Well, I got a new toy

[Parke1]

Hi all,
Earlier today I spotted a nice used gun that picqued my curiosity, and I wound up buying it (of course). I am the proud new owner of a Smith and Wesson (WWAAAYYYY pre-sellout, obviously) model 916 12 gauge. It's the plain 20" barrel model, with a 5-shot tube, and a front bead sight. For a 15+ year old gun (or a 1 year old gun, for that matter), the finish and wood is absolutely beautiful. I knew that S&W made long guns for a while, but I had never had the chance to handle one. I was really impressed with the quality of this piece. The $150 price tag (blue book value exactly) appealed to me, too.

Does anyone else have any experience with these guns? I'm going out this weekend to shoot it, I'll report back then. Ahh, another addition to my growing family of scatterguns (also including a New Haven Arms bolt-action 20 gauge, a JC Higgins 12 ga pump, and an Iver Johnson 16 ga break-barrel).

-Parke1

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"Um, that's a muzzle loader. Only use that for protection if you're being attacked by geriatrics in wheelchairs."

[This message has been edited by Parke1 (edited October 25, 2000).]

 

[Dave McC]

Congrats on the toy,Parke1. The only downside I can see is that parts may be hard to find, especially if S&W go belly up. And that's assuming they still carry parts in inventory.

OTOH,it may give you generations of service. Pumps tend to be quite durable these days, unlike the 50s and earlier when a lot of hardware store pumps were downright delicate. I recall a friend trying to keep a Noble working, it took welding, new parts constantly and finally he chalked it up to experience and bought an Ithaca 37.