Shotgun Recommendations for 3Gun new, small shooter?

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TheNatural21

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My wife enjoyed the footage of the last 3 gun match I went to (not of me, but Adriel's helmet cam footage on YouTube) and said she'd be interested in trying it out. She's a proficient pistol shooter but doesn't shoot much rifle and doesn't own a shotgun. She's also recoil sensitive and short with short arms. Does anyone have a recommendation for a particularly soft shooting, but compact and light tactical style shotgun she might actually enjoy shooting? I'm thinking youth model 20ga pump, but I imagine a semi would be a little softer shooting.

She has shot my 12ga SXP, but the LOP was much too long for her and although she can handle the recoil a couple times, I can't imagine her putting a couple boxes of shells through it. She shoots long guns left handed (eye dominance thing) so bullpups are out too.
 
How much are you looking to spend? If she is recoil sensitive I would suggest a gas operated semi. The Remington Versa max does a pretty good job of this.
 
bWONGER said:
How much are you looking to spend? If she is recoil sensitive I would suggest a gas operated semi. The Remington Versa max does a pretty good job of this.
Click to expand...

I haven't set a hard budget. I'd like to keep costs down in case she never uses it, but if I thought she was more likely to enjoy using something more expensive and it would get her out more, I'd just save up a little longer.

I've heard the VersaMax does a good job of reducing the recoil impulse, but it doesn't seem to come in a very compact package. The competition/tactical models are the shortest ones I'm aware of, but they're still fullsize LOP, 12ga, and even the 22" barrel might be a little bit on the longer end of what I have in mind.

The Winchester SX4 has a compact (short LOP) 20ga model, but it's shortest barrel is 24" and it's more of a field style gun. I'm not sure how the SX4 performs either.

I guess another issue with the 20ga that I hadn't considered (besides availability) is availability of shell caddies... hmmmm
 
dusticles said:
The Beretta 1301 comes with a 13" LOP and includes spacers. Only downside, again, is shell caddies. There's Aridus or you go "stick on"
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Ooo I didn't realize the LOP was that short without the spacers. The tactical model with the 18.5" barrel would be quite a compact package. Again I think they're 12ga only, but still might be a good option. Thanks.
 
You should forget about 20 gauge.
Target/low recoil slug and buck will likely be much more difficult to find and the ammo is more expensive, shell caddies exist but will have little to no resale value should she not want to continue, and the recoil difference isn't really there given the same shell performance specs.

The versamax is a heavy gun so I personally wouldn't be looking at that as an option for her.

And the 1301 tactical will be a pain with the ghost ring sights. They are slow for action shooting.
Plus I believe it has a fixed choke so not at all ideal for the sport.

the 1301 comp with a 21" or 24" will be a light and fairly soft shooting gun that should be able to cycle lighter target loads.

As far as recoil, gun fit and teaching her the proper way to hold a gun is way more important than gas vs inertia and 12 vs 20.
There are plenty of examples of petite women competing in 3 gun and IPSC shotgun.
Learning how to (properly) shoot is key.

Newer shooters typically don't have a proper cheek weld, due to both technique and a improper fitting gun, and once they get smacked once or twice they start holding the gun further and further away from cheek and shoulder which compounds the issue.
By the end of the stage, they don't want to ever touch a shotgun again.
 
dusticles said:
The Beretta 1301 comes with a 13" LOP and includes spacers. Only downside, again, is shell caddies. There's Aridus or you go "stick on"
Click to expand...

Shell caddies as well as other products for the 1301Tac can be also purchased from Mesa Tactical.

Here, 2 pages of add ons. They also ship to Canada.

https ://www.mesatactical.com/brands/BERETTA.html


The 1301 GEN2 has removable chokes
 
Have the Versamax tactical and the Beretta 1301 comp. You really notice the recoil in the Beretta if you use a heavier round. You can buy stocks for the Remington with shorter trigger pull but they have a pistol grip
 
Good points on the 1301 Tactical. I think she could live with the sights (similar to things she's used on rifles so probably would appreciate the familiarity), but the fixed choke is a deal breaker. I didn't realize the 1301 Comp model had a 21" barrel option either, that'd be the way to go if we decided on a 1301. Hearing that it has a heavier recoil impulse than some others is a bit of a turn off though.. I understand the thinking that it'd be fine once she gets used to it, but I can imagine her not having fun getting used to it and bailing on the whole idea.

The versamax seems to be the recoil-reducing champ (based on things I read on the internet) but it doesn't come in an appropriate configuration. What do you think about one of the Turknelli's that use the same gas system, with a field stock mounted? Back to ghost ring sights, but I don't think that's a deal breaker. I'm not sure if a short LOP stock is available for them, but I'd feel better cutting down a Turknelli than a VersaMax, etc.

If I did end up going 20ga, I'd probably start reloading for it. I load all my rifle and have recently started loading my pistol rounds already. Never bothered with shotshells because the 12ga stuff is pretty easy to find and inexpensive, but I'd start if I had a reason to.
 
I run a 1301 Tactical GEN2 with 1 arm, I have no issues with the so called "recoil" you 2 handed guys are talking about. I also have no interest in a company that can't get their house in order.

https: //www.cbsnews.com/news/remington-arms-bankruptcy-chapter-11-second-time/

Recoil, Lol.
[youtube]Z522Qe-4lQw[/youtube]
 
pauls said:
And the 1301 tactical will be a pain with the ghost ring sights. They are slow for action shooting.
Plus I believe it has a fixed choke so not at all ideal for the sport.
Click to expand...

Gen 1 had fixed choke, Gen 2 are all threaded for Optima HP chokes.


1ABNDT said:
Shell caddies as well as other products for the 1301Tac can be also purchased from Mesa Tactical.

Here, 2 pages of add ons. They also ship to Canada.

https ://www.mesatactical.com/brands/BERETTA.html
Click to expand...

Forgot about them! I had taken them off my want list because they only sell carriers with the rail attached, I'm guessing it's how they mount.
 
If LOP is a major concern, you can always get an Urbino stock since it decreases LOP to 12.5" for whatever gun you end up with.
For recoil, get the Urbino with the Limbsaver butt pad.

I've been researching the heck out of the Beretta 1301 Tactical Gen 2 and it appears that the Beretta Kick-Off® SYSTEM Xtrema II / 1301 #C87927 can be added to the factory stock for best recoil mitigation. It does however add 1/2" to LOP.
 
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kekservative said:
I mean training, not actual matches.
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Anywhere you can shoot! Unfortunately that's the range for pistol, but there's a lot of crown land out there to shoot some shotgun and rifle (if you run a NR rifle that is). At least, there's a lot of crown land around here... maybe not in Oakville?
sixty9santa said:
If LOP is a major concern, you can always get an Urbino stock since it decreases LOP to 12.5" for whatever gun you end up with.
For recoil, get the Urbino with the Limbsaver butt pad.

I've been researching the heck out of the Beretta 1301 Tactical Gen 2 and it appears that the Beretta Kick-Off® SYSTEM Xtrema II / 1301 #C87927 can be added to the factory stock for best recoil mitigation. It does however add 1/2" to LOP.
Click to expand...
I dislike pistol grips on shotguns, but I could check how my wife feels about them. That would certainly solve the LOP issue
 
TheNatural21 said:
Anywhere you can shoot! Unfortunately that's the range for pistol, but there's a lot of crown land out there to shoot some shotgun and rifle (if you run a NR rifle that is). At least, there's a lot of crown land around here... maybe not in Oakville?

I dislike pistol grips on shotguns, but I could check how my wife feels about them. That would certainly solve the LOP issue
Click to expand...

Here check this out from MT, I use this setup on my 1301.


https ://www.mesatactical.com/products/leo-telescoping-hydraulic-recoil-stock-kit-for-beretta-1301-12-ga.html

Lucy is the CS rep at MT I spoke with and purchased the kit, she was also kind 3nough to give me a discount because of the Presidents Day Holiday.
[youtube]5-WLuXe9Zk0[/youtube]

They can also be purchased through, https://tacord.com/

[youtube]eJJf8biPCgU[/youtube]

[youtube]H5Q9QZBWyuw[/youtube]
 
1ABNDT said:
Here check this out from MT, I use this setup on my 1301.


https ://www.mesatactical.com/products/leo-telescoping-hydraulic-recoil-stock-kit-for-beretta-1301-12-ga.html

Lucy is the CS rep at MT I spoke with and purchased the kit, she was also kind 3nough to give me a discount because of the Presidents Day Holiday.
[youtube]5-WLuXe9Zk0[/youtube]

They can also be purchased through, https://tacord.com/

[youtube]eJJf8biPCgU[/youtube]

[youtube]H5Q9QZBWyuw[/youtube]
Click to expand...

That looks like a great solution! I think it's much worse looking than the field stock and I don't think I'd like the pistol grip myself... But it solves a lot of problems for my wife so it just may be the ticket! Thanks!
 
TheNatural21 said:
That looks like a great solution! I think it's much worse looking than the field stock and I don't think I'd like the pistol grip myself... But it solves a lot of problems for my wife so it just may be the ticket! Thanks!
Click to expand...

Here is another way you can go;

htt ps://berettaforum.net/vb/showthread.php?t=143328&page=2 Post #15

Knowing how close the recoil it is between the two, I decided to put that A400 KickOff stock on the 1301. WOW what a difference. I went to the range expecting to only shoot about ten rounds. I wound up finishing off the box and then shooting a box of rifled slugs the next day. I couldn't even tell that I had shot it later or the next day, unlike previously.

When I put the KickOff stock on, I opted to use a MicroCore butt pad as well. The whole setup added a whopping ¼" to the LoP and overall length of the 1301 (not including butt pad). As I've mentioned elsewhere, after my first outing with the 1301 Tactical, I was sure that I was going to add the small spacer to the stock because the LoP was just about that much shorter than I would like as a minimum. The KickOff stock and MicroCore almost equal that exactly.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vs4F4v9GyYAxXjFttOWe8fSlx5HvxIek/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vt5Ol5JJJHCW3FucH37Tn94rWLjsLYgb/view?usp=drivesdk
 
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