Don Zutz, the late, great outdoor author remarked on more than one occasion that “if we ever invent the ideal shotgun shell, it going to look a lot like the 16 gauge.” In doing so, he confirmed the wisdom that’s been handed down by bird hunters for a couple of generations.

Here’s where the phrase “sweet 16” came from.

The reason the 16 gauge is superior to the more popular 12 and 20 gauge guns is because it has a shorter shot string. Yes, it’s true. The 12 and 20 gauge loads have shot strings between 12 and 14 feet long. The one-ounce 16 gauge load has a shot string length of about nine feet. The 16 gauge’s superiority in bird hunting rests in the fact that it’s pellets are concentrated in a smaller space, so it’s pattern is denser. This shorter, denser pattern puts more pellets in the target zone. Its not rocket science. More pellets = more birds. That’s the “sweet 16” secret that successful birdhunters prove every season.

By putting the superior 16 gauge on their proven and reliable Citori platform, Browning created a perfect birdgun. These 28” Lightnings weigh about six pounds, 11 ounces. That’s almost a pound-and-a-half lighter than a 12 gauge Lightning . . . and ONLY TWO OUNCES HEAVIER than a 20 gauge! Two ounces! Light enough to carry all day in the field, but heavy enough to soak up the recoil if you want to shoot a round of sporting clays. Wait, there’s more.

The balance point is an inch ahead of the hinge pin, just where you want it for pass shooting on ducks, doves, pheasant and sporting clays where momentum for your swing pays big dividends. Like the song says:

“It don’t mean a thing, if you ain’t got the swing”

The standard stock dimensions are: 1-1/2” x 2-3/8” x 14-1/4” and these guns are cast-neutral. If you have not read my article entitled “Newton’s Third Law” (it’s on my home page) you owe it to yourself to do so. A small amount of cast-off, if you are a right-handed shooter (and cast-on if you are a left-handed shooter) will put the gun where you are looking when it touches your shoulder. This improves your first-shot kill ratio and opens the door to taking the occasional double.

A dynamite new product now offered as an option. The NECG (New England Custom Gun) Universal Recoil Pad solves a problem that has plagued birdhunters for years. The length of pull requirements vary with the season. Shooting doves or quail in your shirt sleeves with, say, a 14-1/4" LOP might suit you to a "T", but chasing last-season birds with snow on the ground while wearing an insulated parka calls for a LOP a quarter-inch shorter.

The heart of the NECG Universal Recoil Pad is a unique Quick-Lok locking system that lets you change pads in twenty seconds. We install the system to your "summer" LOP length and furnish a second "winter" pad, a quarter-inch shorter than "summer."

The pads are the highest quality soft rubber, so they do what they are supposed to do in absorbing recoil. They feature a classically styled leather grained face, so they won't hang up on your shirt or shooting coat on the way to your shoulder. And because the pads are available in thicknesses of 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" we can easily lengthen butt stocks that are too short.

Cost for installation of the NECG Universal Recoil System, complete with two pads, shipping and handling $525.

Optional Leather covered Decelerator™ Recoil Pad -- a six-pound gun offers little protection in the way of recoil absorption, so a recoil pad makes sense. My pads are covered with hand-sewn black leather by an experienced gunfitter. They are not only look beautiful, but they utilize the recoil absorption power of the Decelerator™ pad, yet will not hang up on the way to your shoulder. The further benefit is that they can be custom fitted to your length of pull requirements -- as long as 15" if desired -- at no extra charge.

Price: $450. Your gun is shipped to the gunfitter who completes the pad work, then drop-ships the gun to your FFL holder.

When a right-handed shooter with a dominant right eye brings it up to his shoulder the gun is pointing where he is looking. Cast-off is what makes instinctive shooting possible for him. You keep your focus on the flushed bird and when you bring the gun up to your should you don't have to find the sight plane or associate the front sight with the departing bird because the gun is pointing to where you are looking.

This eliminates a head-fake on your part and clips maybe five yards off the distance the departing bird is trying to put between him and you.

However, when a left-handed shooter cheeks a cast-off or cast-neutral stock, he pushes the butt stock to the left and down so he shoots a couple of feet to the right and high. The only time they "get lucky" is on a rising bird that flushes to the right.

Trust me, if you are left-handed with a dominant left eye, having the stock bent to accomodate your shooting requirements is the best $400 investment you'll ever make. It will change your life.

How to order: Basically, I need payment (check or money order, no plastic) and a copy of someone's Federal Firearms License (FFL) where I can ship your gun. Fax copies of FFL's are now legal. Your dealer should put your name on his license, so I can match it up with your order. I will enclose a copy of my license for your dealer when I ship your gun.