Is Your 16 Gauge Shotgun Trusty or Rusty?

    Ramble on! I can't get away from thinking about why the 16 gauge shotgun is not a popular gun for hunting and clay sports.  I have read many forums and internet discussions about the 16 gauge and find it puzzling that so many writers have a very positive opinion of the 16 gauge but manufacturers and clay associations don't respond to an open lucrative field for sales and competitive possibilities.
   
    Here are some of the problems they could address that would open up the 16 gauge as a more competitive gun.

• Make a 16 gauge gun on its own lighter frame, both in double barrels and semiautomatics. New manufacturing techniques have already made the 12 gauge much lighter and easier to carry.  An unbelievable amount of calibers and setups are available from the same companies making rifles and handguns.
• Create a chamber for 3 inch loads for better hunting situations.  12 and 20 gauge already have been produced this way.
• Mass produce more 16 gauge shells causing the price of this ammunition to be more reasonable.
• Produce more lead free loads for use during hunting.
• Actually research and publish the facts about the "sweet 16" having a better shot density and structure than a 20 gauge or 28 gauge.  (If it indeed exists.)
• Make barrels with screw-in chokes more available.  Then one 16 gauge gun would be adjustable to bird hunting as well as clay shooting. 
• Create a separate competition class in skeet, sporting clays, and trap for the 16 gauge.  Why has this division been so long over-looked?
• Sell the gun with a list of 16 gauge reloading recipes and recommended reloaders.  Partnering with companies that produce reloading components would really increase the sales of new guns if the buyer had confidence that they could purchase such needed items.  Why not include sales certificates and/or samples packaged with the new gun?  Computer companies have long realized this fact.
• Advertise, advertise, advertise.

    Ramble on!  Did you ever get tired of the 12 gauge recoil or get weary carrying around that 12 gauge cannon all day when hunting?  I did and do.  Are you bored with that old 12 gauge?  Does a 1 ounce 12 or 20 gauge load perform as well as a 16 gauge 1 ounce load? Do you lack confidence in the 20 gauge bringing down that perfect pheasant, quail, dove, or other game bird?  Do you trust the 20 gauge on a typical sporting clays course?  Do you like to take the less traveled path and be a little different? Do you enjoy reloading your own ammunition for the best shooting performance and comfort customized for only you?  Have you ever shot a 16 gauge while hunting or during clay sports?  Questions and more questions!  Obviously I don't have all the answers.

    As I have gotten older, I realized that the only reason I shot the 12 gauge was for the "Tim the Toolman" factor.  More power; bigger bang! The 16 gauge is a joy to use while hunting pheasants.  I can break more clay targets more consistently (or as consistently) with the 16 gauge than any other gauge shotgun, especially at the end of a 100 bird shoot when fatigue and loss of concentration increases.   I see a lot of competitors shoot a 28 gauge or 410 for a second round of clays and wonder why they laugh off misses they attribute to less amount of shot.  Why would they want to have the chance of breaking fewer targets?

    Enough ramblings for one article.  I hope you have had some of these thoughts too.  My advice:  Unrust that old 16 gauge and bust those birds and clays and have fun!

"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are safe."
- Luke 11:21



   

Why Do We Miss Those Sporting Clays Targets?

    Good question!  There seems to be two schools of thought.  One group emphasizes that the shooter must maintain a constant distance of lead on the moving target while another group asserts that your natural instincts will take care of the necessary lead if you focus on the target with both eyes open and set a constant break point.  Okay, let's examine some reasons I've observed why shooters miss targets.  I read recently that most targets are missed behind the target.

1. The gun is not mounted correctly with the cheek on the stock and eyes focused on the front of the target.
2. Swinging the gun too far back toward the throwing site of the target and never catching up with the front of the target.
3. Spot shooting when not necessary.  The gun is stopped with no swing.  A lot of flinching occurs when this technique is used.  Poke and hope! Crossing targets are usually missed because the shot is behind the target.
4. Not pointing the lead foot to the area where the shooter wants to break the target.  If the shotgun is swung too far, the barrel of the gun will start to fall naturally.
5. Stopping the gun to pull the trigger.  A miss behind the target will occur. 
6. Using a gun or ammunition that can misfire periodically.  The shooters focuses too much on the bang and not the target.
7. Losing concentration on where the target is supposed to go or not paying attention to the show birds or how other shooters have shot before it is their turn.  Does a flying bird or a falling leaf catch your eye about the time the bird is called for?  It is amazing how perceptive our eyes can be.
8. Aiming at a difficult or seemingly easy target.  The shooter closes one eye and tries to line up the bead of the barrel with the target or put the bead in a guessed distance from the motion of the target.  Good luck with falling target!  The gun will invariably stop and the shot will go over the target.
9. Riding the moving target too long.  The shooter aims and usually misses the target badly.
10. Enjoying the fact that the first target broke beautifully and forgetting about the second target.

    You notice that I did not mention choke tube choice, proper gun fit, type or brand of shotgun, brand of ammunition or shot size, gauge of shotgun, or barrel length.  I will be the first to admit that confidence in these items does affect shooting success, however, I would hope that the shooter would move on to his own techniques and not rely so much on the gun to break the target by itself.

    What has worked for me?  I use choke tubes that will break most of the target presentations at a sporting clays site (usually improved cylinder in both O/U barrels or a mod choke in one for longer targets) and try to use consistent loads in the shells.  I really concentrate on pointing my lead foot (and therefore body) to where I can break the target and swing the gun about one third of the distance to where I can first see the target.  I don't completely mount the gun until I can clearly see the target for the first time.  I turn my head to see the target then mount and move the gun. Honestly, I do not think about swinging the gun, I just let it follow my eyes.

    Some shooters tell you to point the index finger of your hand under the barrel at the target to use the natural pointing ability we are born with, but it seems to me that they are pointing with the wrong finger and will shoot too far in front of or below the target.  Do we have a dominant finger as well as a dominant eye?  Ha! Anyway, it is too clumsy for me.  I concentrate on focusing on the front rim of the bird and ignore calculating lead because I will always stop the gun and shoot behind the target if I do so.  I have also found it beneficial to lean toward the target to help with perceived ammo recoil and to stop a bad habit of poking the gun at the target at the last second. 

    So, what works for you?  I know that I am definitely not an expert and would appreciate your thoughts.  Thanks for reading and have fun!

"There are no dangerous weapons. There are only dangerous men."
- Robert A. Heinlein

Did You Ever Wonder About...?

    Have you read online discussions about shotgun sports or sat around a table with shooters discussing their experiences and a topic is discussed that stirs your curiosity or hits the old befuddlement spot in your brain?  Being a retired science teacher causes me to investigate exactly what they're talking about.  I lean toward scientific findings, not someones "feelings".  It is difficult to separate fact from fiction concerning some of these topics.  Typically I get this feeling from the people expounding their thoughts: "I think so and I've shot all guns, reloaded all ammunition, blah, blah, blah, and therefore I must be right."  I have researched the following topics and will let you reach your own conclusions about if they are important or not. 

1. Long barrels vs. short barrels -   I have seen 34 inch plus barrels and even extensions that are longer yet.  I have also seen very successful sporting clays shooters use guns with 26 inch barrels.  There probably should be a balance between barrel length, weight, shooter's physical makeup, etc.  This is an interesting article:  http://www.chuckhawks.com/shotgun_barrel_length.htm  I also like this article: http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/guns/2002/08/longer-better
2. Choke tubes - Some sporting clay participants use different choke tubes at each station while other have favorite choke tubes that stay in their gun regardless of the target presentation.  Both seem to be successful.  So do the extended tubes really work?  Read this article by Randy Wakeman: http://www.chuckhawks.com/extended_chokes_patterns.htm. 
3. Doing shotgun modifications - Does back-boring, lengthening the forcing cone, porting gun barrels, using after market chokes, or doing trigger work make us better shooters?  What does this all mean?  I enjoyed this article:  http://www.chuckhawks.com/shotgun_mysteries.htm.
4. Primer brisance - This topic brought strong reactions from forum contributors and I'm not sure they really understand what brisance is and how it relates to primer performance and primer choices for reloading shot shells.    Here is what I found: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_5_55/ai_n31480080/.  I decided to leave this topic to the powder companies when they list which primer should be used with a powder-shell-shot load- wad combination in reloading situations.  Do not experiment on your own.  Follow only well-tested and documented recipes when reloading.
5. Shotgun combs-  Raising or lowering the rear sight (your eye) of the shotgun is said to enable the shooter to sight down the barrel more effectively if they are shooting too high or too low.  The comb can also be adjusted to the left or right to adjust lateral effectiveness.  Read http://speedbumpadjustablecomb.blogspot.com/ to see if you need an adjustable comb.  I realize this is an advertisement but the article is good.
6. 20 gauge vs. a 12 gauge -  This is a century old discussion that will never be decided.  Most shooters have a favorite gauge and are fairly close-minded to other's opinions.  However, I did find a very interesting article:  http://www.chuckhawks.com/twenty_vs_twelve.htm. 
7. 16 gauge vs. other gauges - Obviously I am prejudiced because I really like shooting a 16 gauge bird hunting or shooting sporting clays.  I have written a previous blog discussing this topic.  I really enjoyed reading the following site: http://www.chuckhawks.com/16_gauge_wakeman.htm.  
8. Over-Unders vs. semi-automatics -  Randy Wakeman wrote 2 articles; one favoring the O/U and one favoring semi-automatics.  I must like Randy!  Ha!  http://www.chuckhawks.com/reasons_buy_over-under.htm and http://www.chuckhawks.com/avoid_ou_shotguns.htm.  Good reading

    Well, this is my list.  A single blog could be written on each separate topic, but I thought you might have many of the same questions that I have about shooting sports. I also have been reading articles about cheap shotguns vs. expensive shotguns.
    Are all these topics important to the typical sporting clays shooter?  Probably not!  I heard a person say that great shooters can shoot almost any combination of gun size, choke tubes, gauge, barrel length, etc. and still shoot effectively.  Do shooters seek a crutch to improve their scores?  I think so.  Comfort, reliability, and confidence in what you are doing as you shoot probably has more effect than the eight topics I listed.  What do you think?

Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.
Mark Twain

Why Do People Quit Shooting Sporting Clays?

Do you remember the people you met when you started participating in sporting clays? I recently wrote a blog entry concerning the top ten reasons why we shoot sporting clays. Rereading this article caused me to stop and think about what I had written. If sporting clays is so much "fun", then why do so many participants quit? Some of the reasons seem self-evident, while others may point out weaknesses in the structure and presentation of the sport by site owners. Here is the list I jotted down to think about.     1. Cost - The price of ammunition, guns, transportation, and clothing has increased drastically. Many participants may have lost their jobs due to the recent economy.       2. Pressures of Competition - I read an article that stated many people drop out of a "fun" sport when it becomes too competitive. What started out as fun, learning new techniques and improving skills, became a chore when they felt the pressure of competition.       3. Time - Younger shooters have more family and job responsibilities than older shooters. It is difficult for some participants to feel the freedom to devote so much time to one activity.       4.  Aging and Health - Eek! This event will happen to all of us eventually.       5.  Availability of Shooting Sites - Some close by sites may close due to some sort of circumstances and require the shooter to travel longer distances and spend a lot more time and money.       6.  Plateaus or Lower Scores - If you reach a level of scoring where you never seem to be able to improve your shooting prowess or your scores drop drastically for a period of time, frustration sets in leading to loss of participation.       7.  Lack of Confidence: Fear of Failure - Have you heard this? " I don't really care about my score. I will never be a good clay shooters anyway." We all rationalize our fear of failing and because of this losing attitude we are set up to fail.       8.  Too Difficult a Course - Many sporting clay site owners bend to the wishes of the fewer in number "tournament" shooters to provide a myriad of rising, falling, and curving distant targets so they can show off. Bitter as I seem, an old friend says: " I come to break birds, not be challenged to the point of utter frustration!" Why would first time or novice shooters ever want to come back to their site? A tournament is not an every week event.       9. Friendliness and Acceptance - Some site owners feel that you are there for them, not vice-versa. A warm, dry clubhouse equipped with food and beverages and comrades will bring back shooters regularly. Some shooters will not shoot with you and feel they "own" the course or are above you. Part of the fun is joking, teasing, and talking about guns, dogs, and hunting. No one likes to deal with attitudes!       10.   Interest - Let's face it; we are a fickle race, and our interests change daily.       This is the list I came up with.  What do you think?  Am I all wrong or is sporting clays not that important? (Or any other sport.)  Thanks for reading this blog and remember:  "Words that soak into your ears are wispered, not yelled."        "Show me someone who doesn't want you to have guns, and I'll show you that someone has an armed bodyguard!"

A Sporting Clays Enthusiast's Christmas Wish List

     When I was a small boy, one of my favorite tasks as Christmas neared was to make a wish list.  I realize I am too old to expect Santa to bring me such a special gift, but my wife or other members of my family need to know what I "need" for a Christmas gift.  After all, the proper present will probably make me a better shooter as well as make me look better while shooting.  

    Seriously, while we are dreaming, this list comes to mind.  Some of the items are realistic, while others are ...as we all say, "if I had the money I would have a..."

• A complete set of those color coded titanium chokes for my Browning O/U.
• Full length choke tubes so I can shoot different gauges in one gun.
• A red, lifted, enclosed, heated, gasoline powered golf cart with those big nobby tires. I guess I could buy the trailer myself.
• Prescription shooting glasses with interchangeable colored lenses.
• A Kreighoff.  Enough said.
• A $3000 automatic reloader.
• Ten flats of AA Super Sporting Clays ammunition. ( The buyer can choose 71/2 or 8 sized shot)
• A $1000 gift certificate to Cabelas or any other sporting supplies store.
• A complete set of shooting attire.  It would be nice if the buyers co-ordinated the outfits according to the seasons.  My sizes are available by email.
• A shooting bag that will hold at least 5 boxes of shells, all my choke tubes, wrenches, oil, drinks, and snacks.
• 20 bags of shot.  I want to choose my own primers, wads, and powder.
• A 10 lesson gift certificate to be used with a certified shooting instructor.

    That's enough.  I wouldn't want to be seen as extravagant.  Ha!  So what's really on my Christmas wish list?

• Health good enough that I can shoot each week and enjoy my friends and the outdoors.
• A loving wife and family.
• A good place to worship and study my religion.
• A pheasant hunt or two with my Brittany.
• An opportunity to pay back the people who have helped me through the years.

    Thanks for reading this blog and may I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a better New Year.


"The problem is not the availability of guns, it is the availability of morons."
- Antonio Meloni

Why Not a 16 Gauge?

    I participated this past weekend in a small gauge sporting clays competition at our local site.  I understand that a small gauge is any gauge less than a 12 gauge.  So, I shot the first round (50 birds) with a 20 gauge O/U and shot okay, but not as well as usual.  The course was not a "20 gauge course" as some might think.  (easier?) The last 2 stations would be considered difficult even with a 12 gauge and tight chokes.  I know the course must have a station or two to separate the "men from the boys".  Would 1 ounce 20 gauge loads have helped?  I doubt it.  (I did use mod and full chokes)
    I decided to shoot my "el-cheapo" Stoeger 16 gauge O/U (fixed mod and full choked barrels) the second round.  The ammunition I used was 1 ounce 7 1/2 shot self-loaded Fiocchi shells.  I couldn't believe the difference! (9 more broken targets)  I realize that shooting the course a second time should help, but distant targets I missed the first round were broken with ease.  I think I was the only person to shoot a 16 gauge the whole day.
    Whenever someone asks me what gauge my gun is and finds out it is a 16 gauge, they admit one of their first shooting experiences was with a 16 gauge or they have an old one in the gun cabinet at home, but rarely use it.  This observation led me to research different Internet sites on the present use of 16 gauge shotguns for sporting clays.  Here are some of the items I found.

• Shooters didn't like 16 gauge barrels on the 12 gauge frames as on some of the newer guns.  They felt the gun was still too heavy to swing as easily as a 20 gauge.
• Shooters said a 20 gauge 1 ounce load was as effective as a 1 ounce 16 gauge load and their 20 gauge or 28 gauge gun was lighter and swung more easily. Also, 3 inch chambers are not available.
• Readers complained they couldn't find reloading supplies (especially wads) to reload their hard to find 16 gauge shells.
• Non-reloaders complained about the price of a box of 16 gauge 7 1/2 to 8 sized shot. ($10-$12 per box)
• Some contributors said their 16 gauge gun had fixed chokes and didn't allow them to mix and match different sporting clays presentations.
• Some shooters hinted at "brand-lusting".  They intimated that unless you shoot a Browning, Krieghoff, or some other "better made" gun that you would not be successful shooting sporting clays.
• Another group said the newer 16 gauges were just too expensive.
• Finally, some said few good auto loading 16 gauges are available.

    Here are a few of my thoughts about using the 16 gauge shotgun for sporting clays. (Or even hunting)

• My Stoeger weighs 7 pounds with 28 inch barrels. While not much lighter than a 12 gauge, it is more streamlined and compact than many auto loaders.  The main objection I had to a little 28 gauge that I used was that the 28 gauge, being lighter, hit my shoulder harder, so it seemed.
• Some experts call the 16 a "sweet 16" because the shot column height and width has square  dimensions creating an evenly distributed shot pattern.  Only an expert could prove this phenomenon makes it better than a 20 gauge shot column.  I do know that I hit a lot more targets with the 16 gauge than a 20, 28, or .410 gauge shotgun.
• Reloading components are now becoming more available.  Claybuster CB0100-16, 1 ounce wads are available at Sportsman's Den in Shelby, Ohio, as well as Ballistics Products, Inc. (www.ballisticproducts.com ).  For empty hulls, I shoot local Walmart purchased ones and save the spent hulls for reloading, and have had about 1000 hulls given to me by old timers (ha) who used to shoot the 16 regularly.  Ballistics also has 16 gauge hulls for sale (expensive!) to get started with.  I also was lucky enough to be given a 16 gauge Mec Jr. reloader by a friend who seems to be able to find just about any shooting supply in Ohio.  I spend less than four dollars a box to reload the 16 gauge.
• Reloading recipes are available on the Internet if you search hard enough.  I use 19.5 grains of Unique powder, 1 ounce of shot, Win 209 primers, CB0100-16 wads listed at 1220 ft/sec. I do not like sites that want you to pay for their recipes! Ballistics has a book called "Sixteen Gauge Manual - 6th Edition" for sale also.
• Nostalgia is important to me, because older guns and gauges really interest me.  There is something to be said about taking the path less followed.  I love to hunt pheasants with my 16 gauge.  I wish my dad had handed me down one of those bottom ejecting 16 gauge pump guns.
• So far, my 16 gauge Stoeger "farmer's gun" ($250 after rebate) has worked flawlessly.  I've shot about 2000 rounds through it in one year.  So, I say pooey to those people who say a 16 gauge is too expensive to try out and a gun like the Stoeger is a waste of money.
• Humm... Fixed chokes?  I have a challenge for you.  Shoot several rounds of sporting clays or skeet with mod/full or full/full in your trusty O/U shotgun.  Truthfully, I shoot better with more closed chokes.  Some people spend more time changing choke tubes at each station instead of concentrating on where or how to break the target!  Learn to have confidence in your technique, not your tools!
• I don't like auto loaders for sporting clays anyway.  All that clinking and clanging and extra cleaning are bothersome.  (I did start shooting with a Remington 1187 auto loader.)

    If you are interested in reading more about the 16 gauge shotgun, follow the path listed below.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/16_gauge_wakeman.htm
http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/guns/2002/06/16-gauge-revival

    Get off your duff, do something different for a change.  Dust off and clean that old 16 gauge in your closet, or borrow one and accept my challenge to you at your favorite sporting clays site.  I think you will have fun as well as success with these forgotten guns!  I would, myself, be interested in a local sporting clays competition open to just 16 gauge shooters.  How about you?

"Know guns, no crime. No guns, know crime."- Ralph Lauretano

The Adventures of Buying a Golf Cart

    I thought buying a golf cart for shooting sporting clays courses would be a simple process.  However, the opposite was true.  Everywhere I turned seemed to have an obstacle as big as Goliath.  Here is how my adventure unfolded.
    First, I owned two 4-wheelers and I enlisted the help of Craigslist to sell them so I could afford a good used golf cart.  Wow, I sold both of them in less than a week and received the asking price for each.  Cash in hand, I searched the local Craiglist for carts and found at several I was interested in.  Some friends said a battery powered cart was the better choice while others said replacing old batteries was very expensive and a gas powered cart was the way to go.
    The first cart I considered was a gas powered Yamaha.  It had fancy wheels and a rough faded exterior and when I looked at the motor, it was dirt covered at least an inch thick.  Wouldn't you think a guy would clean it up to sell it?  The price was non-negotiable and I thought I could do much better.  Have you ever noticed that a seller has an inflated idea of what their item is worth?  I walked away from that one quickly.

    Next, I considered a nicely kept ten year old battery powered cart.  The owner said the batteries were as good as new (yea, right) and he hadn't bothered to charge them all summer, so they were dead.  Buying six batteries at $140 to $160 each is not a good situation.  He wanted a ridiculous price and the cart even had a flat tire! Thanks, but no thanks.
    I made reservations to see other advertised carts and found out that most of them were being sold because they were pretty well used up.  Some owners had a new cart hidden in their back yard or garages and were eager to get rid of their old filthy ones at an unreasonable price.  I even visited certified dealers of golf carts.  What an experience!  The salesmen were not interested in helping me (unless I wanted to buy an $8000 new cart) and were arrogant.  They must have thought my IQ was really low when I mentioned I wanted a cart for sporting clays.  I finally asked one of the managers if he was interested in selling any golf carts and I didn't appreciate the way I was being treated.  He told me the market was very good at this time and I had better get used to it.  OK,  I took a roll of cash out of my pocket, waved it in his face, and left.  He did sputter a lot!  Ha!

    My final adventure occurred when I responded to a beautiful gas powered, red colored, lifted, chrome wheeled cart being sold on Craigslist from a nearby city by a "newly divorced mother" for only $1600.  I knew the page looked too professional, but I responded with an email.  I received a prompt reply that a purchase must be handled through Ebay's buyer protection program.  Hum... Ebay on Craigslist?  No way.  As I feared, it was a complete scam.  Did they think I would pay for an item I had not even seen?  There are scammers everywhere!
    At this point, I gave up buying a golf cart for at least this year.  I found it a lot cheaper to ride in a friend's cart.  If money is no object, plenty of shiny new carts are available to the buyer.  Good luck for the rest of us!

    I hope you have a better experience purchasing things than I did.  Now, I can get back to writing about sporting clays.

Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.           - William Arthur Ward
Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.
          - Yogi Berra