Best 16 gauge semi-auto?

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Can't go wrong with the original sweet 16 or a new model. I don't have a 16 gauge but own am original a5 light 12 and a new model a5 hunter. Both are fantastic hunting guns.
I only have limited experience with shotguns, but am absolutely in love with my Model 11 (A5 clone) so I'm working on faith the sweet 16 is as good
 
Browning Sweet 16, they're quite pricey now. You would be lucky to find somebody that wants to part with theirs.
 
My cousin just gave my son a bolt action 16, haven't tried it out yet but it's kind of sweet looking
 
There's not much out there in 16 for autoloaders. The "new" A5 sweet sixteen is a gas gun. It has no where near the look and feel of the old ones. Its got an aluminium reciever and no scrolling or engraving. It is light and does feel nice.

The "old" A-5 sweet sixteen is probably the most popular, I have 2 of them. a Belgian that I got used, a Jap, that I bought brand new when they came back out in 1986 as my first deer gun, with a deer barrel. I still hunt with them both, and they've taken a bunch of birds and deer. Steel reciever, with beautiful engraving, and rich polished bluing, excellent wood to metal fit and excellent quality. They don't make any autoloaders in steel and wood like that anymore. You would be lucky to find one in good condition in 16. Other gauges are more popular obviously, but being that Browning made the 16 in the 50's thru 60's and then reintroduced Miroku made models in the late 80's there are few around I'm sure. Belgian models are obviously more collectable and desired and usually have the blonde walnut...like the one I have.

There might be a Remington Model 11 sportsman in 16, but its got no where near the fit and finish of a Browning. The Remington borrowed Brownings patent and made guns that were more economical sourced a step down in fancy from the Brownings. i.e. working man;s Auto 5. Savage might have as well done the same if I remember right.

Remington 1100 maybe....but probably rare as a hens tooth.....I don't recall seeing many, if I did, I would have bought one of them.

CZ might make one, I know they make 16 doubles and O/U's.
 
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There's not much out there in 16 for autoloaders. The "new" A5 sweet sixteen is a gas gun. It has no where near the look and feel of the old ones. Its got an aluminium reciever and no scrolling or engraving. It is light and does feel nice.

The "old" A-5 sweet sixteen is probably the most popular, I have 2 of them. a Belgian that I got used, a Jap, that I bought brand new when they came back out in 1986 as my first deer gun, with a deer barrel. I still hunt with them both, and they've taken a bunch of birds and deer. Steel reciever, with beautiful engraving, and rich polished bluing, excellent wood to metal fit and excellent quality. They don't make many guns in steel and wood like that anymore. You would be lucky to find one in good condition.

There might be a Remington Model 11 sportsman in 16, but its got no where near the fit and finish of a Browning.

CZ might make one, I know they make 16 doubles and O/U's.
The new a5 sweet 16.....or any of the new model a5 are not
gas guns. They are an inertia drive gun that Browning calls kinimatic drive.
 
The new a5 sweet 16.....or any of the new model a5 are not
gas guns. They are an inertia drive gun that Browning calls kinimatic drive.

My bad.....thought they were gas.

Browning did make a model in between that was gas called the B80. It might have been made by Beretta....not sure. I'm 99 percent sure they didn't make in a 16 gauge.

Brownelli......makes sense.
 
The original Browning Auto 5 "Sweet 16", whether Belgian or Japanese, is commanding premium prices. Awesome classic and solid shooter though.
The new Sweet sixteen is probably the way to go as it will be new with a warranty, cost no more, and be worry-free.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQmqQgBusVY


personally, I would not be worried about new and warranty. These have been around forever and are near indestructible. And imo the older the better. As long as it is in good shape.

with all of the above said... I would rather have a 20 than a 16. A lot more and cheaper choices of ammo. there is just some special sauce that makes the 16 all over cooler and better And really an amazing shooter. if you reload it’s a non issue. But 20 is far easier to get and much cheaper. Just something to c9nsider if you don’t already have a 20.
 
The long recoil action is amazing. And that jmb patented it in 1897 staggers my imagination.
i often thought about all JMB patents? i also wonder how many designs where bought up in the attempt to keep competition at minimum.
ICRS, but i thought i heard somewhere Winchester bought JMB designs just to hide them away?
Something like for every JMB design Winchester produced they bought 5 more and burned them

Something like that


I do know his last patent came after his death for the M2 machine gun in 1927" 1927 and his designs are still going.
 
My older Sweet 16 is a very nice shotgun. What makes it even nicer is both its like new condition and the additional, very rare, buck barrel. I know, I know. No applause please.
I have the 12 gauge A5 with the deer slayer barrel and choke system barrel as well. I believe it's called invector choke.
 
i often thought about all JMB patents? i also wonder how many designs where bought up in the attempt to keep competition at minimum.
ICRS, but i thought i heard somewhere Winchester bought JMB designs just to hide them away?
Something like for every JMB design Winchester produced they bought 5 more and burned them

True^
JMB was likely the most prolific gun designer of his era, if not in history.
He scored a lot of big hits too. Winchester bought many of his designs, more than they could realistically put into production, just to keep him from peddling them to their competition. At a time of constant innovation, they didn't know what the next big hit in the market would be, so they took their best guesses and produced those designs, but buried the rest.
 
i often thought about all JMB patents? i also wonder how many designs where bought up in the attempt to keep competition at minimum.
ICRS, but i thought i heard somewhere Winchester bought JMB designs just to hide them away?
Something like for every JMB design Winchester produced they bought 5 more and burned them

Something like that


I do know his last patent came after his death for the M2 machine gun in 1927" 1927 and his designs are still going.

The book American Gunmaker describes how many patents Winchester bought from JMB. It was something like for every thirty patents he designed, one gun went into production. Winchester didn't burn his patents, they just sat on the intellectual property rights. Winchester only paid lump sum for the patent rights, which annoyed JMB when it came to the Auto-5. JMB wanted royalties to ensure Winchester produced the gun. Winchester refused, so JMB went to Remington. While JMB was in Remington's offices, the President of Remington dropped dead. So JMB went to FN and the rest is history.

JMB liked to take the train from Ogden to New Haven with all his prototypes once a year to showcase his new designs. If he had to send something ASAP, he would mail a prototype to Winchester.
 
i often thought about all JMB patents? i also wonder how many designs where bought up in the attempt to keep competition at minimum.
ICRS, but i thought i heard somewhere Winchester bought JMB designs just to hide them away?
Something like for every JMB design Winchester produced they bought 5 more and burned them

Something like that


I do know his last patent came after his death for the M2 machine gun in 1927" 1927 and his designs are still going.
Winchester bought many of jmb designs and buried them. What makes the a5 design so special is that it broke the relationship between Winchester and jmb. Browning felt the a5 design was so good he asked Winchester for royalties on each shotgun sold rather than the standard flat rate he had always received. Winchester refused. Browning took the design to Remington and the CEO died before he got to present it to him.......so jmb went out on his own with fn in Belgium. It was the first gun to bare his companies name brand. He did sell the rights to manufacture to Remington and Savage. The rights being sold to Remington causes some confusion among auto 5 fans. You'll hear a few owners of the Remington model 11 that say the model 11 was the first semi auto shotgun not the Browning a5.....when in fact the model 11 was the first semi auto shotgun MADE IN THE USA. browning was manufacturing them in beigium prior to Remington making the model 11 at their American factory. The model 11 is technically a clone of the long recoil action but lacks the magazine cutoff lever that the original browning design has.
 
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