I bought a 16 ga. Browning Citori off of GunBroker.com. I shot it and now I wonder why it's fallen from favor. I love that shell. Anyone else?

In my limited experience, either you need a 12 gauge or a 20 gauge will do the job and is more comfortable to shoot. 16 gauges make sense, but a 12 gauge isn't so un-shootable that it's worth moving down if you need it to do the job.

16 gauge Ithaca was my first shotgun....to me best all around shotgun, more than a 20 gauge or even .410 without the kick of a 12 gauge...don't know what happened....sometimes good things just don't seem to go over...I wish I could find another....seemed to be the ideal shotgun

I would LOVE to have a 16ga O/U ... but I would want one with screw in chokes.

I have 4 of the Citori's in 16ga, love them. The 525 and White Lightning have been the demise of many pheasant and quail along with the Gran Lightning and Super Light. Teamed up with some Briley chokes they really perform.
525


Gran Lightning


Superlight

White Lightning

I have a Browning Sweet 16 that I received back in 1958. I put it in storage in the 1970's because it became very difficult to locate ammo, choice was limited and much more expensive than 12 & 20. Come dove season and you could find 12 & 20 on sale, could buy two boxes for the price of one box of 16. Then companies started eliminating the 16 from their lineup, similar to what happened with the .300 Savage. In Europe the 16 has always been appreciated.

My Citori is brand new and came with Invector chokes. Check the Browning web site, they chambered the two versions of the Citori in 16 as Shot Show Specials

Better powders and 3" chambers in the 20 are mostly what put the 16 where it is now. I've shot a 16 ga. Model 12 for years, was always my "go to" gun, especially after having screw-ins installed (was not original when I bought it so no value lost), but recently have opted for a lighter weight 20 in the pheasant patch. 16 is definitely a great cartridge, it's just that the 20's now fill the gap.

P_102

I love 16 gauge. Sometimes during squirrel season I'll leave my 12 and just borrow dads 16ga.

Love the .16 ga. but with .20 being much less in cost and easier to find, we no longer own one.

Repeat after me Reload
Ballistic Products has all the 16 gauge components you can dream of, I even have some steel shot loaded up in case TPW goes non-tox on doves this year even though I don't agree

16 is the perfect pheasant gun and darn good for dove and quail too. I have them in an Ithaca 37, BPS, Wingmaster, and Model 12. Love those 16 pumps, would love a Citori some day.

The "16" failed to make the transition into a magnum. So the "super charged" hungry USA market passed over it. The only time I do not point a 16 at game birds is duck, goose and crane season. Like stated before RELOAD your own stuff!!! Super versatile gauge if you do the research to match the load to the game. I smoke morning dove at short range, white wings at high alt., and wild raised pheasant. Never once have needed a 3" shell. I would love to shoot quail, but my pockets are not that deep.