Lady Noob looking for shotgun that fits

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coconuthead

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Hi all

I'm a new shooter, 5' tall and looking for a shotgun to shoot trap, skeet, and hopefully sporting if it gets going around here. I'm finding there are no small guns in the gun stores, so how is a girl supposed to buy a gun if she can't even shoulder one, let alone shoot it?
I'm pretty open minded and willing to try most anything, though I don't want a pump. I don't like cheap crap, so would prefer used quality rather than cheap new. Budget around $1500 but not sure how much the mods are going to cost or where to get them done.....
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!!
thanks!!
 
There is a Browning Micro Midas 20 guage o/u for sale in the Equipment Exchange that might work for you. Ideally it would be good if you could shoulder/try some different makes and models at your club/gunstore. Cheers Bac4
 
There are some options ... but first a few questions ...
Can you physically handle an O/U weight wise?
Do you mind cleaning and maintaining a semi auto?

There are lots of good used O/U out there that have been shortened and have the adjustable butt plate and comb already installed. You might have to do a bit of stockwork. Berettas and Brownings are good ones to look at. Older choke tubed models will allow you the flexibility to shoot all the clay games.

The Beretta 391 RL (Reduced Length) guns are shorter and many of the later ones came with shims that allow you to adjust the stock to fit better.
 
I borrowed a nice browning 20 gauge from a girl when I forgot mine at home. its a semi auto. it was smaller than my 12 gauge and lighter, felt real nice. Im still a tall guy though. id just keep looking around in the stores, and keep asking to hold it and shoulder it. you will find one eventually! lots of people also like to cut the stock a inch or two or three... shortens the LOP.
 
I'd say visit a few stores like Italian Sporting goods, Reliable Gun, and Lever Arms in Vancouver. Wanstalls in Maple Ridge is another good choice. That is of course if you haven't already been.

Btw, welcome to the site! I'm always happy to see women join the shooting community. It helps to break the stereotype that we are all a bunch of gun loving misogynist. I hope that you bring more women into shooting sports. Maybe give IPSC a shot too.
 
Welcome Coconut,

Take your time and make a good purchase once. Test out as many as you can and don't make a hasty purchase. I'm a Berretta Over/Under type guy. I have them in 12 and 20gauge. The 20 is especially popular with the ladies and I have to keep my eye on it so it doesn't disappear. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. The best advice is NOT from sales-people, its from shooters who have used these guns.

Enjoy the ride....
 
If some are too large there are company's that make junior shotguns, just like the full size just butt stock is shorter for younger kids or anyone who might have a smaller frame. Just remember, I have seen this too many times, check your stance new shooters, too many don't stand with a foot forward and lean into it. If you are not sure check some of the pros on YouTube how they stand one foot forward, bring the gun into your shoulder pocket and lean forward a bit. Also check length of pull you need, most measure just approx inside your elbow to the tip of your shooting finger to get approx length. With a pump they are nice, less to jam up and malfunction but take a few rounds to get used to shooting it fast, its what i started using and still my favourite. Baikal sxs or O/U are good russian guns that wont break or break the bank($400), only thing is they might be ugly. Semi auto can be as good or bad as your budget allows, but a pain because some dont like to cycle target light shells in 12 ga, others like the nova/super nova i have found are light but feel the recoil of the gun more. I bought a Weatherby SA-08 in 12Ga for my wife, she loves it, good weight, semi auto, 2 different pistons for light or heavy loads when we duck hunt and right around the $700 range in camo or $800 in wood. O/U i went browning and bought something to last a lifetime and spent about $2300
 
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My wife recently said that she would like to try shooting with me, so I have been looking at various 20 ga shotguns as well. She is nervous to try my Mossberg 12 ga, though I don't think it has much recoil with trap shells - so I don't know how going into stores and shouldering guns will help her.
 
Gun fit is the key to recoil reduction. Next in line is the amount of lead that you are putting out the end of the barrel and at what velocity. After that comes the weight of the gun.
 
My wife is int he same boat, and now has 2 guns: she started with a Beretta 390 20ga, and has since gotten a Browning 625 Sporting 20ga. Both required quite a bit of modification to get them to fit her properly; but at the end of the day it was money well spent, and cheap all things considered.

The 390 is a great gun, light weight, semi-auto, and already has a relatively short LOP; plus because it has shims connecting the stock to the receiver, it was easier to adjust. That being said, those shims only offer limited adjustment range, and my wife was lucky they were good enough to fit her "90%". When she had it fitten, they flipped some of the spacers, and trimmed the stock by about an inch; plus the installation of a Kick-Eez recoil pad. These guns pop up on the EE on a regular basis and seem to range from $800-1500; a new A400 goes for about the $1400 mark.

Her 625 Sporting, again a 20ga, 28" barrels, and from the factor came with a shorter than usual LOP. These are more difficult to find used; new the 625 Sporting is about $3500, and don't come up for sale used all that often (people really like them!). This one has to be cut down by about 1.5", plus the install of the a Kick-Eez recoil pad; it also had a raised comb installed that ups the comb about 1/2", and rolls it over about 3/8".

All the fitting and stock modifications were done by Jon Raymond at S&S Plus LLC in Polson, MT. The fitting session was $125, stock trimming and recoil pad install was $100/gun, and the adjustable comb was $250. Factor in the cost of the shells fired during the fitting, and call it $600 to have 2 guns fit, and more importantly, fit to the way you shoot. You can take a stock a lot of places and get it trimmed down; but it's fantastic to be able to go out and shoot with the person doing it, so they can see exactly how the modifications are effecting your shooting.

One last shameless plug for S&S: the shop is run by Jon Raymond and Mike Lupold, both are fantastic guys and incredibly knowledgeable about what they do. The other huge bonus, is that they are 800 yards down the road from Big Sky Sporting Clays, so once you get your gun fit, you can go try it out on both of their phenomenal courses and beautiful facility (and only $0.35/target too boot!); and while there, take a lesson from Mike who is an NCSA Level 2 instructor.
 
Gas operated shotguns are quite soft on the shoulder and are being used in trap, skeet and sporting. I will suggest you go to a gun club and try different guns. Once you know what you want, you can have it modified to fit you. I shoot at Mission rod and gun in BC and had a few youngsters, teenager girls as well as people of different built shoot my 20 ga o/u sporting (Caesar Guerini)and it was very comfortable to shoot and they were having a blast breaking targets.
 
Beretta687EELL said:
Gun fit is the key to recoil reduction. Next in line is the amount of lead that you are putting out the end of the barrel and at what velocity. After that comes the weight of the gun.
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Bang on!

Especially the gun fit, I have been shooting for a fair amount of time and it wasn't until the last couple years that I really came to appreciate and understand gun fit better.

I had always been in that "Oh this fits nice!" camp, where in fact it wasn't anywhere near fitting properly. The curse of this revelation is now I see poor gun fit almost everywhere!

But the real eye opener for me was with a new to me K80 and going to Klaus Hiptmeyer, it wasn't fitting me quite right and I was getting some recoil in the face.

He carved mere millimetres off the stock where it meets the receiver, but he carved and we patterned and I saw the pattern move from left to right 2.5 feet and no more slap in the face.

It sure made a true believer out of me, I am now OBSESSED with gun fit and that has brought my scores WAY up and I've gone from decent breaks to mostly smoke.

Just remember this catch phrase, "It has to fit to hit."
 
Thanks for all the great advice everyone! I'm trying not to rush into a purchase, but without a gun I can't do any shooting. I've done tons of research online, and have a few in mind, but so far none of them can be found in the gun shops here.
I think I'm strong enough for an O/U, but the little bit of shooting I've done was with a pump and a semi, so can't say for sure.
I saw the Micro Midas advertised here, and pm'd the owner, but of course if I can't find one to at least pick up and shoulder it's pretty hard to spring for it, in case it totally doesn't fit.
I hate shopping, but gun shopping is way more fun!
 
"others like the nova/super nova" I shoot a Nova and in this case it would not be my first recomendation. I'm 5'11", weigh in at around 200lbs, the Benelli Nova has a non-adjustable stock and a LOP of 14.375" and weighs in a 8lbs. Whereas, it works quite well for me, I shoot mine well, her frame and size are, however, smaller then mine, making the Nova and Supernova both too long and most likely too heavy for her. Not a good way to start out for the shooting sports. A lighter 20ga with preferably an adjustable stock with a shorter LOP and a neutral cast would be prefered. Action would depend on personal taste and primary use.
 
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