16ga.com ~ View topic - 16 bore trap and skeet shooters: What guns do you use.

Member Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 972 Location: Keller,TX

I don't mean the casual shooter, but the serious competitor or the league shooter. I'm very intrested in what you have to say regarding the 16 as a regular catagory included in registerd events. Would you lobby for its inclusion as a regular catagory? Comments please.

Member Joined: 02 Feb 2006 Posts: 602 Location: western pa

You might have something at skeet. At trap, anybody can shoot 16 if they want but you get no special consideration for it, nor should you. Trap is a pretty specialized game. What I would like to see returned to the front is target games that are all shot low gun style. Thats not likely to happen because shooters would be on equal footing using any game gun and wouldn't be buying specific target models. Manufactures like to charge more money for the polished up target dandies. Although I agree that it sucks, we can't even get a reasonable ammo ( shot size) selection from the major mfgrs., so anything new in organised games seems distant at best for the 16 ga.

Member Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 972 Location: Keller,TX

Who out there shoots a 525 16 bore for trap? A citori 16 for skeet? A Wingmaster 16 for skeet? Any 16 sxs for skeet? Surely some one does!

Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 280 Location: Southern Ohio

I don't know why anyone would want to handicap himself with a 16 Bore for Trap, especially in competition, I like a 16 bore for grouse, but don't fool yourself, they won't do what a 12 will,, MDC

Joined: 13 Feb 2007 Posts: 98 Location: Illinois

Apples to Apples, I bet you could come very close to what a 12 gauge could do with a slightly smaller reciever profile.

Think about it. You could shoot 1 1/8 oz loads out of each as well as 1 oz and 7/8 oz loads. Your chokes would be very similar and I'm sure you could get them to pattern very closely.

Where I think the 16 gauge would probably fall short would be the weight and barrel length. You can get some heavy (soft shooting) long barreled trap guns and I don't think you could find that in a 16 gauge at present time.

Gentlemen:

Since I bought one of the new "Classic Fields" Remington 1100 in 16 gauge - this is my go-to trap league shotgun. Has been for 2 years.

Yes, I know it is built on the 12 gauge frame (and is heavy) - but I love the 16 and it works for me. In fact our trap team won the fall league again last year (handicap). We shoot a 16 yard and usually 21-22 yard each week. I do not feel "handicapped" with 1 ounce loads in 16 gauge - works for me.

I am the only 16 gauge trasp shooter Wink

at the club.

I shoot league skeet with 16 gauge and 28 gauge (the other 16 - ha) at Olin Winchester. Works for me too. Either a 16 gauge Citori feather or an skb 585 or 385 (sxs) in the 28 gauge.

FWIW anyway.....

If you care to read the posting on the Marlin 90 for sale thread you will see what I plan on doing with the 16ga Marlin 90 with 3/4 OZ loads and yes it will also be at the 27 yard line forget those headach loads of 1 1/8 or even 1 OZ loads kick way too hard and if you dont think this is so ????

Have a buddy stand behind you and load your gun with various shells in various weights and then once in a while slip a snapcap in on you and watch just how much it DOESNT AFFECT YOU .

I would be willing to wager a good sum that almost all out there will flinch BIG TIME

How I know this is because I have rolled up my sleeves and spent the money and made many a bet to the Macho Men out there and had them go away feeling not so Macho after doing exactly just what I mentioned above ,

We in this country have Magnum Mania and should wish to improve our shooting not tear it down with hard kicking, brain bashing loads that does little more than make us FLINCH BIG TIME , degrade our shooting to the point we need release triggers to help out our flinch .

If this will help just one person to load up some light payloads AND GO AND SHOOT THEM AND PROVE THIS CONCEPT TO THEMSELVES , give it a fair workout go shoot 500-1000 rounds and then come and tell me it doesnt work , also use these on GAME AND DO THE SAME THING leave the brain basheres home and take ONLY THE LIGHT 3/4 - 7/8 LOADS AT HIGHT VELOCITY FOR LARGE UPLAND GAME and ballpark 1180-1250 for all the small upland game , see if your game bag is any lighter than your buddies or is it heavier ???

This is product development at its finest , ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES , SPEND A NICKLE AND PROVE IT TO YOURSELF AND EVERYONE ELSE THAT IS DOES OR DOESNT WORK, DONT TAKE SOMEONE ELSES WORD AS GOSPEL IN PRINT OR BY WORD OF MOUTH .

PROVE IT TO YOURSELF !

I think you will be impressed with the results , I know I was.

Regards Charles

Member Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Posts: 1522 Location: NH

XVI'er,

I shoot a Citori Feather in trap but you asked for only registered and serious or league shooters. I am not a league shooter nor do I shoot registered.
I shoot most Sundays from April until Nov and use the Feather all the time.

i'd post a reply, but i'm not serious...

rayb

I use a M-12 16 gauge for Trap and Skeet. Gun has a Simmons rib and Cutts--so I can shoot both if I can ever locate my spreader tube again. I also bought a Huglu SxS game gun from DeHaan. I use this for Skeet as well. The IC/M chokes serve me as Skeet In and Skeet Out.

Would like a 16 gauge M-21 some day. Tried to get barrels made for my 12 or 20 gauge M-21, but was advised it wouldn't work?

We run special 16 gauge only events here in Ohio. For serious shooting, I would not use either of the above guns in a 12 gauge event.

I think I would have to agree with Fred about serious shooters at Trap. I know several serious shooters and they all use 12 gaguges. I think in a game where you shoot 200 rounds and one bird can make the difference, you would be better off with a 12 gauge using 1 1/8 oz shot. I shoot with several guys that shoot all sorts of gauges. I ususlly use my Citori or Ithica 37 16 ggauge. A friend of mine shoots a 20 gauge only. I notice the difference on how the birds break. Nothing smokes them like the 1 1/8 oz load. Now if you limited the amount of shot to 1oz, then there wouldn't be much difference. But that is not the way the game is played.
I shoot skeet with the same guns along with a couple 20 gauge Benelli's and a little 20 ga Citori. I can break just as many as the guys shooting 12's. But then again we are not shooting for money. If I was,I might use a 12.

Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 280 Location: Southern Ohio

I'm assuming all you serious 16 bore trap shooters never lose a bird and break 100%, every time and all the time.. Do any of you shoot 16s at the Grand?. Trapshooting has been around for over 100 years. Does it take that long to learn we don't need a 12 bore?. I like a 16, but it's not a 12 and it's not a trap gun.. MDC

Hello M D :

Your right we all miss and for many of the same reasons , We all shoot too heavy a load , now I like evaportaing a target and have been know as doing such , I have always liked it , I know I am in the center of things when I am on and conversely so I am off when I chunk targets .

But the ole wise wisdom of Ben Felton comes into play here , when I was a HotShot kid and was not smoking targets but evaporating them ( no visable part of the target could be seen falling to the ground ) Ben would tell me you didnt want to do that to a target , he said that you should break the target up into several pieces but not smoke them for you were shooting too tight a choke for the given game .

Ben said that a ( /) on the sheet was preferable anyday to a ( O ) now I for years went on desinergrating targets and the days I was on it was and still is impressive , but on the days I dont have it all together with my shooting it still looks like this on the paper ( O ).

Back then the 1 1/8 OZ kicked me like a mule and give me SEVERE CERVICAL PROBLEMS with the numbers that I would shoot on practice and in competition, I experianced severe Migrains and sublaxations of the neck region with an occasional blackout occuring .

Well this is no fun and didnt help my shooting by any strech of the imigination, when the 1 OZ data came out I switched to this an mind you this was in a 8 lb 12 oz trapgun, everyone said you cant break a Hundred Straight with one ounce loads , Well I broke soon after that 11 One Hundred Straights so the comments ceased .

When I visited with Jerry Lambert ( the winchester rep at the time ) on the subject of lighter loads even than that he came to me at a shoot with the data for the 24 gram long before it was adopted .

I started shooting that load at 1220 fps and here we go again everyone said you could not run good scores with a 7/8 OZ load , well I ran 13-100 Straights soon after the comments ceased again also this was all done with Homade shot that would not roll , it was in the shape of a tear drop .

The fun going around the various shoots was that I was going to start the TEAR DROP SHOT COMPANY and everone ask how much the IPO was going to be on a share of stock ?

I was at the Nebraska State Shoot when Jerry Lambert came up to me accompanied by a gentleman that he introduced to me as Steve Hornady ( I had never met the gentleman up untill this time but I knew the company and name ) Jerry ask if he could have one of the shells out of my vest and I said sure , gave him the shell which he cut open and poured the contents out into Hornadys hand , I will never forget his exclamation ( IT WONT EVEN ROLL ) Jerry said I have been telling you this all along Steve , then Steve ask me if I had patterned this on paper ? I said that I had but you didnt want to see the patterns for it had dinner plate size holes with nary a pellet in it , but it didnt seem to make much difference to a flying target . Both ask if they could watch me shoot the 200 bird program and I said sure .

I ran the first Hundred and ink balled every target upon exiting the line Steve Hornady said if I had not seen it myself I would not have believed it , how those loads smoked targets . Jerry said this is what I have been telling you all along about this guy and his tear drop shot an what it does to targets .

Hornady ask me a bunch of questions about how I made it and I told him I was dropping it into water soluable oil an had yet to perfect it but was working on making it round but had yet to acheive a sphere , it was ask of me if I would have 4 spare boxes of my loads that they could have to take back for testing that day , I said sure and got them out of the car and away they went for the day .

I had the second hundred to go in the afternoon and when I got up to the line ( I was leader I always try to lead a squad ) the puller girl came up to the chair and removed her top and only had on a very thin bikini top covering some very large Juggs well I was young and she was real good looking to boot and 19 years old I found out after the shoot Smiling well I missed the first 2 targets out and everyone else on the squad missed the first 5 targets out , Whew what a distraction well I didnt turn around again untill I was done and came away from the trap with a 23, as we left the trap Burlie Wilson who was one of the ones shooting with me sain ( I am an old man but I could not help but miss those targets LOL) I went on to run the rest of the traps for a 198 and was lucky to do that .

At the end of the day I was tied for the shoot off in AA class with 2 others , and guess who showed up to pull targets for us in the shoot off ? you guessed it , Well I went over an ask her to put on her shirt please , she did and I run 125 in the shoot off to win the singles event .

I went out with the puller that night she was a farm girl no less, we became friends for many years at the shoots she pulled for up till she got out of college and got married .

The next day Jerry and Steve returned to the shoot and ask me more questions , one was what did I make the shot out of ?? I replied Wheel Weights Steve said that the shot was the equivalance of 12% animony he patterned the loads and said he didnt see how anyone could break anything with them for not only would the shot not roll but it would leave such huge gaps on the pattern board , I told him what Bill Staub once told me about not shooting any shotgun on paper that you intended to use for aireal targets , Hornady said that they took the remaining loads and shot trap with them and said that they acheaved the same results , Smoked Targets . We all had a head scratching event that day , some of us more than others Smiling

Jerry said that Steve and he had someting for me and took me over to the truck and told me to pull my car over so I did and I was given 4 cases ( now this is when a case was a case not just a flat ) of new AA shells for the 4 boxes I had given them , Not a bad trade .

Before leaving Hornady told me they were going to increase their shot content of Antimony to 6% because of what they had learned from my loads .

Now that I have said all of this , I will make the attempt to win the Missouri State Shoot with the 16ga and 3/4 OZ loads and eveyone has told me it cant be done Smiling We shall see what happens .

I THINK IT CAN . WHOS TAKING BETS OF COFFEE ?????

Regards Charles

My expensive single barrel trap gun is
NIF Pardner
My Skeet gun is Baikal 43 SxS.

Joined: 16 Feb 2007 Posts: 181 Location: Great White North

I've never tried a 16 on clays, but I wouldn't say it shouldn't be done. I shoot with a guy who routinely smokes clays on the trap range using a 20ga Browning 525 Sporting. I use a 12ga 525 and I still don't do as good as him ( must be the gun, right? Couldn't be me!)