16ga

[Craig Larter]

I copied this from FB, what say u??:
The 16-gauge didn’t disappear because it failed. It disappeared because the hunting world got louder. Caught between the brute certainty of the 12 and the easy handling of the 20, the 16 never begged for attention. It simply worked, quietly, season after season, teaching balance long before balance became something people talked about online.
This gauge was built for hunters who walked, not those who counted payload. It carried well, pointed naturally, and delivered patterns that rewarded timing rather than panic. With a 16-gauge, you couldn’t rely on excess shot to clean up late decisions. You had to mount clean, swing smoothly, and commit when the window was right. Miss the moment, and the gun didn’t argue with you. It reminded you.
That reminder is why many old hunters never let theirs go. The 16-gauge sits in a sweet spot where power is present but never overwhelming. Recoil is noticeable enough to demand respect, yet gentle enough to stay honest. It doesn’t encourage rushing. It encourages rhythm. It doesn’t flatten mistakes with force. It exposes them with clarity.
As modern hunting drifted toward extremes, the 16 gauge stayed centered. It never tried to be lighter than everything or stronger than everything. It asked one simple thing instead: that the hunter meet it halfway. Good footwork. Clean mounts. Real patience. Those who learned on the 16 learned to value flow over force, and judgment over noise.
The 16 gauge isn’t outdated. It’s unfashionable. And that distinction matters. It represents a time when hunters chose tools that shaped behavior rather than inflated confidence. In a world chasing edges and excess, the 16 gauge reminds us that balance is not a compromise—it’s a discipline.
The 16 gauge didn’t disappear because it failed. It disappeared because the world around it simplified. Hunters were told to choose sides—light or heavy, 20 or 12—and the middle was quietly abandoned. Not because it was wrong, but because it didn’t shout for attention.
What defines the 16 gauge is proportion. It carries more authority than a 20 without demanding the bulk of a 12. The payload feels purposeful, not excessive. Recoil is present, but measured. In the hands, the gun balances naturally, especially in classic field guns built before “modular” became a selling point. Nothing feels forced. Nothing feels trimmed down to make a category.
In the deer woods, the 16 gauge shines in places charts don’t measure. It moves smoothly through cover. It settles quickly on target. With slugs or appropriate loads, it delivers clean results at realistic distances without the fatigue that often follows heavier gauges. The experience feels deliberate rather than defensive.
The reason many hunters never tried the 16 is simple: it requires context. It doesn’t dominate a spec sheet. It doesn’t promise extremes. Instead, it rewards hunters who already understand their distances, their angles, and their patience. The 16 doesn’t rescue rushed decisions—but it doesn’t punish thoughtful ones either.
This is why those who discover the 16 late often ask the same question: why did we skip this? Not because it outperforms everything else, but because it fits so well that it fades from focus. And when a tool disappears, judgment takes over.
The controversy around the 16 gauge isn’t about effectiveness. It’s about relevance. In a world obsessed with fewer choices, the 16 reminds hunters that balance used to be the goal—not a compromise.
Choose the 16 gauge if you want the steadiness of a 12 without its weight, and the handling of a 20 without giving up authority. It’s ideal for hunters who value proportion over popularity and performance over packaging. The 16 gauge isn’t forgotten because it’s obsolete. It’s forgotten because it refuses to fit into simple arguments. And that may be exactly why it still works.

[Jim Beilke]

Excellent Craig, I have 4 of them all doubles, had a nice model 12 until an I got talked out of it. my father always said, a 16 will kill anything that flies. They are my main waterfowl and pheasant shotguns.

[Dean Weber]

Could have been said in less words, but yes, directionally correct. I shoot a 16, 90% of the time. I have never felt under-gunned.

My analogy would be to compare it to my truck. I drive less than 10K miles a year and about 4 miles to work each day. I don't tow anything with regularity and I live on the prairie, no hills. Yet, I have a corvette engine in my pickup. More is not better, it is just more.....

[Dylan Rhodes]

According to Parker pages Spring 2022, 50131 is a 16 gauge top action that weighs 5 pounds even and is the Lightest Parker ever reported. The arguement the 12 is heavy and the 20 is light has little merit to me and always has.

[Bob Jurewicz]

16GA S/Ss have been my favorite for a long long time.
Bob Jurewicz

[Clark McCombe]

I recently found out about the “16 ga Society.” I tried joining but there were problems with the website.
Any thoughts on this group?

[ArtS]

Originally Posted by Clark McCombe

I recently found out about the “16 ga Society.” I tried joining but there were problems with the website.
Any thoughts on this group?

The story of the 16 Ga Society is actually kind of sad. I joined sometime around 2000 (I believe; not sure exactly). They had started the Low Pressure group at that time, and you had to joint it separately. Somehow in the process, I recieved a black cartridge carrier bag made to fit the 16 boxes with a beautiful embroideried log on the top in multicolors. I am convinced that the Society was very influential in helping to resurrect the gauge. The Low Pressure group was probably the most influential group I was ever involved with.

I had always been a 16 gauge fan. My first shotgun was a BayState 16 single, my second an Ithaca 37 16 and my first quality double a late production (1948) Ithaca NID. Right now I own 15 to a little north or south of 20.

I was active in the group until around until about 2015 when I was 65 and got pulled over into BenchRest and devoted most of my time to this. When I next became reinvolved, I found that my membership was not working and nothing worked. The signup, shopping area and contact sectio were not working.

After most of a year, I got in touch with a person that was able to hack be back into the system. I found the whole org was a shamble. The low pressure group had moved to, I think, a Google group. They then moved to become a subset of one of the shotgun boards and the useage was way down. Apparently the man that started the whole thing was a regular kind of guy that got help from different people and ran it as an act of lovel deeply committed to the idea. He died suddenly, and his family was devastated. They apparently knew nothing themselves about the subject or bulletin boards but wanted to maintain control and keep it running as a tribute to the founder. They apparently had no expertise, contacts or resources to do this but refused all offers to take it over and run it. Their one concession was to allow one of the members limited access to watch over user credentials. He works full time and has limited time to work on membership. I have no idea who does the website work and solves their operating problems. I am amazed it is still operational every time I log in occasionalluy.

[Brett Trimble]

Clark,

There was one person (admin/owner?) overseeing the site part time. He can apparently grant access to the site. His email address is floating around. Someone here may have it. I connected with him some time ago but was never able to register successfully.

Best,
Brett

[Brett Trimble]

FWIW, I’ve always loved the 16ga. Mostly because the frame size is so comfortable. Not so much about weight. Couple that with very efficient loadings and, to me, you have a great upland gun.

[Jim Beilke]

I used to be on the 16ga Society site but got dropped thru lack of activity. Friend contacted the administrator , still not able to get back on.