New Sweet Sixteen vs Old Sweet Sixteen

Dakotazeb

Well-known member
I've had a 1960 Sweet Sixteen for over 7 years and have really grown to love it. But it does get a little heavy at times. So I bit the bullet today and bought a new Sweet with 26" barrel. Took it on it's first hunt and missed a fairly easy shot. I hit one other rooster that flew a couple hundred yards over a hill and died in mid air. But Bree and I looked for 20-30 minutes and could not find it. Since it flew over a little hill I was unable to pinpoint the exact stop it went down and the CRP was about 5' high and thick.

It sure is a light, easy to carry gun and I didn't find the recoil to be bad at all and I was shooting the Federal PF loads at 1,425 fps. I hope I start hitting with it but it does come up different than my old Sweet. I didn't trade my 1960 Sweet in and will keep it until I know the new one is going to work for me.

Here is something interesting. The over all length of the new A5 is 2.5" longer than my 1960 model and both have 26" barrels. It's all in that long action.
 
In the store, the new one seems to come up & fit me real well, as I'm sure you thought the same thing. Interesting how when you get into a "real" situation, that little something "not quite the same" can make a difference. Guessing you'll get it figured out though. Probably just the weight difference. I'd like something a bit lighter, too, but just can't make myself do it, either w/ the new S16 or the Franchi o/u. Yes, they cost money, but I mostly don't want to risk a slump due to a different gun. Don't know if my pride & sanity could handle it. Interesting about the length. Wouldn't have guessed it'd be that much longer. Will look forward to future reports.
 
I fondled a new Sweet 16 recently at the Scheels in Rochester, MN. It really feels light and it does seem long. I have to imagine that the 26" barrel is the right barrel for that gun.

I regularly hunt pheasants with a 16 gauge Stevens 5100 sxs. I recently borrowed an older Sweet 16 from my brother (who inherited it after our father died).

I had an experience similar to yours. I had one shooting opportunity with it and wounded a large rooster with my third shot. It sailed into a phragmites filled ditch and my dog was unable to recover it.

I am disappointed in myself. I think that I feel your pain.
 
I've had a 1960 Sweet Sixteen for over 7 years and have really grown to love it. But it does get a little heavy at times. So I bit the bullet today and bought a new Sweet with 26" barrel. Took it on it's first hunt and missed a fairly easy shot. I hit one other rooster that flew a couple hundred yards over a hill and died in mid air. But Bree and I looked for 20-30 minutes and could not find it. Since it flew over a little hill I was unable to pinpoint the exact stop it went down and the CRP was about 5' high and thick.

It sure is a light, easy to carry gun and I didn't find the recoil to be bad at all and I was shooting the Federal PF loads at 1,425 fps. I hope I start hitting with it but it does come up different than my old Sweet. I didn't trade my 1960 Sweet in and will keep it until I know the new one is going to work for me.

Here is something interesting. The over all length of the new A5 is 2.5" longer than my 1960 model and both have 26" barrels. It's all in that long action.

Congrats on the new gun! I got a new Sweet 16 last season, also the 26" barrel. It's a dream to carry around for sure. I'm still a little bit shocked how light it is each time I get it out of the case. Shooting-wise, I would say that so far I've shot it "ok", not great, but not bad either. Not a huge sample size, maybe a dozen roosters, handful of ducks, and a couple of quail. It's very different than what I was used to, being a long-time Remington 870 & 1100 guy.


I'm curious which choke tube you used on your first outing. I've mostly used the modified. I read a review of the gun by Randy Wakeman that stated that the factory choke tubes are off.....that the Imp Cyl was more like Cylinder, and the Mod was more like Imp Cyl.
Don't know if this is true, I haven't patterned mine. If it is true, and you had the Imp Cyl tube in, you might've been throwing a lot more open pattern than you intended.
I did buy an Improved Mod tube from Trulock, but haven't used it yet.
I do plan to pattern mine at some point, just haven't gotten around to it.
 
I did have the IC choke in but that wasn't the reason for my miss. On the first shot I could of had a Cyl. choke and it would have killed the bird. I was just off. It seems to mount fine but not like my old Sweet. Guess it's just going to take some getting use to. But I'm still shocked at how much longer the new one is. Still in my gun case by the old Sweet it looks like it has a 30" barrel.
 
George: I noticed the same thing when comparing my 12 ga. Browning Stalker - 26" barrel is way longer(2") than my Browning Gold 20 and new/used A5 Light Twenty, both 26" guns.

Both the forend and receiver are longer than my two other guns. I plan to sell the Stalker, as I find it doesn't mount well and is cumbersome. And I don't need a 12 ga for pheasants

Love the A5 Light Twenty!
 
I would like to buy one myself but cant get past that ugly long receiver.

The receiver does appear long. But today while hunting I compared it to my buddy's Benelli Black Eagle and the length of the receivers was about the same.
 
I have a Stoeger 2000 (3") in my gun case and I compared the length of the receiver on the Stoeger to the A5. They are the same length. So while the A5 receiver may appear long it isn't any longer than the other guns with similar operating systems. Actually the Stoeger with a 24" barrel is almost an inch longer than my 1960 Sweet Sixteen with a 26" barrel.
 
Have you had that new Sweet 16 out for trap or clays? The last two new guns I bought went straight to the range with me to seewhat I could do with them. My Montefeltro helped me break 22 or 23/25 the first time out. I knew it would work for me. My O/U took a few rounds to get to 20/25. Not as good but I can live with it because it looks so nice.
 
Have you had that new Sweet 16 out for trap or clays? The last two new guns I bought went straight to the range with me to seewhat I could do with them. My Montefeltro helped me break 22 or 23/25 the first time out. I knew it would work for me. My O/U took a few rounds to get to 20/25. Not as good but I can live with it because it looks so nice.

No trap or clays up here in the cold and snow. :) The more I handle the Sweet the more I am liking it. The light weight is wonderful and recoil is a non-factor even with the most stout loads Federal PF at 1,425 fps. I'm sure as I use it more I will start hitting better with it. Just an adjustment period. If I could make one change that would be to shorten the barrel 2-3 inches.
 
Might have to consider selling my 1960 Belgium SweetSixteen with a 26" vent rib barrel choked IC. Anyone interested if I put it up for sale? Here's a pic.

View attachment 8727
 
What I found on switching to lighter gun is I was not use to lightness of barrel and I would over swing on birds the gun felt whippy to me.I liked
The weight for sure.I used to shoot a A-5 12 guage to heavy for me now
I found that a over & under which is same weight as lighter gun about
6.5 lbs i could swing better because the barrels are heavier part of gun
so I got a little gun to carry with a little heavier swing
 
The Sweet is in very good condition for a 58 year old gun. Functions flawlessly and never had a mis-fire or jam since I owned it. The bluing is excellent except for a couple wear areas on the barrel where it recoils back into the forearm (common with Auto 5's). The stock has no major dings or scratches but does have a fair number of small indentations throughout from normal hunting use. The stock had been cut when i bought it and had an ugly red, worn out recoil pad. I replaced it with a black recoil pad from Browning. LOP is back to normal at about 14 1/4". I also replaced the recoil spring and friction rings when I bought it 8 years ago. If I do let it go I have to figure out a price. I do have a local person wanting to buy it but his offer is not what I think the gun should bring.
 
Art's Gun Shop listings. https://www.gunsinternational.com/advanced-search-results.cfm?cdn_bp=1&rct=733&start_row=101 Should give you an idea of what it is worth. The Sweet Sixteens start on page 7.

Most of those prices on Art's are pretty high but then there are several NIB box guns or unfired guns. I've also been looking on GunBroker but prices do vary. Finding a 26" vent rib gun choked IC that is in decent shape was a challenge when I was looking. Don't think that has changed. Guess I could entertain offers and see what people are willing to pay. She's a great shooter but now with the new Sweet in the case this one won't get used much so I might as well pass it on to someone else to enjoy for a while.
 
Most of those prices on Art's are pretty high but then there are several NIB box guns or unfired guns. I've also been looking on GunBroker but prices do vary. Finding a 26" vent rib gun choked IC that is in decent shape was a challenge when I was looking. Don't think that has changed. Guess I could entertain offers and see what people are willing to pay. She's a great shooter but now with the new Sweet in the case this one won't get used much so I might as well pass it on to someone else to enjoy for a while.

Gunbroker prices are all over the place. Jaqua's had 3 Sweet Sixteens in stock recently. A nice mat rib barrelled IC went for $1595. They had two others with solid ribs for $1295. I got the one with the modified barrel. It was built in 1953 and had been restored. During the restoration process, enough of the engraving was removed that it probably needs to be redone. After talking to someone at Art's I think I could have the engraving restored and still at least break even. The dilemma is whether it is a shooter or collectable. You are right about trying to find a vent rib IC gun. I finally gave up and got the modified solid rib.

FWIW, I got the IC, LM, M, and IM DS chokes for my new Sweet Sixteen from Trulock. I'm really happy with the IC patterns. I posted a couple of photos in the Herter's 16 gauge shotshell thread.
 
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