[B]LOOKING FOR 16ga PUMP FOR HOME DEF[B]

[TheBlackPowderGuy]

i'm somewhat small (5'6") and have been looking for a good 16gauge pump with 18 1/5" - 20" barrel, but they are hard to find. price is a factor so the "Ithaca Home Defense" is pretty much out of the question ($600+ msr). any suggestions? i would even consider a long barrel that could be trimmed down by gunsmith.

[e-clip]

Any reason it has to be a 16 gauge? I would think there's more to choose from and better prices in 12 gauge.

[Dr Rockso]

You're making this way too difficult for yourself. It's a lot easier to get a 12 or 20 that fits you and select ammo that matches your tolerance for recoil.

If you're really hung up on a 16, I'd just wait for a decent used pump to come along and mod it as necessary to meet your needs.

[TheBlackPowderGuy]

i'm assuming that a 16ga will have more muzzle power than a 20ga (i had one of those already) and shooting a 12ga pushes me way off target, not to mention the sore shoulder.

there's another aspect to this: ammo. no doubt there will probably be occassional shortages of 12/20ga when things get unstable (SHTF, etc) and odd calibers are often very available throughout those times. i could be wrong.

[003]

Do a bit of research, and you will find that there are many .20 gage loads that are heavier than many .12 gage loads. As an example, you can get 3 inch .20 gage loads that have a heavier shot charge and higher velocity and greater recoil than any number of .12 gage loads.

As noted above, that a serious look at both the .12 and .20. They can both use very light target loads all the way to very heavy HD loads. A .20 ga loaded with buck shot (from 00 to #4) would be a very effective HD load.

Recoil to a great degree is a factor of gun weight and the specific load, not necessarily the gage. There are a number of low recoil .12ga buck loads on the market. Many Police Departments went to them when they began hiring smaller stature officers.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/20gauge.htm

"In recent years the 20 gauge has become popular for home defense, and there are buckshot loads available. The 3 inch case holds 24 pellets of #3 buck and the 2 3/4 inch case holds 20 pellets of the same size. The MV's are 1150 fps and 1200 fps respectively."


By Chuck Hawks

[stevec223]

Remington makes a 870 pump 20 ga.... HD set up from the factory... I,d probably buy that over a 12 or 16 ga. anyday for home HD... Lighter, easier to handle, with less kick and recoil... Whats not to like ???.. Just my .02... Cheers...

[XVIga_Rob]

I'm a big fan of 16ga guns. They are great! But, a 12ga for home defense is a much better choice.

Take for example a Remington 870. You can use a youth stock if you need a shorter length of pull, or get one with the Spec Ops stock (adjustable length of pull). If you go with the standard/youth stock, you could swap out the recoil pad with a limbsaver. 12ga shells are a lot easier to find & usually less $ then 16ga.

870 Spec Ops

http://www.remington.com/en/products/firearms/tactical/shotguns/model-870-express-tactical-blackhawk.aspx

For a dedicated HD gun, I went with the 870 Express (7 Round). New model with the tactical forgrip (not shown in the following link). $359 @ Sportsman's. I swapped out the pad with a Limbsaver. I will add a light when the $ are available.

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model-870/model-870-express-synthetic-7-round.aspx

Now let's say you bought a used 16ga pump gun for $300, shorten the barrell, & install a quality pad, along with possibly cutting the stock for proper length of pull. I think all you will have is an expensive (more than $400) used gun, and like I said. 12ga shells are easier to find & less $.


Just my $.02

[ArmedCMT]

Does it have to be a pump? You could get a 12ga semi and the action will absorb some of the recoil. You could also buy low recoil rounds or roll your own.

Im not saying you have to go with a 12ga but there are easy workarounds for the concerns you raised and I think adapting a 12ga to suit your needs is going to be easier than finding a 16ga.

In regards to ammo availability you should just get into reloading. Buy bullets and primers in bulk and just save your brass, when the SHTF youll be gtg.

[CSACANNONEER]

If you were local and wanted a semi auto that you could cut down, I've got an 11-48 in 16g that I'd part with for $350 FTF. But, I'm betting that a 12g with low recoil loads would be a better solution for you.

[TheBlackPowderGuy]

good info and i'm starting to waiver in my thinking.. personally, i wouldn't use less than 00 buck for my HD and length of pull plus the padding would both have to be there... i'm going to scout around some more.. it would help big time if i had a 500 moss or 870 rem to test first.. right now i'm just going on memory of the time i shot a 20g and 12g and 16g ithaca (40 years ago !)

thanks for the input and i'll keep ya posted.

[-hanko]

good info and i'm starting to waiver in my thinking.. personally, i wouldn't use less than 00 buck for my HD and length of pull plus the padding would both have to be there... i'm going to scout around some more.. it would help big time if i had a 500 moss or 870 rem to test first.. right now i'm just going on memory of the time i shot a 20g and 12g and 16g ithaca (40 years ago !)

thanks for the input and i'll keep ya posted.

You might call Immert's in San Carlos and see if they have anything close or can keep an eye out for one.

-hanko

[wweigle]

Here is a link to decent writeup by Massad Ayoob regarding the choice of a 20 gauge shotgun.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob120.html

[gun toting monkeyboy]

Okay, I can see what you are thinking here, and it isn't a bad way to look at it. Here are the issues that I see with it.

1) As the others have noted, you can get light 12 gauge loads, even buckshot and slugs, to use for home defense, so the recoil isn't as much of an issue.

2) 16 gauge ammo isn't one of the first items to go during a run on the local stores in an emergency. It actually lasted at the local Walmart several months longer than anything but .243 and .20 gauge ammo did. However, the down side to this is the lag in resupply. Most stores don't reorder it when there is a rush, because the demand for other items in more popular calibers is much higher. I have seen plenty of 20 and even 12 gauge shells on the shelves over the last few months. But no 16 gauge shells since the last ones sold out.

3) You have very limited choices when it comes to ammo. Most stores, and online catalogs, for that matter, only carry a handful of brands and shot/slug combinations. Whereas with 12 and 20, you can generally find shot in almost every size from 9-TT with a little patience and google-fu; 16 normally only has a single small game load, a single duck load, a single buckshot load, and maybe 2 different slug loads. And that is between all the different manufacturers.

4) You wouldn't consider using anything smaller than 00 buck for home defense. But the standard 16 gauge buckshot load is #1 buck. Either 9 or 12 pellets. Mind you, that is still up to a dozen .30 caliber pellets, but they are smaller in size and mass than the regular 00 buck.

If you still want to go with the 16 gauge, I don't see any reason not to. It was one of the most popular gauges for a really long time. As long as you can handle the ammunition limitations that go with it, there is no problem. I certainly wouldn't feel under-gunned if that was what I had available. If I reloaded for it (Okay, I actually do reload for it), I wouldn't have any issues using it at all.

-Mb