lightweight shotgun with short stock options?

Candychikita

Candychikita

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i'm 5'3" on a good morning. every shotgun i've tried on the range so far is 'man sized' and friggen heavy to boot. i want something comfortable or else it's never going to get used.

i JUST JUST found this one at wholesale sports that is lightweight, fits my arm length (i need a shorter stock by about 2" to be comfortable without needing to lower the weapon to pump it) - specs say it's a 20 ga. youth model with a synthetic stock...

http://www.remington.com/products/f...ns/model-870/model-870-compact-pink-camo.aspx

the fact that it is pink is by no means a deterrent :D

wondering what else is out there in terms of little and lightweight? recommendations anyone?
 
Mossberg 500 spx with collapsible stock. I own one and has been very reliable so far. It's not finicky on the ammo you throw in it either.
The stock has 5 adjustment settings.
 
I shot five stand with a Lady who had one of these, the gun kicked too much for her due to it's light weight and being short it was hard to swing smoothly on clays. I would see if you could track down a longer barrel, this will add some weigh as well as helping with your swing. Also I would check out the BPS Micro line, they have short barrels but are heavier but not as heavy as a full-sized gun.
 
Try the Mossberg 500 youth with black synthetic, lenght of pulls from 10" through 12" adjustable. 20 gauge , vent rib, very light. I saw it either one of the sponsor dealers above or wholesalesports for only 299.00 with the interchangable chokes as well. Seemed like a nice deal. If I find it i'll post it for you.:canadaFlag:



Its the mossberg 510 mini super bantam, in 20 ga,3" chamber, 18.5 inch barrel vent rib, only 5 pounds. Check out their websire nice pics of it.


Ellwood epps have them for $283.00, great deal on a small hunting shotgun.
 
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Turkeyslayer 1300 said:
I shot five stand with a Lady who had one of these, the gun kicked too much for her due to it's light weight and being short it was hard to swing smoothly on clays. I would see if you could track down a longer barrel, this will add some weigh as well as helping with your swing. Also I would check out the BPS Micro line, they have short barrels but are heavier but not as heavy as a full-sized gun.
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hmm didn't consider a stronger kick on a smaller gun. was she accustomed to shooting full sized shotguns before taking on the littler version?

would love to be able to go into a shop and actually TRY a shot or two to try these issues out :( anyone in the area with one of these suckers to try out?
 
RememberTheSomme said:
Its the Mossberg 510 mini super bantam, in 20 ga,3" chamber, 18.5 inch barrel vent rib, only 5 pounds. Check out their websire nice pics of it.


Ellwood epps have them for $283.00, great deal on a small hunting shotgun.
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+1

20ga or .410 will help tremendously to reduce recoil over the full-size 12ga...

http://www.mossberg.com/products/default.asp?id=41&section=products

* Available in 20 Ga. and .410
* 18 1/2" Vent Rib barrel
* Super Bantam adjustable synthetic stock (10.5" to 11.5" LOP)
* 34 3/4" overall length.
* 5 lbs.
* Mossberg's most compact design ever.
Click to expand...
 
Light guns will have more felt recoil. But if the shooter doesn't have sufficient upper body strength then heavy guns quickly induce fatigue which leads to sloppy stance and more felt recoil. I can help a new shooter with the stance part to reduce felt recoil but I can't immediately improve her upper body strength.

With female shooters I recommend a lighter gun with lighter loads. I'd avoid the very short barrels because they swing like crap. If the budget can afford it the Beretta 391 youth is a top choice

http://www.berettausa.com/products/al391-urika-2-youth/

If that is out of the ball park then consider a Remington 1100 or 870 in 20 gauge with a 26" light contour barrel have the stock cut to the right length. One of the challenges however with a pump gun is the distance needed to reach forward to work the action. Shooters with short arms usually do better with a semi-auto or a breaking gun.
 
Candychikita said:
hmm didn't consider a stronger kick on a smaller gun. was she accustomed to shooting full sized shotguns before taking on the littler version?

would love to be able to go into a shop and actually TRY a shot or two to try these issues out :( anyone in the area with one of these suckers to try out?
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The lady was not accustomed to shooting at shotgun at all and that was part of the problem.

I know what I am about to say will probably get me flamed by the .410 hater club but hear me out. Why not pick up a Mossberg .410 pump shotgun and shoot it for awhile, not at hard to hit clays or birds but at stationary clays,pop cans etc. When you are reasonably familiar with the shotgun try shooting some close straight away clays, then when you are fair to good at that buy a 20 gauge, you will be a good shot already and can take full advantage of the 20gauges benfits. I know a few people who learned to shoot that way and it works.

On the other hand you could buy one of Remingtons youth 20 gauge Semi-automatics and that would tame the recoil somewhat.
 
Find a gun that suits your needs and send it to a gunsmith to have the LOP shortened to 12.5" or so. A 20 ga will work for you, but beware of the so called youth stocks. I wanted a 13"-13.5" LOP so I ordered one for my 590 which I installed with a sling plate for a spacer. A few days was enough and I replaced it with the factory stock. Although the youth stock was the same brand, the pistol grip was very small and had an angle that just didn't work for me. There is more to proper gun fit than a short LOP.
 
get your self a mossy 500 bantom thy come with spacers you can ad to the stock as you need them great littel shotgun and thy are priced right ceck one out t your dealer DUTCH
 
Covey Ridge said:
Candychikita,
You mentioned range but not the type of shooting you are doing.
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looking for a good all around shotgun; clays, shooting random crap at the range, perhaps a bird or two, and if needed, self defense in the bush against larger predators. having a shotgun as a bush gun against the large predators was the reason i got into shooting, and still have yet to acquire one. would hate to NEED to use it as self defense and never want to practice with it because it doesn't fit. used a few shotguns and every single one gives a bruise into the spot between my clavicle/shoulder bone/armpit, with varying recovery times, probably a newbie thing and/or an poor fit thing.

shotguns i've tried so far on a real range, only ones i could get my paws on:
remington 870 tactical (much too heavy - dead arm after less than an hour, moderate kick with bird shot, haven't tried slugs since the first time blew me off my feet)
mossberg 590A1 spx (heavy, too long with standard stock, moderate kick with target load)
remington 1100 tactical semi auto (heavy, easy on the kick with target load, price prohibitive)
benelli M4 (light, easy on the kick with target load, price prohibitive, under the impression that this is a restricted?)

i've found that the tactical versions (in stores) make me reach longer to pump. it's just a little bit (an inch or so) but my necessary grip on the gun takes me out of my 'power zone' and the gun gets heavy real fast. i also find i need to lower the weapon to reload/pump, and then notice i don't have the arm strength to haul the gun up to aim and shoot with speed...end up overcompensating with the body, and that's just bad form and probably an accident waiting to happen.

what's hilarious is i haul around a 30 lb kid no problem every day, and a 7 lb gun is getting the better of me. sigh.
 
If your purpose is a bush gun to defend against large predators, you will need at least a 20 gauge. (please no flame from the .410 and 28 gauge crowd) From the guns you have tried my opinion is that they are too large bore for where you at right now and the fit is not right. I think you are on the right track for a youth 20. I think that the suggestion to start or try shooting with an even smaller gauge is a good one. I would not buy one for this purpose as it is way less than ideal for large predators. Maybe one of your range friends has one that you could try? The remington youth 20 used to be called the 870 ladies and youth gun. The size should be closer to right for you and with proper fit and a minimum of instruction on proper gun mount you should be able to reach the forend slide easier. At first shoot it with target loads only. The little 20 with heavy field or bear loads will pack a wallop. Good Luck.
 
Bruising usually comes from being punched in the arm with the gun. If you lean a bit more into your stance your body weight should mitigate a lot of the recoil. Also make sure the drop in comb works for you as well, even a lop that fits would still smack you in the face good if you don't have good stock fit.
 
A Remington 1187 youth model in a 20 ga would be a great, reasonably sized, low-recoiling gun, though somewhat heavy for it's size, and they don't point too well because of their short barrel and relatively heavy weight. I'd second the Browning Micro BPS, also in a 20ga - somewhat bigger than a standard youth gun, and they seem to point well.

For a bit less money, a the Rem 870 youth, either in pink or not, is a pretty good choice. Make sure it's got a good pad, shoot light target loads for the most part, and recoil will be fine.

Claybuster said:
If that is out of the ball park then consider a Remington 1100 or 870 in 20 gauge with a 26" light contour barrel have the stock cut to the right length. One of the challenges however with a pump gun is the distance needed to reach forward to work the action. Shooters with short arms usually do better with a semi-auto or a breaking gun.
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With the new 870 youth guns, they've notched and extended the fore end so short armed people have an easier time.
 
I'd suggest you look at a used Remington 1100. There are tons of them out there and a huge supply of used stocks, barrels and parts. It is very important that you get a stock that fits you properly and there are lots of them around that have been cut down and have an adjustable comb on them. Make sure it has a high quality recoil pad, like a Kick-eez.

I prefer 12 gauge over 20 gauge, especially, if you plan to shoot some clay targets. You should be able to find some spare barrels, which you can use for your various activities.
 
Candychikita, I recently discovered a new Ithaca Gun Company advert on youtube.
In it the short of stature, lady shooter demonstrated her brand new M37 Ithaca shotgun can be ordered from the company with her own personal requirements for length of pull, drop at comb etc etc......
This is not a well known fact in the shotgun world. A call/email to Ithaca could confirm this, and if needed Clay from Prophet River is a recent importer of Ithaca shotguns.
Please keep in mind, some find M37s kick a bit too much. But a really good recoil pad could lessen this effect.
 
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