Sweet Sixteen Celebration

Ten 16 gauge fans participated in our first event dedicated solely to the 16 gauge shotgun.

Any type of shotgun was permitted–as long as it was chambered for the 16 gauge.  This resulted in a wide range of equipment, from a beautiful original Winchester M-21 to graded CSMC M-21’s, and Winchester M-12 pump guns to Merkels and Huglus.  A unique 16 gauge M-97 Winchester was put to good use as were some vintage Parkers and Ithacas.   A lone 16 gauge Remington 11-48 was spied on the line as well!

The match consisted of 125 targets fired in 3 stages:  50 Trap targets, 50 Skeet targets, and 25 5-Stand targets.  A rank scoring system was used, so that the 25 target event would have as much weight as the 50 target events.  A shooter would get 1 point for an event 1st place finish,  2 points for an event 2nd place finish,  3 points for an event 3rd place finish, etc.  Also, once a competitor received an award their name was removed and the next highest scorer got the award.

The HOA race ended in a tie with Dick Vance and Hal Hare each earning 4 points.  A coin flip determined their shoot off would be 16 Gauge Trap, and Vance nudged Hare by three targets in the 25 target race to take the HOA Trophy.   Hare shoot off loss earned him the Trap Title with an ugly windy day 43×50.  Mark Douglas won the 5-Stand Trophy, and Bob Horn garnered the Skeet Trophy honors.

The 16 gauge is alive and well!