wv

nice article in FFG about the revival of the 16ga (and I never new it was dying)

_________________
we salute you bird of thunder
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Yahoo Messenger
Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 10:38 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2787
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

3Birddogs,

Thanks for the heads up, I am one of those Sportsman who because of our family tradition of Grouse & Woodcock hunting never lost interest in fine 16 gauge guns.

In fact many Grouse hunters have never really lost interest in the real 16 gauge double guns. IMO the gun manufacturers played a major role in the number of people hunting with nice 16 gauge guns, when they eliminated producing them for the American hunter. Producing 16 gauge guns on 12 gauge frames was a looser, any sportsman, especially Grouse hunters, wanted no part of a 16 gauge gun built on a 12 gauge frame. Which is what really happened when the Manufacturers wanted to only build 12 and 20 gauge frames to help their manufacturing businesses. Sense the clays shooting games did not include them, and the hunters shunned the 12 gauge framed gun, along with the limited availability of the 16 on it's own frame, gun sales dropped off badly for 16 gauge guns.

Further because many of us Grouse hunters were given our Grandfathers fine 16 double guns and the bulk of the sportsman coming home from WWII were infatuated with Semi-Auto and Pump shotguns it was no wonder that the 16 gauge gun sales suffered badly. It did not help that the Grouse numbers in our forests were starting to fade during this time also.

Eventually however the younger Grouse hunters wanted to hunt as their Grandfathers did, with a fine 16 gauge double gun. Simply put they wanted to become part of the Grouse & Woodcock hunting tradition, this spread into the Quail hunting sport also, along with Pheasant hunting, and with the ability of the manufacturers to make many of the guns on an assembly line at a reasonable cost, the 16 guns started to be produced again. Some are real nice guns made both in the USA & Europe. Many of the Spanish gun makers have fine 16 gauge side lock double guns for sale again. The Ugartechea Grade IV & V are fine examples of these guns, sold at reasonable prices. Unfortunately many of the Spanish gun makers have closed up shop now, due to the massive excise taxes placed on their products by the Spanish government, a real shame.

Michael McIntosh in his Shotguns & Shooting (three) writes on the subject of the 16 gauge revival, nice job of it also. He also goes on to give his thought about the 20 gauge gun and how it's not the be all that some sports writers believe it is. Lots of good information in his books.

Further with the advent of the 2 1/2" RST & Poly SpredR shells a young sportsman has the option to use his Grandfathers fine L.C. Smith 16 or any of the other fine American Classic 16's that he might have hidden away in the gun safe. In the past few years I have seen many young Grouse hunters carrying these fine 16 gauge double guns in the Grouse woods, some even have the new guns, like the Ugartechea IV & V.

For a Grouse hunter the 16 gauge double gun has always been the ultimate hunting tool, the saying it carries like a 20 and hits like a 12 is absolutely true. Being a family of traditional Grouse and Woodcock hunters we have many Classic American & Euro 16 gauge double guns. For us the 16 gauge double guns have never gone out of style. To Grouse hunters like us, they are simply some of the finest guns ever made.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Side Lock 1901 L.C. Smith 16 gauge #5 gun, one serious Bird Gun.




Side Lock 1889 J.P. Sauer & Sohn 16 Gauge Best Grouse Gun - another serious Bird Gun


_________________
"L.C. Smith America's Best" - John Houchins

Pine Creek Grouse Dog Trainers
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
All times are GMT - 7 Hours

View next topic
View previous topic
Page 1 of 1
16ga.com Forum Index  ~  16ga. General Discussion

Post new topic   Reply to topic


 
Jump to:  

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum




Powered by phpBB and NoseBleed v1.09