16s are great guns, and are still being made, last year. I purchased a BRAND NEW remington 870 shotgun in 16 ga. That being said, as it was pointed out 16 ga shells can be hit or miss. Esp with the fact that everyone is making 12 ga and 20 ga shells and they are always flying off the shelf (at least here) Some of our local gun shops stock the shells when available, and I keep a couple of 20's reserved for the Just in case of shells, moments when you run across some and probably wont get a 2nd chance on em.... #8 shot seems to be the most common, but I get excited for the #6 in 16's. they have been the best preformer for me and I like for rabbits...I try to keep 4 or so boxes of 16 ga shells on hand but I have 4 16ga guns so....