.410 for skeet

triton

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My wife is nervous about using a twelve gauge. I wondered if a .410 would be ok for her? It's a sxs!

Dave.
 
In a word, maybe.

Pro: Less recoil/report
Pro: Possibly lighter firearm

Con: WAY less payload in the shell = many missed targets for a beginner.
This can be a very frustrating experience for a first time on the firing line. I have personally wached one of our members bring a spouse to try singles with a .410, and she vowed to never return because she dropped 25 straight.

A better comprimise would be a light recoiling semi in a 20 guage with light 8's if you could borrow one from a friend. Even a 28 guage would be a better option.

The .410 is considered an experts gun on the skeet field, and is generally only used by the very experienced shooter.

My .02.

Bill

Edited to add:

If she is nervous about a 12 guage, she needs to be certain about her reasons. If she is new to shotgunning, perhaps an hour in the back 40 where it's just you and her to get the feel of recoil from the hip and shoulder before stepping onto the firing line at a club.

She may be anxious about shooting in front of others for the first time. She may be comfortable with a 12 guage, but may be put off by the noise or perceived (ie bystander) recoil.

Perhaps don't give her the option of taking a smaller gun on the first try out, but make her face her fears first hand. At least then she will have a comparison when stepping into a 20 guage.

Plus, you can go and buy a nice 20 guage 1100 and pretend it's for her.
 
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yea x2 it takes alot of skill to operate a 410

20 gauge would prolly be nicer

as for the nervous part i find you just need to relax well shooting and if u do that its easy to take the recoil see if you can just coach her with a 12 she will have way more fun
 
.410 is an ugly monster. There is nothing more frustrating to shoot. There is nothing more satisfying than when you shoot it well.

I guess it depends what you are looking to accomplish. If you want to have your wife shoot off a box of ammo that isn't going to hit back, then sure the .410 is a good choice. Unfortunately when it comes to hitting what you are shooting at, you are going to have a big problem. Missing in quantity is not fun.

The .410 has chased more people out of the game of skeet than you could ever imagine.

If I had to choose, I'd say a 28ga autoloader. 28ga seems to have the best split between recoil and payload.

Brad.
 
Well there won't be any recoil, that's for sure. And when she doesn't hit anything, she'll think it's because there's no lead in the shells!

I fully agree on the 20 ga. 1100 idea. It'll work equally well at skeet as trap, a great learning gun that is soooooo soft on the shoulder. And 20 ga shells are cheapcheapcheap.
 
x2 for the 20 auto-loader .... a 28 would be even better, but expect to pay a lot more for the ammo.

A used 1100 - 20 ga. is not that hard to find (and maintain) or too expensive
... to get her into the game. After that - look out, she'll want a 12 gauge over & under with interchangeable chokes ... just like the boys !
 
shotgun

If the gun is not too heavy why not just use 7/8 oz. loads in the 12 gauge? They can be easily loaded on any 12 gauge reloader, recoil is negligible, bigger shot payload than .410 or 28 gauge and when she gains some confidence it will be easy for her to move up to 1 oz. or 1 1/8 oz. loads in the same gun.
 
If I had to choose, I'd say a 28ga autoloader. 28ga seems to have the best split between recoil and payload.
X2. I use a 28 gauge autoloader when I'm introducing women or young people into the shooting sports. It's a far better gauge for the purpose than the .410.
 
a friend and myself took his younger brother out shooting clays for the first time the other day, which was only our second time. i was picking of his missed clays with my single shot .410. it turned out to be a great day with the 410
 
lol yeah... why not try using a .22 for skeet prolly about just the same chance of hitting something. no really yeah just get her to shoot the 12. once you know how to shoot it the recoil really isnt that bad. but hey be happy your wife is even remotely condisering shooting :) if i could only get mine to ........
 
If the gun is not too heavy why not just use 7/8 oz. loads in the 12 gauge? They can be easily loaded on any 12 gauge reloader, recoil is negligible, bigger shot payload than .410 or 28 gauge and when she gains some confidence it will be easy for her to move up to 1 oz. or 1 1/8 oz. loads in the same gun.

I second this idea, and once she tries the 1 oz. and/or 1 1/8 oz loads, she will probably want to go back to the 7/8 loads and wonder why one would want more? Great for 16 yard trap and the first shot in doubles, and the way they break international targets, they would probably be good for the seconds shot in doubles as well. I think it must be a north american thing to waste so much shot in a target load?
 
a friend and myself took his younger brother out shooting clays for the first time the other day, which was only our second time. i was picking of his missed clays with my single shot .410. it turned out to be a great day with the 410

Shooting clays off a hand thrower and shooting Skeet are very different. Shooting skeet with a .410 is challenging to say the least.


I was going to buy a new double .410 to shoot skeet but I think I will just wait until I find one crammed in the garbage can by station 4.....:D
 
Shooting clays off a hand thrower and shooting Skeet are very different. Shooting skeet with a .410 is challenging to say the least.


I was going to buy a new double .410 to shoot skeet but I think I will just wait until I find one crammed in the garbage can by station 4.....:D

i shoot skeet on a regular bases with with a trap thrower and always take my .410. how much where you planing on spending for a double .410.
 
My wife found 410 easy to shoot but could not bust targets tried light 20 guage and some sucess. skeet tough place to start shoot gunning. I recomend a trap machine set high and on strait aways to start and get used to shooting.16 yard I/C choke.
 
My wife found 410 easy to shoot but could not bust targets tried light 20 guage and some sucess. skeet tough place to start shoot gunning. I recomend a trap machine set high and on strait aways to start and get used to shooting.16 yard I/C choke.

When starting a new shooter on skeet, especially with a small gauge, skip the first 6 stations and go to low 7 and let them shoot low 7 til they get the smile of confidence.:D
 
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