.410 for a beginner, appropriate or discouraging?

Ardent

Ardent

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
818   0   2
Location
Northern BC, Coastal BC, or Africa. Depends on the
My girlfriend's a tiny little thing, 5'2 115lbs, and I want to introduce her to casual clay shooting, gravel pit style no competition or range time typically. Anyhow, I like the availability of .410, and the guns are much cheaper than 28's. A Mossberg Bantam's gonna set me back only 269 new and will actually fit her... problem is I'm not sure I want to give her a 20 gauge. While she'll break more birds, she's recoil sensitive, and if the .410 is workable from a recreational clay shooting standpoint I'd prefer to go that route. What do you guys think? Will she get discouraged with the .410's light patterns, or are we good to go? Feel free to suggest other guns as well that will fit a 5'2 115 pounder.
 
think auto

Any auto loader with a gas system will reduce felt recoil, add a recoil reducer in the stock, it adds a bit of wait to the gun but significantly reduces felt recoil. The biggest problem with the .410 is the light patterns that don't carry out far as well as the big price they charge for those little shells.

Best thing to do is drop in at the trap range and I will bet everyone will let her test fire their gear, it has to fit her and it should be picked by her, not picked for her. If the shotgun doesn't fit and shoulder automatically it doesn't matter what gauge it is she will not hit much and she will discourage fast.
 
Browning makes a nice 20G BPS. Should fit just fine. I'm thinking some practice and encouragement will go a long way. The right grip and some range time and she'll be in the game. With the right LOP, I'd say 12G is not unreasonable for most people, even wee ones. :D
 
Ive got the H&R 410 tamer, it seems to be quite a popular gun with the ladies, it has little recoil, the stock is pretty short, its light, single shot, and makes a big bang and blows the pop cans over :)
 
updatelee said:
H&R 410 tamer
Click to expand...

Those are hot. Nickel and synthetic. Nice small package. And if she likes small packages (she's with you so yeah) she'll love this.

photo_tamer.jpg





:p
 
28 gauge autoloader. Felt Recoil is less than a single shot 410 pr a 20 gauge pump. Take her to position 7 on a skeet field and she'll be breaking clays pretty quick and the recoil will be a non issue. My 100lb son started this way and is getting to be a pretty go shot. Good luck
 
A .410 would be frustrating for her, while it's good in the recoil department, clays would be challenging, especially so for a beginner. A 20ga. semi is something she could easily handle both weight wise and recoil wise, plus ammo is easy to come by and cheaper than .410. My personal pick would be a Benelli Montefeltro 20ga. but it costs a little bit. Also if the relationship doesn't last you'll at least have a decent gun for yourself.

That said I'm going to be getting myself a Yildiz TK36 single shot .410 just for sh*ts and giggles.
 
Last edited:
Whichever you get, 20 or 28 ga. in pump or autoloader, get the YOUTH or BANTAM model. Cutting down the stock alone isn't enough. The barrel needs to be shorter or you'll have a VERY muzzle-heavy gun (more so the 20 than the 28) and women have much less arm strength to compensate. Cutting the stock really affects the balance, and shortening the barrel helps compensate, or put lead into the butt to bring the balance rearward and help soak up recoil. Supposedly, the 28 breaks clays almost as well as the 20, so don't be thinking you're giving up a lot by going 28.
 
I think the best choice is a 20 gauge that fits her. Upland loads produce light recoil, and the patterns from a 20 will result in more hits than the patterns from a .410. Shooting isn't fun unless you can hit something and many new shooters are discouraged when they are introduced to shotgunning with a .410.
 
Frustrating. I was introduced to grouse hunting with a Lakefield Mossberg .410 pump. I now have an uncontrollable eye-twitch every time someone mentions ".410".
 
I started my 12 year old out with a 12, but I made sure to use winchester reduced loads. The gun is a handi topper so it is quite light, I have to say the loads worked as advertized way less recoil than even a 1 1/8 load. Mind you are goal is to work up to waterfowling so the 12 made more sence, if your stopping at clays and or upland the smaller guages mean a lighter gun.

The stock was too long for him so next time out i'll be poping on the youth stock that I have.

Fist time out he went through 2 boxes of the light loads with out a complaint, though then he went through 2 boxes of 1 1/8 by the end of that, he was sore.
 
Something not mentioned by many posters here - stay with open chokes for this purpose, improved cylinder or skeet. A full choke shotgun for a beginner shooting close -in clays if another source of frustration.
 
I'd say 'compensate' with the gun, not the cartridge. A 20 is pretty darn tame if you're shooting a gun that's well sized for the shooter, with a good pad. An autoloader is a definate asset.

Skeet loads are pretty light. A well sized for her body 20 guage firing skeet loads should not be a problem at all.

ALSO - consider a 'sissypad' or recoil shoulder pad. They dramatically reduce felt recoil.

Focus on good stance and holding the gun right -- start her with a 22lr till she's holding the gun properly every time, nice and tucked in.

I've had 12 year olds shooting shotguns with no discomfort, i doubt she'll be any worse. Start her on the 22 tho, till she's used to the 'bang' and holding the gun right. It'll help prevent her from getting a flinch.

Oh - and DEFINATELY make SURE she's got great hearing protection. Noise is a source of 'felt recoil' believe it or not. Good fitting noise protection is a must.
 
A 28 gauge is the way to go.They have little recoil and great patterns.My favourite repeater is the 28 gauge Franchi 48 AL autoloader .They are light (5 1/2 pounds),dependable and slight recoil.


As Claybuster has stated before if an autoloader is more than your budget, the 28 gauge Remington 870 Express is a fine choice.
 
bought a cheap 20g for the GF to play with I got the youth model with the shortened stock and the 21" barrel. Arwen Ace install a Limbsaver on it and it's a pussy cat. An auto loader would have even been a better choice but I wasn't dropping any serious coin on a low mile gun.

My thoughts at the time was that she would never hit anything with the 410, so why would she want to shoot at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom