16 bore

[supatex]

I've been shooting about 18 months, (clay pigeons only). I've got 2 guns, a 12 and a 20 bore. I usually alternate between the two and find it takes bit of time to acclimatise when changing from one to another. I've been thinking recently about using one gun only and wondered about a 16 bore to replace the 12 and 20. I know cartridges are more expensive but I only shoot about once a week so I don't think that would be a problem. I'd appreciate members thoughts about this and any recommendations. Thanks

[Farmboy91]

Sweet 16, lovely caliber to shoot. Will definitely be having another.

Finding clay loads might be an issue though.

@Old Boggyis the 16 bore man 👍

[DUNKS]

I have just recently got myself a 16. No problem sorting out a load for it. It's a muzzle loader!

[Old Boggy]

As Farmboy91 said, lovely gun to own and shoot. The old adage `Shoots like a 12, handles like 20` still stands good.

I`ve shot SxSs 16s for over forty years, however, I don`t do clays, so cannot give any advice whatsoever in that respect, sorry.

Obviously you will be after an O/U and the Lincoln range are the only 16s that I understand are made on a true 16 scaled down action, or at least of a weight somewhere between 6 and 6 1/2 lbs to make them a nice weight. I await to be corrected on this though. I think that the B.Rizzini range state that they are on a dedicated action but weigh in excess of 7 lbs, which I think defeats the object somewhat. I have as well as my 16 SxSs I have a 16 bore Lincoln Jubilee Prestige which weighs 6 lbs 4 oz and is a joy to shoot.

Good luck with whichever you decide upon.

OB

[Zimtrout]

I use a 16, if you are shooting large volumes of clays they are probably not the wisest choice, as you say not really a great range of clay carts available. The joy of them to me is that they are lighter than a 12 in general, well the ones that are fun to use for game shooting are, this lightness/quick handling etc does not necessarily mean that they are a great choice for a clay gun, I have shot a few rounds of 100 plus carts and I feel it afterwards. being lighter they are not great at soaking up some of the recoil. 

It terms of game shooting, I have found it more capable than me and never feel under gunned. I have shot just as good a birds with it as I have with a 12. It terms of decoying I have had my record bag this season with it and found it ok, 160 odd shots was tiring though, compared to using a semi auto 12g. I have tried all of the cartridges I can get hold of through just carts or buying locally. Settled on a 30g 6 load from Lyvale as a mix of what I wanted. They are all ok, some noticeably faster than others. I have done some very basic pattern testing and there is not a massive difference. RC carts are very good, Eley carts are good, Rottweil ones are good, I personally don't like the hull ones. 

I have two 16s, a William Ford sbs and a Browning White lightening over and under. I use the browning most. 

[supatex]

Thanks everybody, when this corvid rubbish is over and I can get to my local clay shooting ground I'll give some a try

[supatex]

Just checked the Rizzini site. The Artemis weighs 6.5 lbs and the round bodied EM is quoted at 6.11 lbs. Thats with 28in barrels

[Townie]

I shoot an ancient 16b sxs on walked up days and the occasional box of cartridges at clays.

The cartridges cost a fortune which is fine for the odd slab here and there, but would be costly at clay quantities.

[Lloyd90]

3 hours ago, supatex said:

I've been shooting about 18 months, (clay pigeons only). I've got 2 guns, a 12 and a 20 bore. I usually alternate between the two and find it takes bit of time to acclimatise when changing from one to another. I've been thinking recently about using one gun only and wondered about a 16 bore to replace the 12 and 20. I know cartridges are more expensive but I only shoot about once a week so I don't think that would be a problem. I'd appreciate members thoughts about this and any recommendations. Thanks

What do you shoot once a week? 100 clays or pigeons or walked up shooting? 
 

 

[supatex]

9 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

What do you shoot once a week? 100 clays or pigeons or walked up shooting? 
 

 

About 100 clays

[Walker570]

The 16 will do almost anything a 12 will do except maybe serious wildfowling but there again you could argue a 10 gauge for that.  I shoot a 120 yr old sixteen side by side which still pulls them out of the sky if I do my bit.  For clays just by some sevens and put it in the pattern. If your not a died in the wool comp clay shooter you will have just as much fun with the sixteen as any other.   I also shoot a Remmy 1100 semi auto sixteen for flighting pigeons and crows using standard Eley or Express cartridges and many moons ago used it for clays very succesfully.   For walked up / rough shooting they are the business because they are often a pound lighter to carry unless built on a 12 gauge action.  I would look for a nice AYA side by side gun if I was about to start out again.

[Konor]

48 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

The 16 will do almost anything a 12 will do except maybe serious wildfowling but there again you could argue a 10 gauge for that.  I shoot a 120 yr old sixteen side by side which still pulls them out of the sky if I do my bit.  For clays just by some sevens and put it in the pattern. If your not a died in the wool comp clay shooter you will have just as much fun with the sixteen as any other.   I also shoot a Remmy 1100 semi auto sixteen for flighting pigeons and crows using standard Eley or Express cartridges and many moons ago used it for clays very succesfully.   For walked up / rough shooting they are the business because they are often a pound lighter to carry unless built on a 12 gauge action.  I would look for a nice AYA side by side gun if I was about to start out again.

Is your 16 1100 built on a scaled down frame ? I shot one when a teenager in the mid 70s with a friend from school on his fathers farm ,we amassed a bag of 13 pigeon between us with the one gun. I didn’t stop talking about it to my father for weeks. No he didn’t buy me one. Would you be able to post a picture of it ?

[Smokersmith]

Assuming you're fit & healthy and are shooting clays as you state then sell the 20g and just use the 12g.

It's an expensive hobby as it is, without going down the niche route at an early stage.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

6 hours ago, supatex said:

I've been shooting about 18 months, (clay pigeons only). I've got 2 guns, a 12 and a 20 bore. I usually alternate between the two and find it takes bit of time to acclimatise when changing from one to another. I've been thinking recently about using one gun only and wondered about a 16 bore to replace the 12 and 20. I know cartridges are more expensive but I only shoot about once a week so I don't think that would be a problem. I'd appreciate members thoughts about this and any recommendations. Thanks

If you are serious about shooting clays well, there can be no reason to use anything other than a good well fitting 12 bore.

[Lloyd90]

2 hours ago, supatex said:

About 100 clays

The 20 is essentially for smaller framed people, youth shooters, women etc, and older shooters who don’t want the weight of a 12 (unless used by game shorts who want a smaller, lighter and faster handling gun). 
 

The benefits of a 16 are similar, less weight, faster handling etc. 

 

Lots of people are shooting a 16, 20, 28 or .410 because of their benefits as light weight guns that you can carry all day and manage easily. 
 

 

I am not sure why anyone would want to shoot 100 clays a week, and use a smaller gauge/bore shotgun, if they are physically able to manage a 12. 
 

The entire point of the sport is to hit as many clays as possible, therefore you’d want to put as much lead in the air as possible to give yourself the best chance. 
 

28g 7.5/8/9’s depending on the course through a 12 bore, which being a sufficient weight doesn’t give you such a kicking as the smaller bores with the above cartridges. 
 

 

I can’t see why anyone would want to be shooting a high number of clays on a weekly basic through something like a 16 bore. 
 

 

I could see the benefit of a 16 in something like a nice light weight SxS used for walked up or game shooting where you don’t fire that many cartridges. 

[paulinlincs]

Always used a 12g for clays. Bought a 28g on a whim my scores have gone up by 10% average (pretty pathetic % to start with mind you) 

I use 7.5 24g I only use the 28g now. Not sure if it's the weight or the fit but I am so much more consistent than I ever was with the 12g.

My point is you never know unless you try something different. 

Edited December 8, 2020 by paulinlincs

[Walker570]

2 hours ago, Konor said:

Is your 16 1100 built on a scaled down frame ? I shot one when a teenager in the mid 70s with a friend from school on his fathers farm ,we amassed a bag of 13 pigeon between us with the one gun. I didn’t stop talking about it to my father for weeks. No he didn’t buy me one. Would you be able to post a picture of it ?

I do have some pictures somewhere and yes I do believe it a slightly smaller action. I purchased it from Thrapston Auctions about 30yrs ago when i was an RFD. It was funny because the young man standing infront of me also wanted it but never looked around or behind him and didn't know I was bidding.  I drew his attention to this later over a cuppa tea and he had a good laugh.   If I remember I paid £90.  Whilst in the States I purchased a 'plastic' camo stock for it as the forend of the orginal had an airline crack.  From the number I believe it was made in the early 60s.

Edited December 8, 2020 by Walker570

[Old Boggy]

20 hours ago, supatex said:

Just checked the Rizzini site. The Artemis weighs 6.5 lbs and the round bodied EM is quoted at 6.11 lbs. Thats with 28in barrels

I read a review of the 16 bore Artemis quoting it as 7 lbs 12oz.

However,the 16 bore Artemis light with an allow action is quoted as 6 lbs 8 oz. 

OB

[TIGHTCHOKE]

14 hours ago, paulinlincs said:

Always used a 12g for clays. Bought a 28g on a whim my scores have gone up by 10% average (pretty pathetic % to start with mind you) 

I use 7.5 24g I only use the 28g now. Not sure if it's the weight or the fit but I am so much more consistent than I ever was with the 12g.

My point is you never know unless you try something different. 

Well that would suggest that the 28 bore fits you better than the 12 bore!

[supatex]

2 hours ago, Old Boggy said:

I read a review of the 16 bore Artemis quoting it as 7 lbs 12oz.

However,the 16 bore Artemis light with an allow action is quoted as 6 lbs 8 oz. 

OB

First of all, many thanks for all the replies.As regards weight, every site I go on quote different weights for the same guns, same barrel lengths etc. so I suppose the only way is to physically pick one up and try one.

I think I've given some people the wrong impression. My 12 bore is a caesar guerini Apex and my 20 a caesar guerini Tempio. Both seem to fit me, I love them both and I'm averaging about 70% with both guns. I've never been game shooting in any form but would never rule it out but I'd like to be proficient before attempting it. I try to keep using both guns, maybe 4 weeks with one and then change over. When I change over my score initially drop before coming back up again as I get use to the gun again. I just wondered if a 16 bore  would replace both guns and be a good allrounder for both clays and game.

[Smokersmith]

A 16g could replace both.

A 12g could replace both.

A 20g could replace both.

If your motivation is to move to 1 gun, then selling one of the two you have will achieve that end in mind.

Edited December 9, 2020 by Smokersmith

[The Heron]

On 08/12/2020 at 11:33, supatex said:

Thanks everybody, when this corvid rubbish is over and I can get to my local clay shooting ground I'll give some a try

No matter what bore you decide gun fit is most important. 

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, what do you shoot best with on the 12 and 20 ??

[supatex]

53 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, what do you shoot best with on the 12 and 20 ??

I shoot about the same with them both. Its when I change from one to another that My scores drop a bit

[wymberley]

When in doubt, do nowt.

You WILL need a bigger cabinet eventually.

You WILL start game shooting.

You WILL start pigeon shooting.

By all means buy something else that you fancy, but if you like and can shoot what you already have then keep hold of them if you can because sooner or later if you don't you WILL have to replace them and it's going to cost.

I defy any experienced shooter on here to contradict the above - we all know that it's right