Yes it is true a niche group is hunting 12 less, but they are the exception.
For very limited market niches smaller gauges will dominate in the short term. However it is unlikely that 16 will make a major comeback no matter how good it is and how much I love it.
For older guys buying lighter, newer made guns 20 will dominate, with 28 probably beating out 16.
This is a niche market as 12 will continue to beat out the other gauges in both use in the field and volume of shells in the market.
I have hunted mostly 16 since I was a kid. I flirted with my grandfather's duck guns in Alaska back in the 80's, but found I preferred my Fox Sterlingworth more. A year ago I would have argued against sticking with 12 gauge as it was heavier than you have to be.
I would have been wrong. Arguments in favor of the 12 gauge are both valid and some are already listed in previous posts.
1. The Ammo is everywhere
2. The commonality of the guns means you don't have to pay a premium to buy it.
3. As the Run with the Fox noted Most of the shooting greats used 12 gauge.
4. 12 handles non-toxic loads better than smaller gauges (plus they are cheaper in 12)
#3 is an important point that should be dwelled on a bit. Our predecessors were not fools who used just whatever was available and went at it. They had access to many choices. Life experience of thousands of hunters and shooters came to common solutions because they worked.
It never ceases to amaze me when I hear someone simply state that some new way or idea is better without considering the old one just did not appear, it evolved through the experience of our ancestors. The two parent family was not an accident, but the result of generations of life experience at what was the most effective means. This is true in a small part with the 12 gauge.
If you want a very light 12 you can find it. Just don't shoot the wrong loads in it.
Part of my recent mind expanding back into 12 has been my purchase and restoration of a 12 that matched a 6lb 16 SLE I already had. I have discovered I really enjoy shooting the 7lb 12ga and it is very effective (9 of 10 on two hunts). I have no doubt that it will be my duck gun and I will carry it in the uplands a little bit too. While it felt like I was looking across the deck of a carrier the first time I went to shoot it, the width of the barrels does not seem so big now.
Moving on to my 4th point on non-toxic loads. The greater volume of the shell makes the non-toxic load a technically easier thing to work. Moreover the commonality of the gauge keeps the price of the shells down. I believe that the trend in the future is toward more and more restrictions on lead. Whether invalid or not they will get us. This means that the challenge of shooting the smaller gauges will continue to get more expensive and less effective ballistics. I realize that the volume of production that changes in the law would drive will lessen the difference in cost. I honestly believe in the long haul (50 years plus) anything smaller than 20 will become very limited to unused.
None of this means I have converted to 12 gauge, I am still a 16 ga man for most work. I am simply more accepting of 12 now than when I was younger and more narrow-minded.
Last edited by old colonel; 12/04/13 10:22 AM.
