Shot Gun for My Petite Wife

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Iron Glove

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No, I'm not offering to trade her for a shotgun, might consider an nice 30-06 tho. :D
Much to my suprise and delight, wifey wants to hunt with me. :dancingbanana:
She's primarily interested in birds - grouse, ducks and the like. Maybe a wabbit. She has never hunted anything before.
The difficulty is that she is quite petite, she only stands 5 ft. tall if she stands on something.
I'm thinking a 20 guage might be best for her as an all around gun. I'll also pick her up a kids 22 for general fun, plinking and grouse.
Any suggestions in a youth sized shottie ??
Thanks.
 
Get the lightest youth-sized 20 ga. gas gun you can find.

Women don't have the arm strength that we take for granted.

The youth-sized gun will have a shorter length of pull AND a shorter barrel to reduce weight and keep the gun balanced.

20 ga. keeps the recoil low but can be used for ducks & upland no problem.

A gas gun absorbs a lot of recoil that a light gun would otherwise inflict on a shooter.
 
Try a Remington 11-87 youth in 20 gauge. The semi-auto action combined with a 20 gauge chambering, should make this a soft shooting firearm. It comes in 12 gauge also if wanted.

http://w w w.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model_11-87/model_11-87_sportsman.asp
 
I have tried a few with my wife 1100 20G youth, Baikal O/U 20 (cut to fit but a tad heavy) a 20 G Citori, there were others, I can't remember what. She loves her Baikal O/U. Personally I thought she would be better with the Remington.

If ducks were not on the list, I would suggest a 28G, but 20 is fine and with ducks in close you can get 3/4oz loads.
 
My wife doesn't mind shooting a 20 guage but after trying out a handful of shotguns at our local range she bought a Mossburg 835 camo turkey/slug combo 12 guage. She is 5' 2" and a little over a 100 lbs (getting in trouble now). We put a ported external choke on it and she prefers it over the 20 guage.

For your wife a 20 guage should be pleasant enough to shoot, and be a good overall shotgun. If you have a local trap/skeet range nearby I would first recommend that you go and get your wife to try a few peoples shotguns out. That is what I did for my wife. Our club members all gladly let her try their firearms (a fair number of female shooters). A little after she bought the Mossburg she shot a guys Benelli and guess what ...she bought a Benelli Super Black Eagle (12 ga). But guess who has to buy the shotshells. Hope this helps. Good hunting.
 
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Lady Shottie

Iron
I highly recomend the Browning gold micro its a lady/youth model 20ga gas operated semi. My wife likes hers and she is 5'3'' and can handle 100 target sporting clays course with no problem. I would recomend a 28ga first if it wasn't for the duck hunting, my wife shot my 28 and has now bought a Beretta silver pigeon 5 o/u as an upland/clays gun. She has expensive taste, I am now dreding the thought of cutting the stock to fit her(grade 5 walnut is real nice). My only advice is spend the money on a suitable gun that makes her enjoy shooting and hunting, remember the physical size and strength differences and most importantly recoil effects of being 100lbs. If shooting is fun and she is reasonably sucessfull she will be hooked forever. I wish you were about 3500miles closer and I your lady could shoot with my wife and try the browning out. Best of Luck.
 
If your going after grouse, upland birds or rabbits than I would recommend a NEF 20ga single shot with a shell carrier. Very easy to carry, easy point and aim, low maintenance, easy operation, short LOP. I'm 5'6 and this thing is a hoot to shoot, and has taken a lot of game. The only thing that you may want to replace is the butt plate and swap it for a recoil pad.

Good luck.
 
A good choice would be in my opinion a Franchi 48 AL 28 gauge autoloader.The 28 gauge hits like a 20 gauge but has the recoil of a .410.The 28 gauge Franchi 48 AL is light about 5 1/2 pounds and light recoil.
 
My mom is about 5'3" 110 pounds (still don't know how she gave birth to two boys 6'5" and 6'6" over 250lbs). Anyway my dad bought her a Remington .410 back in the day. It seems about the right size.
 
Hey, slightly OT, but curious, my daughter (12) has expressed some interest in accompanying me hunting ducks, I was thinking .410, but would this 20ga youth model apply to her too?
 
echo4lima said:
Hey, slightly OT, but curious, my daughter (12) has expressed some interest in accompanying me hunting ducks, I was thinking .410, but would this 20ga youth model apply to her too?
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My own opinion would be 28 to start her out. 20 may hit her a little on the hard side and discourage her from taking an interest.

FWIW..................

Dad can let her shoot first and "cover" her shots.
 
A are club the kids use a 11-87 20 guage youth and it works great for them many of the kids are smaller than you describe your wife. unless you reload the 28guage is pricey for ammo and 410 is very limited.
 
28 gauge said:
Echo4lima, Max Owner giving great advice.The 28 gauge is a much better choice.
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In this situation the 28 gauge, a particular favourite of mine, is not a better choice if she intends to shoot waterfowl. I have never seen 28 gauge non-toxic in Canada. Even standard 28 gauge can be hard to find and it's expensive when you do unless you reload.

The right choice is a 20 gauge semi-automatic, a Remington 1100 or Beretta 391 in one of the reduced length/youth versions or the Browning Micro mentioned above.

28 gauge, you don't need to convince me of the delights of the 28 gauge. I've owned a bunch of them, two of my 6 shotguns and my only subgauges are 28s. But I think we do a real disservice recommending it when it isn't suitable for the purposes.
 
My thinking was to get her started and interested. In a few years, get a 20.

In my case, just another reason (excuse) to buy another gun.

His daughter won't shoot allot of 28 ga. And with cross Canada access, 28 ga shells can be located. Expensive, but Echo4lima will value the time spent for years.

Sounds like a Visa commercial...................:confused:
 
Claybuster said:
In this situation the 28 gauge, a particular favourite of mine, is not a better choice if she intends to shoot waterfowl. I have never seen 28 gauge non-toxic in Canada. Even standard 28 gauge can be hard to find and it's expensive when you do unless you reload.
Click to expand...

Valid point. If memory serves, the only one time I spotted a few boxes of non-tox 28ga #6 load at Le Baron....believe English make and each marked for $35/box.
 
Max Owner said:
My thinking was to get her started and interested. In a few years, get a 20.
Click to expand...
The 28 gauge is a good choice to start. I have a Remington 1100 28 gauge skeet that I use to instruct when teaching women and young people. If the 28 gauge is used for clays, upland hunting and small game it's an excellent choice.

But having introduced a few women to the shooting sports I'm coming to the view that recoil isn't the problem we or they imagine it to be. Getting a new shooter over the recoil concern is where the 28 gauge shines. Once they are taught the proper stance, gun hold and get over the fear of the gun then moving them up to larger gauges isn't a problem. Going from a 28 gauge to a 20 autoloader isn't that big a leap and usually can be done in the same day.

The challenge with women shooters is more often gun fit, the noise and holding up the front end of the gun.
 
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