Gauge Question

[Glocker]

I never shot a shotgun. My father in-law gave me a Ithaca 16 gauge that he had sitting in his closet for years.

I plan on taking it to the range in the next couple of weeks to shoot at some clays (will be a new experience for me).

Should I expect it to have "kick"?

What is the difference between 12 gauge, 16 gauge, etc?

[Bib]

Recoil will be a bit less than the 12 ga. The drawback to the 16 is that ammo is usually more expensive and harder to find. If you're just going out to break some clays get the cheapest "Game Loads" you can find....7 1/2, 8 or 9 shot will work.

[deth502]

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE CHAMBER LENGTH ON THE BBL and but your ammo accordingly (if possible)

some old shotguns, especialy uncommon ones like the 16ga have had odd chamber depths cut in them.

you CAN use shells of a SHORTER length that stamped on the bbl, but longer ones can build dangerous pressures.

[JayBell]

also, yes, shotguns kick, the lighter the shotgun, and more powerful the shell, the more the recoil will be.

on the "gauge" of shotguns, The smaller the gauge number, the larger the shotgun bore. (except .410, 410s is an actual caliber/diameter measurement of the bore)

Gauge is determined by the number of lead balls (of a size equal to the exact diameter of the bore) that it takes to weigh one pound.

It would take 12 lead balls with the same diameter as a 12-gauge shotgun bore to weigh one pound.

thats how they measure gauge.

[Glocker]

Thanks for all the info, that helps.

[Glocker]

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE CHAMBER LENGTH ON THE BBL and but your ammo accordingly (if possible)

some old shotguns, especialy uncommon ones like the 16ga have had odd chamber depths cut in them.

you CAN use shells of a SHORTER length that stamped on the bbl, but longer ones can build dangerous pressures.

Can you expand on this further? I am just unsure what this means. I was going to buy some 16 gauge shells this weekend, but are you saying I should be buying a certain type of 16 gauge?

Thanks

[celisup78]

Deth502 means the length of the shotgun shell....i.e. 2 3/4inch, 3 inch, or 3 1/2 inch shells. It should state the length of the shells to be used on the barrel near the receiver - look for one of these numbers or possibly some odd length as deth502 mentioned.

[knight0334]

Most 16ga of the last 75year have 2-3/4" chambers. Before that, there were many guns chambered for the 2-1/2" and 2-5/8" shells because they used brass hulls that didn't have the crimp that needed space in the chamber as it unfolded. But rather the shot was held in by a glued or waxed over wad that blew out with the discharge.

[S&W500Mag]

The 16-gauge is a nice gun. I don't know why it lost its popularity for so long, but it seems to have made somewhat of a comeback in the last few years. I guess maybe a lot of people missed having them around. That and the 28 gauge. Personally I like the 16 gauge. They aren't as wimpy as a 20 or 28 gauge, but don't pack the punch that a 12 gauge does. I'm not saying that a 12 gauge is all that bad either, but when you start shooting slugs in them..........ouch. Check out www.knoxx.com for a fix to the recoil problem on some newer model guns.

We have an old 16 gauge that my grandpa got for his 16th birthday way back in the day. It's getting a little worn, but still works. I have a Lee reloader for it that I bought used from my highschool teacher's dad. (no, I'm not kidding) Last time I sat down and did the math, I could reload max loads for about 10 cents a shot. That would make a box of them worth about $2.50. That was probably about 5 or 6 years ago though. The price of shot and powder has gone up since then, and I haven't bothered to figure it out again. If you plan to do any significant amount of shooting with the gun, then getting a reloader of your choice might not be a bad idea. Especially for a 16 gauge because of their ammo being so expensive. It's sort of an investment at first, but if you do enough shooting it eventually pays off. Also, if you reload your own shells, (according to the recommendations of a reloading manual of course) you can tailor the loads to your preference, and in some cases reduce the recoil if that is still a problem for you. Having that luxury is valuable in and of itself.

Honestly though, the first time I shot the 16 gauge was when I was 12 years old, stood knee-high to a grasshopper, and weighed about as much as a tadpole. There was more gun than there was of me. I was scared ****less until I finally got the nerve to pull the trigger. But when I finally did, my first reaction was something like, "Hey that wasn't so bad, let's go hunting."

Put it this way, my 500Mag revolver kicks a lot harder than a 16 gauge, and two of my buddies and their girlfriends fired it. My buddies fired it one-handedly. The girls were not exactly big bruisers either, and they managed the 500 just fine as well (with two hands). If they can handle that gun, and if I could handle the 16 gauge when I was 12, then you should be just fine with your 16 gauge. Enjoy!!

[Glocker]

Hey, thanks everybody...that was all good info. I just checked it out, and it is 2 3/4.

I'm not too worried about the recoil, just wondering mostly. I never shot a shotgun, so I am fairly excited about trying it out. Again, thanks for the info, it helped me out a lot!!!