Shotgun recommendation for girlfriend shooting clays

HuskyDude;[URL="tel:18720825" said:
18720825[/URL]]I must apologized for anyone that took "Daughter is getting into clay, Likes the 12 ga. but is a bit much, absolutely love the .410.
As my Daughter competes and gets 25/25 all day long competing at 16, 20 and 50 yds with her .410

Wow!

OP original post


At no time does he say she is going to competing either! Just likes shooting at clay pigeons.

You guys are reading way too much into his post.

:cheers:
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Your club has a 50 yard line on their trap field? :sok2

I thought I did alright last summer when I was in a 4 way shoot-off for 5th place at the Canadian Trap Championships with 96x100 from 25.0 which I captured in two rounds with 25-24 earning a 1/2 yd punch in the process using a 12ga with 1oz #7.5's...clearly I'm going to need to step up my game if I'm going to be able to earn another 24.5 yds to make it to the imaginary 50 line. I say imaginary as ATA ends at the 27....maybe your club is onto something having a 50 yard line? Would be alot fewer shoot-offs in handicap from there I suspect and what a goal to shoot for!!
 
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stubblejumper said:
This is the Skeet/Trap/Sporting Clays forum, not the shooting at hand thrown clays, or thrown with a do it yourself thrower clays in the back 40. Skeet/Trap/Sporting clays are specific games, and the 410 is a poor choice to start a beginner in any of them.
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Ya...maybe you should have led with that in post #2 and shown your true colour.

May your glass always be half full....
 
HuskyDude;[URL="tel:18721201" said:
18721201[/URL]]Ya...maybe you should have led with that in post #2 and shown your true colour.

May your glass always be half full....
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In all fairness you are the one snickering at those who are offering good advice about a gun for getting into the clays games. Handthrown or back 40 informal clays with a launcher at your feet is not one of the clays games and not a challenge to most shooters and especially those who are good shooters in actual clays disciplines so to snicker in ignorance or arrogance at those who actually know the difference and are trying to help those who want to learn and are seeking advice to point them in the right direction is telling on you and your lack of knowledge about them.
 
When I'm taking out a female who wants to shoot clays my go-to gun is a Beretta 391 semi-auto in 20 gauge. If shopping for a new gun it would be an A400 in the same gauge. No pump guns or .410.
 
Arietta said:
When I'm taking out a female who wants to shoot clays my go-to gun is a Beretta 391 semi-auto in 20 gauge. If shopping for a new gun it would be an A400 in the same gauge. No pump guns or .410.
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I shoot a model 42 once and a while far from ideal and I am a good but not great shot and most times can score at the 16 yard line in the mid to thigh teens with a 410. Not the ideal gauge but if you get on them early right out of the house they break . 11/16 oz #8 . And as for pump gun my model 12 trap is my go straight gun . Some shooters can take the fun out of the game that's why I don't compete anymore lots of money for not so much fun . Field clays can be fun and a challenge if set up properly with a electric wobble trap we do it at the farm with a cookout and friends . Shoot what you have fun with and shoot what you like .
 
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HuskyDude said:
Ya...maybe you should have led with that in post #2 and shown your true colour.

May your glass always be half full....
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Don't shoot the messenger Husky. The thread went surprisingly long before someone laid down the truth. Single shot Cooey's, .410s, 50yd lines, bolt-action shotguns??

Lots of experienced clay-target shooters had those comments in their sights..Stubblejumper is just saying what likely a few dozen members were already thinking.
 
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smally21 said:
Don't shoot the messenger Husky. The thread went surprisingly long before someone laid down the truth. Single shot Cooey's, .410s, 50yd lines, bolt-action shotguns??

Lots of experienced clay-target shooters had those comments in their sights..Stubblejumper is just saying what likely a few dozen members were already thinking.
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And I didn't event mention the attitude, he was displaying, but the spank did.:)
 
Wow! You guys need a reality check.
Talk about arrogance.

How the F to you get "arrogance" out of... Showed my daughter the last few post this morning.... she just looked at me a smiled...made me smile too.

The post were

-.410 is a total waste shooting trap in fact

-known as the "idiot stick" at the local shotgun range.

Don't care what you say or think...both statement made me smile.

So fly at er, keep em coming...

Ya that's right "I" have attitude...

How sad...
 
Old trap shooters tend to become combative with time lots of shells spent over the years of competing tends to shake up the brain. If you have ever shot a round with these hardheads even to blink is a no no . The shooting sports is hurting now days because of this mindset , clays ,bullseye , action sports and the list goes on . Everyone is entitled to a opinion and a opinion is not a fact just a opinion . The game is about FUN nothing more. Have at it I am made out of Teflon.
 
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Don't Take it personally HD but most of us have watched many times newbies coming to our clubs with "shotguns" and wondering why they can't hit anything or what there doing wrong.Just happened last week young fellow shows up wanting to shoot his "tacticaL" but we have a rule nothing less than 24" barrels.Took him over to the patterning board (which you are allowed) and he shot a few rounds into it make sure it worked.Then he sat and watched a few squads go out for singles and said to me how can I DO THAT.Try my trap gun I said ( not my ASE ) let him use my model 12 and he hit 17.Hook set ,lol tactical on the backburner and long gun taking its place.We all see this and from your initial post could not help ourself to trying to assist have a great day RD
 
I'm in a similar situation. All my guns don't suit my GF. And she is loving everything I hand her. Rifles are one thing, but shotguns point and don't aim so now I'm in uncharted territory. I grew up shooting what dad had so I've adapted my technique I guess. Having watched lots of YouTube and doing other research I've realized my technique/mount is as just as wrong as her's when I'm looking in a mirror.

From this information I've drawn 2 conclusions:

1: a shot gun doesn't have to fit to be a hunter/competitor if you are casual and can shrug off a miss or some pain as "typical"
2: it's damn important if you want to not scare off your son/daughter/spouse/pastor from returning to the sport

So my recommendation is this: Find a clay competition in your area that has some female competitors, introduce her to them, and be ready to spend $2500 to make her happy.
Unfortunately I'm 6,0" 205LB... I can buy any shotgun I want for 45 cents and shoot trap until JT says its scary; however, my GF is 5'8" 160LBS and cant shoulder my 8+LBS doubles with full power 3" steel loads.

My GF just signed up for her PAL and I'm buying her an O/U for graduation (don't tell her its a surprise). Luckily I have the means to do major modifications to it. However it will resemble a Syren Tempio Field (at least in dimensions) when I'm done.

One other thing I can tell you about reading about female shotgun shooting is don't fall into the 20/12 gauge trap. From what I've read, they prefer the 12 because the weight actually helps the recoil. Worst case load her some 12ga 7/8oz loads.

You love her, let her tell you what she wants you to buy her, engagement ring, or scatter gun, she deserves the best you can put in her hands.

Edit: I've taken a bit more of look through the thread and it looks like you don't want to drop a lot of cash. You have to consider who the typical off the shelf shotty is marketed towards. She's not the average right handed white male. So if she's dyeing to shoot, hand her one of your shotguns. Do your best to raise the comb and teach her about proper "tight" shoudering. Make sure she is aware that it might be uncomfortable but that is because it's wrong for her. I think if she is reasonable she'll understand that it only gets better from here (because you are going to spoil her with the perfect treat :). This doesn't trump letting her talk to other females about their experiences. They have a lot more learning curve than we have lets just face that right now.

I remember the first time i shouldered a 12ga... it was a 3" steel HV shell in a cooey single with a 2.75" chamber. I was assured it was no problem shooting that pigeon in dad's hay barn. I swore I'd never do it again, but here I am 20 years later, teaching my GF to accept recoil as part of life. It could just be that some people enjoy it and some don't too.
 
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My old lady shoots my mavrick 88 all purpose 12 gague no problems. Its a bit big with the 28 inch barrel but she has no problems and for 300$ its a awesome gun
 
Any of the beretta line up is a good start. Mine has zero issue shooting the 1301 tactical, You could go with the 1301 comp /1301 comp pro for clays. The kick off system can be added for further recoil reduction as well.
 
My daughter shoots BT99 and borrowed a 725 for her first round of doubles. She did pretty good. Other women trap shooters at our club shoot Beretta 692, Remington 870 and Ceasar Guerini Syren among others. Don't worry so much about the recoil. My daughter said that once she learned how to hold the gun properly, she hardly notices the recoil.
 
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