Versatile performer

Anyone who watches my YouTube channel or follows me on social media will know that I have a soft spot for the Blaser brand. Following the release of the 20-bore Blaser F16 Game at the British Shooting Show 2024, I could not wait for the opportunity to put one to the test and I have waited patiently until now to get my hands on one to use out in the field.

This Blaser 20-bore is designed as a field gun, so it felt fitting to take it out on a driven partridge shoot and for a couple of outings in the hide while decoying wood pigeons. But first, the gun itself.

The Blaser F16 was known as the entry-level shotgun in the Blaser family, but it incorporates fantastic engineering that makes this model an incredibly reliable shotgun at an affordable price. This F16 20-bore model has the exact same receiver as the 12-bore, which is in fact only 2mm higher than a 20-bore Beretta Silver Pigeon and the same height as a Browning B525 20-bore receiver. It has one of the lowest profile receivers on the market, which provides an exceptionally low centre of gravity and in turn results in outstanding balance and less felt recoil through the gun.

There is no denying that this F16 is a lot heavier than most other 20-bore shotguns and I like that. A lot of shooters, including myself, use a relatively heavy 12-bore sporting shotgun for most of their shooting, so when we pick up a smaller-bore shotgun it can feel very quick to handle and slight in the hands. This can make it hard to control to achieve a good standard of shooting, which is obviously very frustrating when we want to be hitting targets.

With an overall weight of 7lb 6oz and a relatively chunky palm swell, this 20-bore sits assertively in the hand and handles very similarly to a 12-bore game gun. The trigger is not adjustable on the F16 Game model but it is easy to reach, which is great for my small hands and stumpy fingers. The gun mounts comfortably and effortlessly into the shoulder pocket, and as I lift it to my cheek I can see a good amount of rib, so I know it will shoot slightly high and suit my preferred point of impact. This is very refreshing to see, as many other game guns I have looked at in the past sit very low in the comb height, which makes it hard to look over the gun and maintain focus on a target while shooting it.

The balance of this particular gun is virtually on the hinge pin, so it is perfectly weighted between the hands. Unlike the F16 Sporting, the F16 Game doesn’t have the option of stock or barrel weights, so if you are the type of shooter who wants a shotgun to just put together and use, this model will be ideal for you.

My choice of choke was a 1/4 and 3/4 choke from the set of five flush Briley chokes that are provided with the gun. Having not shot a 20-bore much and not knowing what chokes would perform best, I was looking forward to getting out with the F16. Fortunately, the start of the partridge shooting season was here and I had the perfect opportunity to put this gun to the test.

Driven Partridge

I had booked a day out shooting some driven duck and partridge at the Winscombe Shoot in Dorset, and decided to give the Blaser F16 Game 20-bore its debut in the afternoon on a couple of fast driven partridge drives. I was positioned as a back gun with trees all around me and a small gap above, which I knew would require some quick and instinctive snap shooting. In theory, it was the perfect test for a quick-moving 20-bore game gun like this.

As the birds began flying over, I selected and connected with a few extremely fast French partridge. I had a smile on my face and could see why so many people enjoy shooting this calibre. The hits were incredible and I had no doubt that the cartridge and choke combination I had chosen was working. I had a split second to obtain a clear focus on the birds, mount and shoot, which this gun did with ease. The tapered 9-6mm rib with a brass bead on the end is very aesthetically pleasing and gave a very clear focus on each target I acquired. I was using 28g of No 5 shot with a fibre wad and the recoil was virtually non-existent. A combination of the gun’s design, weight and balance certainly played a big role in how smoothly the gun performed.

The trigger pulls are beautifully crisp and the empty cartridges ejected cleanly out of the chamber. As I reloaded the gun with more cartridges, the top lever sounded assertive as it locked shut. This is a quality I look for in a shotgun as I believe it shows an element of being well built. The safety simply moves forward and back, so there is no confusion about whether it is the top or bottom barrel being fired. You select which barrel fires first via a lever that sits in front of the trigger on the bottom of the gun. I prefer to shoot bottom barrel first, so I selected this as I put the gun together for the first time and didn’t need to worry about it from then on.

I will admit that I didn’t perform very well on the crossing partridges that came my way. I was fighting the fast nature of the gun and not letting it swing freely. I did get better on the next drive and connected with a couple of really nice crossers I would have been pleased to have shot with my 12-bore. The gun is also high-performance steel proofed. It would have been great to use some steel loads on the driven duck we had, but I will save that challenge for another day. I was greatly impressed with my first outing using the F16 Game 20-bore. It handled unlike any other 20-bore I have shot and I would put that down to the chunky palm swell that made it easier to hold assertively. This resulted in a more consistent mount, and the extra weight also helped me handle the gun to a better standard. This was the first time I have used this calibre at game birds and it certainly won’t be the last. I genuinely enjoyed the experience.

Decoying Pigeons

The couple of outings in the hide with the F16 Game 20-bore weren’t the most fruitful, but I had enough time to know it would be very well suited to this type of shooting. All the pigeons were shot within 35 yards and were flying fast due to a strong wind. The gun mounted effortlessly over the netting and once I learned to let the gun move fast through the birds’ line of flight, it made light work of bringing them down as I pulled the trigger.

It was very similar to shooting a semi-automatic shotgun in the hide, without the mess of the cartridges going everywhere. It was smooth on recoil and had next to no muzzle flip, so I was very quick to place a good second shot when needed. I would have great confidence in saying that many shooters will have a lot of fun using this gun in the hide. It really is a great shotgun for a variety of applications.

Conclusion

I do like the weight of the F16 Game 20-bore and the handling qualities, but I would much prefer the option of having the gun with a 32-inch barrel. I believe this would greatly improve the handling for anyone used to shooting a modern sporting shotgun.

This gun would certainly be well suited to anyone who wants a smooth-shooting, fast-moving game or hide gun. A perfect partner for low to mid-range pheasant and partridge and particularly snap shooting within a woodland. But I do believe this model with its 30-inch barrel would be a hard gun to handle consistently well on higher bird shooting.

If you are a shooter who wants the challenge of shooting a 20-bore but has been hesitant because they are so light and quick to handle, the weight and larger profile of this F16 Game may well suit you.