16ga.com ~ View topic

Mike Campbell,

I would rather hunt in 1/2 Lb lighter boots with a 1/2 Lb lighter gun if I am walking the Grouse mountain for sure.

kgb,
Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1837 Location: Central ND

I am with you on the boots, as I changed this year from my old Rocky boots to a svelte pair of Salomon’s.

I still have a tough time with taking a lighter shotgun, as I just don’t shoot them as well as the guns that are in the 7 to 8 lb. range.

Honestly I don’t feel the weight is a negative. I have been carrying this weight shotgun since 1974 and I am very used to it. I guess if I hunted with WyoChukar running through the mountains I might change my mind, but the Sandhills aren’t an issue.

The one action type I do like, is an O/U. Break it open and carry it over your shoulder is certainly a nice option. So this year’s project is to get my Citori fitted. Still not what most folks think is a light shotgun at 7 lbs.

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2346 Location: West MI

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1837 Location: Central ND

^^^^^^

^^^^^^

Thanks putz463 for putting a smile my face!!

Morning coffee and a smile.......great way to start a Sunday!!

I'll take fresh socks after lunch over lighter boots or lighter guns.

Internet adventures are routinely scripted to worst case, sometimes very creatively...we all have experienced steep hills, tough cover and somehow I wager, we all find super-strength and resolve when a dog hits a point or a bird thunders up....then, it's on us and not on any reasonably chosen gun or gauge.

Whether we hit or miss is rarely the center of the day but neither is the center comprised of the gauge chosen.....hopefully.
Enjoy the sixteen for what it can be and not always is.....it can be but one of a certain mix of particulars yielding an esthetically pleasing and sufficent to most causes scattergun to take a fella along a very well-trodden path.

If a sixteen could talk, it might not toot a tune of "I'm perfect".....I choose to think so, anyway.

Joined: 16 Jul 2015 Posts: 2124 Location: Hudson,Wy

When I hunt open country and know some of the shots will be 50 yards, the 20 stays home. If I expect most of the shots to be at 50, I bump up to a 12. I hunt a lot of open country for a lot of species. The 16's have consistently out performed the 20 when the winds blow hard and the birds want to run like banshees or are loathe to allow the dog and I very close. I seem to have plenty of 20 ga. pheasant loads getting stale these days. It has been quite some time since I carried my 28 for wild ringnecks.

When circumstances produce plenty of 35 yard shots, I still like to shoot a 20 from time to time and enjoy it very much.

When I hunt blue grouse, shots are short and it matters not in the least what gauge I pick and I just grab what ever makes me smile at the moment.

Days when sharptails treat me like a baby treats a diaper, a 10 gauge is the answer. It takes a lot off searching to find one that doesn't pretend to be a telephone pole.

Fresh socks are good. In cold weather when I hunt hard, a fresh t-shirt is mighty nice too. During winter when boots eventually get soaked (usually pants and socks transferring/ dispersing moisture in from melted snow), a fresh pair of boots go mighty fine with those dry socks.

Lunch? People break for lunch? Novel concept; I may have to try that. Actually, I either carry enough food with me on long hikes or hit the lunch box like a tornado when I get back to the truck in between hunts.

WyoChukar,

Hay you are not old enough to break for lunch yet, just wait till you are over 62 years old, you will break for lunch, even if you are carrying it in your hunting vest. At 70 you will definitely break for lunch, especially hunting the mountains you do.

Me I definitely break for lunch, I need the energy for the afternoon & evening hunt.
My older dogs need it also.

I agree about the 10 gauge double gun, most are telephone poles.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

I'm with WYOChukar on this one. My 16 Husky with ic/xf chokes and 1 1/8oz 6's or 5's will consistently anchor chukars out to 50yds, no problem. Because it is light and quick, it also helps me to get on target quickly, which matters at long range. Every split second you waste is a few extra yards the birds are away from you. Out to normal ranges and conditions, however, the difference between a 16 and any other gauge is small. At the margins however, especially with larger payloads, is when it really shines. So to answer the question directly, yes, I do think a 16 is better than a 20.

Edit: More to the question of the op, I forgot to add that I used to have a Lefever 16 that I shot 1oz loads out of exclusively. I had a 2.5" 1300 fps roll crimped longshot load I used with that gun that I called the hammer of Thor. I dropped roosters with that gun out to 50 yds. Maybe it was the short shot string, I don't know, but good luck doing that with a 20 on a regular basis. Wink

You silly fellas 20 gauge can't kill a thing. Why would you even ask if an once of shot out of a 20 gauge would be the same. Of course it would not be. 20 gauge is useless 16 gauge is far superior. No evidence needed.

Gentlemen,

Sometimes this place brings a smile to my face.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Do people still use 20's these days? Aren't they considered obsolete?

Stirring the pot. Razz

[quote="WyoChukar"]When I hunt open country and know some of the shots will be 50 yards, the 20 stays home. If I expect most of the shots to be at 50, I bump up to a 12. I hunt a lot of open country for a lot of species. The 16's have consistently out performed the 20 when the winds blow hard and the birds want to run like banshees or are loathe to allow the dog and I very close. I seem to have plenty of 20 ga. pheasant loads getting stale these days. It has been quite some time since I carried my 28 for wild ringnecks."

Kinda, but no...,.,..
I leave my old 16's in the rack, late season ducks. They aren't steel friendly. Then I go with a BPS 20, straight stock, with tungsten. The bottom ejection, is nice for keeping your partner happy, too!

Smile

Gentlemen,

Back in the 50's & 60's we killed a lot of wild Pheasants in Lancaster County, Pa with 12 and 16 gauge guns, the 20 & 28 gauge guns were not used much. Even the kids and ladies used the 16 and 12 gauge Semi - Auto guns. However I do realize many of the modern shells were unavailable in that era. IMO the 20 gauge shells, even the 3" shells, still do not have the killing power of the 16, especially with the newer Fiocchi shells available for todays hunters.

The 20 gauge shells have come along way, however it's still a 20 gauge gun.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

agree , the 16 rules over the 20 . just never took to them .... however - the #1 grouse gun EVER - the 28ga 1100 ! By a LOT . Walked your grouse woods Dave in So NY for yrs ... 1100 - #1 !!

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1837 Location: Central ND

But, but, but the 1100 28 gauge is not built on a dedicated 28 gauge frame...Horrors!!

I love 1100's.......in any gauge.