Quote:
Originally Posted by skeet
What I mean by good ammo.. for the 12..20 28 ga and the 410 bore..You can get some of the best ammo available in the world today. Mainly great target loads..High antimony shot..good wads and proper powder charges. Shells that meet certain performance specs. 16 ga shells are no longer loaded like the others. There just isn't enough demand. Do they make some good loads. Yep sure do but they really aren't available in many areas. As you stated above that you didn't disagree that the 20 will do most anything the 16 will.. And then went on to give one of the reasons the 16 is still shot in some areas today..It is a NOVELTY. I used to use my little 410 D grade 1100 in the dove fields. Mainly because it was a novelty. I could usually shoot a limit of doves with the little thing too. with less than a box of shells. But there was a reason. I waited for very close in shots. 25 yds was a long shot. Most were 10-15 yds..some less. But it was still a novelty. Is the 2 1/2 inch 410 a good dove load? No of course not. Did I start a new thing in the dove fields. Heck no. A couple guys tried it..but didn't wait for close shots..so their trial with the 410 was just that...a trial. As I said..the 16 is certainly a viable gauge for shotgunners. But to remain popular it has to have quality ammunition available and good guns to use it in. Without the demand for ammo there will be no real neat 16 ga guns. Dove and quail loads and rabbit and squirrel loads as well as duck and pheasant loads are for the most part junk. It is called good business sense Not disparaging the gauge..it worked just fine. But with the junk shells that are the most prevalent..the 16 won't compare to any good target loads available in the 12 and 20..maybe not even to the better 28 ga field loads.
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Yep. Many people do not understand that those bulk boxes of "Dove" loads are poop. I dove hunt with Remington STS Nitro shells in #7.5. Most people do not even know what high antimony shot is, or how shot deformation weakens patterns. The rest of my hunting loads, I try to load myself. The manufactured Hevi-Shot loads by Remington are pretty good though.
Now, the question is, which went away first, the ammo for the 16 gauge or the 16 gauge guns?
As far as I am concerned, if you own a 12 gauge and 20 gauge gun, there is almost no need for the 16 gauge. I made a 40+ yard shot on a dove with my 20 gauge, and my dad's jaw almost hit the floor. I just do not think most people have the ability to use a 20 gauge.