To answer the original question of why small bore guns were not as popular in the old days, any gauge under 16 was considered suitable only for ladies or kids. Serious hunters and shooters used 12s and 16s. I have owned a few small gauge guns that according to family history were bought as first guns for children. That was just the mind set at the time. That is why Parker,LC Smith,and Ithaca made so few small gauge guns. Remember that AH Fox did not make anything smaller than 20 gauge.
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