doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Heavy 16 gauge load

Miller, you've got a few years on me (but not all that many!) I don't recall any 2 9/16" 16's being available in gun shops, but then I didn't own a 16ga until 1974. One interesting 16ga load I do recall came from Kent, back when they were still an American shotshell company: 3 1/4 DE - 1 oz nickel-plated shot. You'd think that much powder pushing an ounce of shot would result in a blown pattern. But I patterned some of those (7 1/2's) and compared the result to factory 1 1/8 oz loads of 7 1/2. That Kent nickel-plated load really produced tight patterns. In fact, I got more hits in a 30" circle with the Kent 1 oz loads than I did with factory 1 1/8 oz loads--which is really surprising because there's a difference of 40+ pellets when you add an extra 1/8 oz of 7 1/2's. Whether it was the nickel plating or some other factor--maybe just shot that was that much harder to start with in the Kents vs the 1 1/8 oz loads--the patterning results really surprised me.

Back then, there were still decent bobwhite numbers in one part of Iowa where I hunted pheasants. I'd load that Kent 1 oz 7 1/2 in my R barrel, back it up with 1 1/8 oz 6 in the left. If we moved a covey and went after the singles, then I'd load the Kents in both barrels. Great results on both quail and pheasants, if the rooster wasn't too far out.

I'm 67, and I can remember 2 9/16" 16 ga. shells being common in hardware stores around here. Sixteen gauge guns were very common ................mostly A5s. This was serious dove and quail country, and many had found the 16 well suited to that usage.

I have a full box of them in my shop, given to me by a friend who owns a gunshop in Savannah.

SRH

I didn't actually own a 16 back in those days either. I did know several "Bird" hunters who shot the old Browning Sweet 16s & some of them were chambered for the short shell. They had no problems finding shells in this part of TN My guess would be the majority of the 2 9/16: shells went either to the southern Bird hunters or New England grouse & woodcock hunters. These were where the 16 gauge truly was appreciated.

I have a M21 16 with factory IC/IM chokes and don't notice the recoil of 1 1/4" loads, either shooting patterns or birds.

Seems to me Don Zutz had a bigger load for just about everything. I shot a couple 1-1/4 ounce loads in a 6-1/4 pound 16 gauge and hated it. Gave the rest of the 1-1/4 ounce loads away.

I have a box of Winchester Upland 16 Gauge 2-3/4 dram 1-1/8 ounce loads I'll shoot this year at pheasant. They should be sweet!

What size shot in that loading LC?

I also have a full box of vintage 16ga loads someone gave me--but not vintage enough to be 2 9/16". They're standard Peters High Velocity loads, pretty obviously for pheasants: 3 1/4-1 1/8-6 shot. Promoting the "new Peters crimp". Playing detective a bit, the best clue I can come up with for the age of those shells: The address for Peters Cartridge Division on the box lacks a Zip code--and they were introduced in 1963. So I'd guess older than that.

1963 is the year I graduated from high school. That was also the year I replaced the .410 Stevens single shot handed down to me by my brother with a Savage 420 OU in 20ga--and thought I had some serious firepower. So would have been focusing on 20ga shells back then, not 16's.

Local hardware stores were still selling 2 9/16" loads in '63, Larry. Maybe the 2 3/4" loads came out several years before the 2 9/16" ones were discontinued.


SRH

2 3/4" 16's were certainly available before 2 9/16" were discontinued. In fact, going back as far as 1940--by which time LC Smith, the holdout among American sxs makers when it came to 16ga chamber length--finally went to 2 3/4" chambers as standard. So it is possible that box of vintage 2 3/4" 16's is old enough that American ammo makers were still offering 2 9/16" shells at the same time.

Would be interesting to know when the short 16's were finally dropped. I have a Shooter's Bible from 1960, still showing 2 9/16" available--although a definite minority by then, and everything listed as a 16ga target load--from Remington, Peters, Winchester and Western--was 2 3/4".

I don't remember 2 9/16" shells in sixteen gauge. I remember a heap of Browning A-5 16s and Rem 11s that had been modified to extend the action to accommodate 2 3/4"shells though...Geo