16 ga.
 

I refurbished an old Stevens sxs 16 ga with plastic stock & forearm. Hit 11 out of 25 at the trap range. Now I'm hooked. Why isn't the 16 ga more popular? It's harder to find and cost more than 12 ga. ammo.

Nicholas,

What bothered me more than the ammo for a 16 gauge being hard to find and expensive is that it is not appropriate for the gauge. 1 oz and 1 1/8 oz at 1300+ fps is not what I want. 7/8 and 1 oz at under 1200 fps is what I would like to find on the shelves.

Harry

I'm new to shotguns. A little over a year ago I didn't own any. Now I have a 12 ga 500A Mossberg, 16 ga Stevens, and a 10 ga sxs ext hammer Parker Bros.(1879).

Fiocchi Game/Target 16GT, 16 Gauge, 2 3/4", 1 oz, 1165 fps,

I have liked the performance of these for grouse and woodcock, I get them in #6, 7 1/2, 8 for hunting and clays, they are getting a little harder to find but a google search shows dealers, and I can still get them locally

although - they did miss a couple woodcock today

What year is your stevens?

I don't know what year it is. How would I find out?

Steven Date Codes
Collectors will find a date code stamped on every double-barrel shotgun in the Stevens brands produced between March 1949 and December 1968. Usually it is behind the hinge pin or ahead of the trigger guard on the bottom of the frame. It will appear as a small circle containing a number and a letter. The letters correspond to the years shown in the following table. Significance of the numbers is not known. It may be the month. If it does not have a code it is pre 1949.
A-1949 B-1950 C-1951 D-1952 E-1953 F-1954

G-1955 H-1956 I-1957 J-1958 K-1959 L-1960

M-1961 N-1962 P-1963 R-1964 S-1965 T-1966

U-1967 V-1968 W-1969 X-1970
These codes can be found in the Standard Catalog of Firearms.

William M. The barrel, frame & foregrip are all stamped alike. However, the letters stamped are A C B T, with circles around the A & C only, no numbers except on one lock plate which is 5100. Also I noticed that after every round or two of trap (25-50 shots), the stock needs to be tightened. It's that one screw that you need a long thin screw driver & a small pen light to see what you're doing. I always bring them to the range with me. There's also another mark stamped on the barrel. I'm guessing it's a proof mark. It looks like a triangle with a line sticking down perpendicular from the base, sort of like a Christmass tree. Then two curved lines near the top on each side like horns on a Viking helmet.

I shoot a lot of 16's including a VH Parker. I have been doing it for almost 50 years. The only really reliable answer to good availability of good shells is to load your own. The new 7/8 oz. Downrange wad is one of the best ever. The websight for the 16 Gauge Society has a tremendous amount of good information.