So I am looking for a shotgun for my wife, I don’t know ANYTHING about shotguns. she is 5’2” about 115 lbs. she doesn’t mind recoil but she often has a hard time with LOP. Even my win 94 is a bit long for her. We will be going to look at some here this week but just curious what models we should have her shouldering? We will be shopping in Calgary. Thanks in advance.
Shotgun for wife
- Thread starter Hmatt
- Start date
Do yourself a favor, and head out to Silver Willow Sporting clays, and have Don or Josh help to find a shotgun that fits her properly. There are youth/ladies .models built with shorter LOP, but drop at comb is just as important and cast can also be an issue. Most clerks at gun counters have no real understanding of these things, but competitive shooters are very familiar with them, and Don and Josh at Silver Willow are very knowledgeable.
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My wife is 5’2” and she’s trained up on the Remington 870 Police with a magpul stock.
She doesn’t really enjoy shooting but greatly enjoyed the administrative drills of making it safe, making it patrol ready, loading, and unloading. We used the inert orange training rounds.
She doesn’t really enjoy shooting but greatly enjoyed the administrative drills of making it safe, making it patrol ready, loading, and unloading. We used the inert orange training rounds.
Get her a Beretta 1301 T mod 2...when she doesn't like it, acquire it as your own, and thank me later.
Thank you for the response. That’s a fantastic idea. General purpose, migratory birds. We don’t shoot a lot of skeet or trap but if it’s something she ends up enjoying it could become a regular activity.
sillymike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
What he says... Use and budget will influence the recommandations.
Fit is important, and something she likes...
Regardless of the use, when wingshooting, you don't use any sights, you concentrate on the target, so the shotgun has to be pointing where you are looking. For that reason, drop at comb and cast are very important. If you try to line up beads as sights while wingshooting, the results will suffer.
Stubblejumper, I totally agree. Just keep in mind that shotguns are sometimes used for other activities than wingshooting. And the intended purpose is important .... a turkey or a deer shotgun is a completely different set up.
Another example, when shooting clays or for migratory birds .... a heavy gun is not an issue and will help with recoil and the many rounds fired. However, I would not want to carry such a "heavy" gun all day long while walking trails and hunting upland game ....
Sorry Lastgun ... I can't concentrate on the shotguns .... I am only seeing this big big pile of antlers ....
A gas semiauto spreads out the recoil making it less offensive even with waterfowl loads which tend to be stiffer than typical target loads plus some of the semiautos come with shims to adjust comb height which is a handy thing to have. As for length of pull a stock can be shortened and fitted with a good recoil pad by any competent gunsmith or even talented amateur. I'm built like a hobbit so I've had guns shortened or shortened them myself for correct fit.
Regardless of application , a shotgun that fits the shooter is a huge advantage. Far too many people buy shotguns based on price, or appearance, or brand name, and end up with a shotgun that doesn't fit them. A shotgun that doesn't fit the shooter, is a huge handicap for wingshooting of any kind.
If you want an all purpose shotgun I would suggest a 12,gauge field gun in semi auto
Something like a beretta a-400 or a Remington 1100
She will feel less felt recoil with the semi and a field gun will allow her to hunt with plus shoot at clays if she wants
There are better guns to suit each application, ie a beretta 1301 tactical would be good for home defense and range blasting but not that great for hunting birds or shooting clays because of the ghost ring sights
Where as a Browning bt-99 would be good for trap and possibly bird hunting but not very good for anything else
Something like a beretta a-400 or a Remington 1100
She will feel less felt recoil with the semi and a field gun will allow her to hunt with plus shoot at clays if she wants
There are better guns to suit each application, ie a beretta 1301 tactical would be good for home defense and range blasting but not that great for hunting birds or shooting clays because of the ghost ring sights
Where as a Browning bt-99 would be good for trap and possibly bird hunting but not very good for anything else
As mentioned fit is the most important thing.
I picked up a Mossberg SA28 in 28 gauge for my son that is fairly small still, my neighbors wife fried it out when our families were out shooting, she would be somewhat similar size to your wife and did pretty well with it. Again, it is very individual for fit.
I am having a harder time finding waterfowl ammo for the 28, but I should have enough for at least this year.
I picked up a Mossberg SA28 in 28 gauge for my son that is fairly small still, my neighbors wife fried it out when our families were out shooting, she would be somewhat similar size to your wife and did pretty well with it. Again, it is very individual for fit.
I am having a harder time finding waterfowl ammo for the 28, but I should have enough for at least this year.
We don't duck hunt, but we do a lot of partridge hunting. My wife really likes the 410, the first one I got here was a Mossberg 500, nice small gun, fairly short LOP. Then I found here a Canuck O/U 410 on sale, and that is her favourite gun now. She's not recoil shy, her moose gun is a Tikka Battue in 308, she could easily handle a 20 gauge, but we do a lot of walking, so the light weight 410 fits the bill.
