12 or 20 Beretta 391?

[mark k]

The wife wants to start shooting clays and has given me an excuse to buy another gun. She's finds the recoil of my 870 with a Pachmyer pad objectionable even with trap loads. I'm considering a Beretta 391 but I'm not sure of what guage to get. I don't have access to a 12 or 20 semi to try first, so, how much recoil reduction can I expect in this type of gun? What would you compare the recoil of semi shotguns to?
Thanks for your input. Mark

 

[popcan]

a 12g or 20g can deliver similar felt recoil depending upon the loads you choose...

But, gas-operated semi-autos are pretty soft shooting guns anyhow.

 

[jeff g]

IMHO a 12 gauge auto with 7/8oz. of lead and a 20 gauge with 3/4 or 7/8oz
of lead are both very 'soft' to shoot. The Berettas especially. I just got a 12
gauge 391. I have some friends that have the 20's. The 20 is thinner and lighter. I thinks this makes it a great gun for women and other people of
smaller stature. If she has smaller hands the 20 for sure. With the shims
supplied and med. & thick recoil pads you should be able to fit the stock
reasonably well. Stock fit is very important to percieved recoil. Claybuster,
Sharptail, Berettaboy and others could probably explain the importance of
a well fitting stock better than I can.

 

[beretta boy]

See if you can locate a Beretta 391 "Parallel Target RL" for her. This particular design is a little shorter, has a smaller, tighter grip radius, and overall is, IMHO, a better fit for most female & smaller statured shooters.

12 ga, with 7/8 oz. (24 gram) target shells. Lots of Gamebore "White Gold" XLR Target shells on the market in the GTA. Great load, very little recoil .

Spend a little time getting the gun to fit her. The RL comes with two pads, one a little thicker than the other, plus the usual assortment of shims for adjusting for a range of cast & drop.

 

[Claybuster]

From my own rough estimate the Beretta 391 would reduce felt recoil by about 25 to 30 per cent when using the same loads. The advice about the 7/8s ounce loads in 12 gauge is right on. In my 391 these loads are very soft shooting.

As jeffg mentioned, the 20 gauge 391 is a noticeably lighter and slimmer but having shot a couple they don't seem to kick less than my 12.

Having done some introductory courses for women shotgunners I am a huge fan of the 28 gauge. The guns are light, low recoiling and will break targets reliably. The Remington 1100 Sporting 28 gauge comes with short stock dimensions and is very soft shooting. The downside is that the shells are expensive but this may give you the justification to take up reloading.

What type of clays does your wife want to shoot? If it's skeet and sporting then the 28 gauge is a great cartridge. For trap however the 12 gauge 391 RL might be a better choice.

What club are you shooting at? If you ask around I'd suspect someone would be happy to let your wife put a few rounds through their semi-auto. I've never seen a club yet where there weren't shooters willing to help out a new shooter particularly if she's female.