A5 16gauge

C

chuckkasie

Member
Buying a new A5 16 gauge for pheasants, anybody use this gun and what ammo are you shooting? Currently use A5 12 gauge and Prairie Storm, just want to change it up a bit.
 
I have the new A-5 Sweet Sixteen in with the 26” barrel. I don’t carry it often, I’m not really a semi auto guy but it’s a nice light, good shooting gun that I shoot well! I’ve used Fiocchi Golden Pheasant #5’s and Fiocchi 16HV6 @1300 fps with success. The only thing that I don’t like is the radical pistol grip, it’s sort of tight for my big hand. I wish the upland model would have been available when I bought mine.
 
I guess it was the Lightning model with the rounded grip that I wanted, not the Upland model.
 
I got mine not long after they came out, bought it at the Cabela's in Mitchell, SD in Nov of '17. They had 3 to pick from and I was lucky and got one with very nice wood. It's been my #1 upland gun since I got it, and I've used it a lot.

Overall, I've been very happy with it. Very light, and a pleasure to carry all day in the field. I have huge hands and the big pistol grip has never bothered me at all. Mine is a bit finicky about which loads it will cycle.

Unfortunately, it has jammed several times over the years with Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 5's, which is my favorite 16ga pheasant load. It likes the Federal Hi-Brass 1 & 1/8 oz 6's @ 1295 fps, I've shot several boxes of those without a hiccup. I've also shot several hundred rounds of Remington Game Load 1 oz of 7 & 1/2's @ 1200 fps with no problems at all.

If you do some reading online about the factory chokes, you'll find that they pattern much more open than they're marked. I did some testing when I first got mine and confirmed this. My experience was about two levels off.....approximately Improved Cylinder = Cylinder.....Modified = Skeet, etc.
I bought a couple of Trulock extended chokes very early on, and the factory chokes have never been back in the gun. I use the Trulock light mod for 90% of the hunting I do. (wild public land phez in ND and SD, and sharptails & huns in ND)
 
Bought mine about three years ago and its a dream to shoot and carry, I mostly shoot Fiocchi High Velocity 1 1/8 oz, 1300 ft/sec, 6 shot and never had a issue with an jam. I agree with the chokes after patterning the stock choke tubes, I also went with the Trulock extended chokes and the light mod is also what I put in mine.
 
I have new and old A5's. The new ones are really light compared to the old ones. My old and new have 26" barrels, but the new one is long.

Mine cycles everything without issue. I use I/C choke and generally shoot 1 ounce Boss Bismuth and 1-1/8 lead loads: Herters, Remington, Fiochi and PMC.

Still, my go-to gun, that I shoot most is a 16 ga. Browning 525.
 
roadscholar said:
Unfortunately, it has jammed several times over the years with Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 5's, which is my favorite 16ga pheasant load. It likes the Federal Hi-Brass 1 & 1/8 oz 6's @ 1295 fps, I've shot several boxes of those without a hiccup. I've also shot several hundred rounds of Remington Game Load 1 oz of 7 & 1/2's @ 1200 fps with no problems at all.
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I've had my new A5 SweetSixteen since they first were available. I have never had a jam or a fail to fire and I've put all kinds of ammo through it. For hunting I use mainly Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 5's and 6's, but also some Federal PF high velocity loads, Federal regular 1 1/8 oz., Kent 1 oz load, and Kent Tungsten Matrix. For sporting clays I've shot various 1 oz loads from Federal, Fiocchi, Herters and Winchster. My Sweet has digested them all without a problem. I also had a 1960 SweetSixteen that performed very well but I like the new Sweet better due to the light weight and choke tubes.
 
I got my A5 Sweet when they first came out. Mine likes the Federal 16 gauge Upland #5 or #6 loads and the Boss #5 loads. It's a killer with both. I use an IC choke for pheasants and for jumping ducks. It's so light and easy to carry that I have used little else the last few years.
 
I’m getting ready to pick one up. I’ve got Carlson’s and Trulock chokes for my 20 gauges. Thinking I’ll go with Trulock for the sweet 16. I like Briley but not sure they are worth the premium for $20-30 more per choke. Always had good luck with Trulock.
 
Dakotazeb said:
I've had my new A5 SweetSixteen since they first were available. I have never had a jam or a fail to fire and I've put all kinds of ammo through it. For hunting I use mainly Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 5's and 6's, but also some Federal PF high velocity loads, Federal regular 1 1/8 oz., Kent 1 oz load, and Kent Tungsten Matrix. For sporting clays I've shot various 1 oz loads from Federal, Fiocchi, Herters and Winchster. My Sweet has digested them all without a problem. I also had a 1960 SweetSixteen that performed very well but I like the new Sweet better due to the light weight and choke tubes.
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Yeah it's a bummer that mine picked my favorite pheasant shell to be finicky with.
But now I just stick with shooting the Federals in the Sweet 16, and the Golden Pheasants in my 1100.
 
My go-to's are:

Fiocchi 16HV5, 1-1/8 oz 5's @ 1300.
Boss 1 oz bismuth 4's @ 1350. (obsolete)
Have a case of the new Boss 1-1/8 oz bismuth 4's @ 1240 that I haven't tried yet.

Late season, if roosters are really playing hard to get, I might shoot these, but it's uncommon:

Federal Magnum 1-1/4 oz buffered lead 4's @ 1260. (obsolete)
Kent Tungsten Matrix 1-1/4 oz 5's @ 1265. (obsolete) I'll make my plea again. There are guys on this site who own an abundance of the T-M greatest 16 gauge non-tox shell ever conceived. Since you'll never shoot them, I again ask you to consider selling them to me. Shoot me a PM with your price.
 
I didn’t even own a 12 gauge until last year. I bought a Beretta A400 to shoot trap with my son. Its a good shooter, but I would rather do anything than carry it in the field. Not that its heavy or anything. its a great gun. If the made one in 16 ga, I’d buy it in a heartbeat. But I grew up envying my dad’s 2000. That’s why I like my Franchi AL 48s. And that’s why I like this Sweet 16. I like the hump. I shoot them better, do doubt. Planning on getting a lightning model for the POW stock. Looking forward to partnering it with my Ithaca 37 and my FAIR Iside.
 
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the sweet 16 is on my list to own someday; i love the A5 12 gauge i currently own, only issue is i have to use bismuth for non-tox as it has a non-steel friendly barrel; bismuth is awesome, just spendy
 
chuckkasie said:
Buying a new A5 16 gauge for pheasants, anybody use this gun and what ammo are you shooting? Currently use A5 12 gauge and Prairie Storm, just want to change it up a bit.
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I've had one of the new Sweet 16's since 2017 and use it more than any other shotgun I have. I've tried a lot of loads and had good results with almost all of them except the Fiocchi Golden Pheasant. They patterned so horribly that I ended up getting rid of them. That was a surprise to me since I have used their 12ga loads for years.

For pheasants I like the Remington Express shells in #6 (since I get into mixed pheasants and quail). I also have some of the old version of the Herter's 1-1/8 oz #5's that I like, but unfortunately they are no longer available.

Here is a link to an old post where I tried out various loads.

www.shotgunworld.com

Shot my Browning New Sweet Sixteen Today

www.shotgunworld.com www.shotgunworld.com
 
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