Browning’s New A5 Sweet 16: How Sweet It Is

Browning’s new A5 Sweet 16 semi-auto revives a classic and creates an upland hunter’s dream gun.

Officially launched in 2016, the latest reincarnation of the Sweet 16 harkens back to a day when the 16 gauge was in its heyday. The original Sweet 16 first hit stores in 1937, and was built on a 20 gauge frame, presenting more firepower than the 20, but in a gun lighter than a 12. Introduced in 1902, the Auto-5, and its cousins manufactured by Remington and Savage, were the first commercially successful autoloading shotguns. These early models worked on the long recoil method, where the barrel moved about three inches backwards to eject the shell and recock the hammer. Upon moving forward, a new shell was reloaded and the action closed.

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Shooting the $1,100 Weatherby Orion Over and Under

Through its many incarnations the Weatherby over and under has continued to stand for a quality gun at a reasonable price.

Mention Weatherby, and most people associate the company with its line of magnum rifle cartridges and the associated rifles. The Weatherby name also stands for quality and that carries through to the company’s shotgun line as well.

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Sneaking Up on a Bygone Era

The acrid smell of two-stroke exhaust mixing with the sweet smell of the cedar transported me back to a bygone era – a time of wooden decoys and boats and huge duck numbers.

The boat was a cedar sneak boat over 50 years old. In the water 200 yards distant, the decoys were mostly hand-carved wooden blocks. Although not as old as the boat, the decoys were still carved with the same care of the decoys of old.

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