Good question, ED. I'm sure, somewhere, someone has studied the effect age has on powders, in loaded ammunition. I certainly know, that some powders age in their containers. I know that 7625, no longer available, stinks like hell when it's old.
I won't tell you to take out your best gun and try them out, but I have never had any issue shooting older shells. I load 12, 16 and 20, so never am short on ammunition.
I quit skeet shooting back in the '80s, and had 50+ boxes of reloaded AA 20ga. It was at least 20 years old when we shot it all up, up at the farm, informally shooting clays.

I have only had one batch of old shells that looked ok but didn't shoot just fine. It was very old paper short 10ga that got the wad and shot out the barrels but not by much. I shot a few and tossed the rest out of fear of a stuck wad ruining my day.

Thanks guys,
All of the shells are plastic, I purchased a beretta over under 20 gauge a couple years ago to start hunting with. Its the only 20 gauge I have, so thats why I was being cautious. Now I seem to have caught some kind of "bug" or maybe flu like symptoms ever since I purchased my first side by side shotgun:) I kind of start feeling a little "light headed" when I pick one up now, not sure exactly whats happening. My wife just says you should treat yourself after all these years. So I keep looking to treat myself:)

I own three 20ga guns, three 12ga (counting my SBT), one .410, and five 16ga's. Except for when I go to the trap range it's very rare that anything but a 16 goes along. Actually I'm down to four 16's as I just gave my father's Savage 775a to my nephew.

When a woman says this, marry her...oh, wait, you already did that...:rotf:

Garry,
The breeder of my brittany cash lives about a mile from me, he said to me the other day "if I had a wife that got up every morning and ran my bird dog I would probably die of a heart attack" I just smiled and said there is a reason why she does this. Then I wouldn't say anything else, its driving him crazy:) Then recently I got her an all wheel drive car for these lovely winters we have up here. (she had a front wheel drive car) my buddy said I would buy my wife a new car every year if she would run my dog every day. He just got back from Iowa where he was pheasant hunting. This thread is interesting about 16 gauges, on a pheasant farm around here my 16 gauge is wonderful with the light r.s.t. shells. I wonder if I might be under gunned if I ever go out west for pheasants with my older fox or parker.

Ed, My experience with pheasants and 16s is long, and I can tell you that the gauge will consistently take these wild, tough birds. However, as is the case with everything, the devil is in the details. Knowing your chokes and their patterns, exercising restraint to not shoot beyond those patterns, and, at least for me, having a dog that can give you a makable chance (and find one you don't center) are what make 16s good for pheasants. If I go specifically after pheasants, I take one of my heavier 16s. If I'm shooting one of my recently made guns that will handle loads heavier than 1 oz., I might carry some 1 1/8 oz. loads for the left barrel, but more often than not, I just switch to #6 shot. When you get someplace where there is the potential to get into lots of wild pheasants, you need to be disciplined enough to pick your shots. It's not easy when multiple roosters get up and your heart is in your throat, but, heck, that's what it's all about.

PS I think I've posted this to you before, but in case not...your wife is a definite "keeper!" :bowdown:

My daughter is now a 16ga. addict. She took my 30" DHE to South Dakota and has been having a ball, showing those O/U guys what a SxS can do, in a girls hands, no less.

That is awesome!

thanks edgar and garry,
What a great picture Edgar of your daughter, I bet you are a proud papa. I am trying to "learn on the fly" after my 40 year layoff from hunting. I really want to take the 2 guys that have helped me with our brittany so much out there for a hunt someday. Hap is 73 or 74 and Fred is 68. Hap is a left handed shooter and I am hoping to get him a gun where the stock can be bent to fit him better. I know he has several guns, so I was going to concentrate on one he can use around here on grouse and woodcock. I just really wanted to take an old side by side for the nostalgia and all the good memories growing up hunting out west. Garry, you explained everything very well, I went the other day with Fred who has one of his brittanies recovering from a leg injury. He kept him on a lead and let him point a couple of pheasants at a farm we often go to. I was 5 for 5 with a fox 16 gauge and Fred told me later that I was waiting and not rushing my shot like I did the first year hunting with him. I wanted to get this planned soon as the years are catching up on all of us. Hap just got back from Iowa tonight, so I will get filled in on his hunt out there. I will try to post a picture of his Iowa hunt if I can figure it out. Thanks again for all the good input in here everyone.

My boss can’t say a whole lot at the moment since she’s still on the other side of the world . But hopefully she’ll be here for good this time next year . So my gun buying situation could change :eek::rotf:

I'm on a tight leash but still manage a few here and there.

The 16 hammer gun was worth the grief that came along with it

I love this picture. I was going to say I love this shot but the intended pun was too much. Zoom in and you can see the shot stream.

I really like 16's but for me the magic is in the light weight guns, 5 3/4 to 6 1/2 pounds is the sweet spot for me. I'd rather not have to carry anything heavier .

I have more 16's than any other gauge but do like to get the 20's out on occasion too.

My first shotgun was a 16. A Remington, 16 gauge, with a second set of Mod. barrels. It worked well, as a slop tolerance auto should, but it did the job, hunting most every game bird.

I profess to little hunting experience, born in California in 1945. I used my grandfather's 1906 Winchester, 12 gauge, stainless, 8K range, for everything. It worked.

After two friends turned me onto SXS, specifically, Parkers, I used 12's for the big stuff and 20's for all else. I would love to hunt quail with a Parker 28, but did not want make that investment for a DHE + shooter. I have/ do own(ed) a few high grade Parkers, but just for investment.

Back to the subject, if you had to have one Parker/ SBS, it would be a 16.

Patrick

Edgar,
What a great picture, and 3 pheasants up to boot. Your daughter is the one that has a charter fishing business? I think I read that somewhere. That picture is a wallhanger:)

Romac,
Are you the same Romac thats in the fox forum? Your collection of guns is just so impressive. So are the pictures you post over there.

I regularly hunt with .410, 28, 20, 16 and 12 gauges. But, a great deal of my hunting is dove shooting and I love a 16 for that in the late season....... always with 1 oz. of shot. We shoot crows too, when the pecans are ripe, and I have used heavier 1 1/8 oz. loads in my 16s for them with great success.

SRH

I hunt with a lot of different gauges but my main go to for birds is the 16g Parker or Lefever, all depends on what strikes my fancy on any given day. :)

Stan, we went crow hunting last Friday and took 27 of them. Sent quite a few away missing some feathers. Used the Browning BSS with Fiocchi Super Crushers 1 oz 7 1/2 at 1350 FPS. A bit snotty for the "vintage guns".

YEAH, RIIIIIIGHT!!!!!!!!!! :rotf::whistle::bowdown:

Mike knows me well!

Mike, two or three of us will get as many as 110 - 120 crows by 9:30 a.m. on a good morning, in a pecan orchard. Big fun. I love tight choked doubles and no. 6s, with a load of 4s in the left barrel for the long ones. I've killed lots with 7 1/2s, but have learned that for the long ones the bigger shot is the deal.

Best, SRH

I hunt with several sixteens - a T/A Grade 1 with 26” Laminated Steel barrels; a Lifter Grade 3 with 27” Parker-made Laminated Steel barrels; a GHE with 26” Damascus Steel barrels; a GH with 26” Damascus Steel barrels; a DHE with 26” Titanic Steel barrels..... and I think that’s all...





.

I acquired a heavy 16 ga in 2019. I had been chasing this configuration for a long time and I finally reeled it in after nearly a year of watching thanks to a fine PGCA friend.

"The Nightmare" was built in 1910 - this 16 ga VHE 32" F/F straight grip splinter with a pad was shipped to San Francisco with specific request it be built on a 1 1/2 frame and chambered 2 7/8" with 4 lbs of trigger pull.

The gun is perfect for me. It arrived in very high condition (which is frankly wasted on me as I mostly seek out guns based on configuration not condition) and I would not change a thing. I cannot see ever selling it. It will spend much time in my hands during waterfowl hunts - already recording numerous doubles in both Canada and the Vanderbilt Marsh. So far I have used 2 3/4" KM 1 1/16oz #5 loads but with the full chokes it has proven deadly on all types from big ducks to teal.

Together with my long barreled 20's -3 frame 12 and 6 frame 10 - I feel my duck and goose lineup is finally complete.

A great gun Mark and a wonderful lineup of waterfowl guns.

Your post makes me wonder if you ever hunted with the 26” DHE 16 I bought from you...?





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Dean - I have scanned my history and I do not recall that gun. I have owned a very limited number of short barreled guns and the shortest 16 DHE I find was a 28" gun I sold to a friend about 5 years back. How long ago was this transaction. My records are thorough but I expect not perfect???

About 5 or 6 years ago. I could have sworn it was you... certainly somebody with the initials MK.... maybe Marty Koehler?





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Mark, that is a unique and impressive 16! I notice that all the guns in the picture are straight hand stocked...that must have been the result of serendipitous or lengthy searches (my guess is both), but in any event, an impressive arsenal. Enjoy your hunting. I'm sure there's great satisfaction taking a bird with any of those beauties.

Salivating over Mark's pictures . . . .:envy::envy::envy:


Of course, I've "completed" my collection a few times and it has not lasted yet

Yeah, I'm the same guy. I like to keep things simple so I use the same contraction of my full name almost everywhere.

I'm glad you like some of my guns. My philosophy is this; If I work too hard to go hunting as much as I'd like to, I buy interesting toys as a reward. When things slow down I hunt more and don't need to scratch the same itch.

I tell my wife that a well diversified retirement portfolio needs at 15% - 20% of it in a gun nut 401K!

Bought a 16ga DHE 28 incher from Scott Gentry a few weeks back and got out today on Howland island state game lands with my two labs Nellie and Lucy.

So the Tennessee gun went North. I was curious about that one. Good buy Craig!

Edgar,
I showed my wife your daughters pictures in here. My hunting buddy hap has offered to let her use a 20 gauge semi auto to try shooting. Your daughters two pictures you posted has given her some more interest. She grew up on a farm, she was the oldest of 7 kids (3 were triplets) I think the parents kind of got wore out after the triplets, so she took over a lot of responsibility especially with the triplets. She has worked hard her whole life, she really likes walking with me when I hunt, so maybe seeing your daughter hunt will give her that final "nudge" she needs to try shooting at least:)

sorry to say I have but 11 16 SXS's
4 parkers
3 Foxes
1 Lefever
1 Ithaca
1 Rizzini
1 German hammergun

Harold got me to thinking, so I went back to my records to count. 22 Sixteens to date (7 Parkers, the most of any maker). All have been shot, and have taken game. Long live the 16!

Gary, shame we didn't get to know each other when you lived in Ohio. I grew up in Belmont county

Harold, who are you kidding? You are still young. Growing up is for old folk.

I like all standard gauges and own all except an 8 . But I truely enjoy 10 gauge 2 7/8” , 16’s and 28’s ( only have a pair of 28’s but I enjoy them
Just the same) . To “ME” atleast there’s something a little to plain vanilla about 12’s and 20’s as well as a lesser degree the 410 . Don’t get me wrong I like the last three I just like the other three A LOT more .

Some of my best hunting memories are of chasing grouse in the hills of SE Ohio. Oh, to have those coverts again. I know you feel the same.

Great pic! I've been caught off guard like she was many times -- the gun doesn't quite get up where it should be. Maybe it catches on your clothing in the rush or your just too much in a hurry due to the commotion to mount the gun where it should be. Regardless, you somehow hit the target -- I say it's an exceptional skill!