Trap (and upland game bird possibly) gun for my wife

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grimblyd

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Meridian Beach, Gull Lake Alberta
So my wife and I have been shooting trap and we really love it. She's been using my Mossberg 500 pump shotgun, but as she is 5'1" and weighs about 115 lb, it's been a bit of a struggle for her. one of the fellows at the trap shoot brought his 20g Wingmaster and a couple boxes of shells, so now I have to track down a 20g that will work for her...

She wants to keep the cost down, so looking at a wingmaster or possibly a Mossberg. Targeting the $300-$500 price range.

I THINK what we want is a 20g with a youth stock, and a 26 or 28" bbl with adjustable chokes. There are plenty of options in a 22" bbl but

She's vetoed 'pink camo or pink' guns as she feels people won't take her serious if she shows up with that. I personally thought it would be hilarious, but I don't want to do anything to discourage her from joining me in shooting sports.

So my questions for you folks are

Is the above (in italics) the right choice? She wants it for shooting trap, I want her to also have something that she could later transition in to hunting game birds with me using the same shotgun.

If it is the right choice, I'm thinking that I would hunt down a wingmaster or Mossberg 20g then special order a youth stock. Or is having a gunsmith just cut down the stock on it an option we should consider?

Thanks in advance for your input!

PS: going to cross post this in trap/skeet/etc just in case some folks don't visit this forum, but might have some interesting input on how they set things up for their wives.

Dan
 
To my thinking anyway, dedicated trap guns and dedicated upland guns are very different from each other. But if you have to compromise, a 20 ga. Wingmaster will do the job well. My daughters were able to shoot trap (recreationally, not competitively) quite well with a Youth model 11-87 and 21" barrel. It balances well.

If you just cut down the tock and leave the 26" barrel, it will feel muzzle-heavy. Something you're NOT wanting in a fast-handling gun you have to carry a lot.
 
My wife is 5'1" and 115 pounds also... I bought a used Rem 1100 20 gauge and took 1 1/4" off the buttstock... the gun has a 26" skeet barrel... it fits her perfectly and easily doubles as an upland gun.

EDIT - The used 1100 was purchased for $260... I did the chop and grind myself, and the 1100 is very soft recoiling... not a heavy gun either.
 
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hoytcanon said:
My wife is 5'1" and 115 pounds also... I bought a used Rem 1100 20 gauge and took 1 1/4" off the buttstock... the gun has a 26" skeet barrel... it fits her perfectly and easily doubles as an upland gun.
Click to expand...

x2, this turkish semi is just not worth all the problems that will crop up with this choice
 
hoytcanon said:
My wife is 5'1" and 115 pounds also... I bought a used Rem 1100 20 gauge and took 1 1/4" off the buttstock... the gun has a 26" skeet barrel... it fits her perfectly and easily doubles as an upland gun.
Click to expand...

X3. We bought a 20g citori micro-Midas youth for my wife who is the same dimension. It's a great size for her, and she can handle it easily. Only downside is the light weight kicks her almost, or as, hard as my 12g trap XT. The 1100 will help with that.

Glad you guys have found a sport you enjoy together!!! I just wish my wife hit more clays so she didn't get so frustrated.....
 
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grimblyd said:
So my wife and I have been shooting trap and we really love it. She's been using my Mossberg 500 pump shotgun, but as she is 5'1" and weighs about 115 lb, it's been a bit of a struggle for her. one of the fellows at the trap shoot brought his 20g Wingmaster and a couple boxes of shells, so now I have to track down a 20g that will work for her...

She wants to keep the cost down, so looking at a wingmaster or possibly a Mossberg. Targeting the $300-$500 price range.

I THINK what we want is a 20g with a youth stock, and a 26 or 28" bbl with adjustable chokes. There are plenty of options in a 22" bbl but

She's vetoed 'pink camo or pink' guns as she feels people won't take her serious if she shows up with that. I personally thought it would be hilarious, but I don't want to do anything to discourage her from joining me in shooting sports.

So my questions for you folks are

Is the above (in italics) the right choice? She wants it for shooting trap, I want her to also have something that she could later transition in to hunting game birds with me using the same shotgun.

If it is the right choice, I'm thinking that I would hunt down a wingmaster or Mossberg 20g then special order a youth stock. Or is having a gunsmith just cut down the stock on it an option we should consider?

Thanks in advance for your input!

PS: going to cross post this in trap/skeet/etc just in case some folks don't visit this forum, but might have some interesting input on how they set things up for their wives.

Dan
Click to expand...
Did she shoot the 20 gauge Wingmaster that the other guy brought out to the club? Did she like it compared to other guns she's fired? If the answer is yes to both questions that is what you should get even though other guns are being suggested. Otherwise you may find yourself in a position of saying "Yeah, well I know you liked that one but someone on Gunnutz said you should have this one."

There are pluses and minuses to cutting the stock vs. buying a youth stock. A wood youth stock isn't common and are most often black or camo synthetic. The gun will look odd with a wood forend and black plastic stock. Your wife with either have to live with it or you can replace the forend which on an 870 is best done with a special tool.

The aftermarket youth stock however is a better idea if you intend to sell the gun at some point as a shotgun that is cut down is a harder sell. The cost of cutting vs. aftermarket won't be that great as you'll have to pay gunsmithing fees plus probably buy a new recoil pad. It would be much easier to sell the gun with the stock at the original length and then sell the youth stock separately.
 
Claybuster said:
Did she shoot the 20 gauge Wingmaster that the other guy brought out to the club? Did she like it compared to other guns she's fired? If the answer is yes to both questions that is what you should get even though other guns are being suggested. Otherwise you may find yourself in a position of saying "Yeah, well I know you liked that one but someone on Gunnutz said you should have this one."

There are pluses and minuses to cutting the stock vs. buying a youth stock. A wood youth stock isn't common and are most often black or camo synthetic. The gun will look odd with a wood forend and black plastic stock. Your wife with either have to live with it or you can replace the forend which on an 870 is best done with a special tool.

The aftermarket youth stock however is a better idea if you intend to sell the gun at some point as a shotgun that is cut down is a harder sell. The cost of cutting vs. aftermarket won't be that great as you'll have to pay gunsmithing fees plus probably buy a new recoil pad. It would be much easier to sell the gun with the stock at the original length and then sell the youth stock separately.
Click to expand...

Good advice on getting her to buy into the decision...if you're thinking strongly about going a route different from the 20 gauge it would be great to get her to try it before committing.

Re the,stock comments - prior to getting her current gun (dt11) she had a browning cynergy synthetic sporting. We changed out the stock to a wooden one with an adjustable comb and pad...it was totally mismatched. She nicknamed it her "zebra" and flouted it off as a badge of honour. Helps her psyche a lot in that she crushed birds with it...:) Even though her current setup is much nicer and fits better, to this day she kinda misses her zebra.

Cheers,

Brobee
 
Brobee said:
Good advice on getting her to buy into the decision...if you're thinking strongly about going a route different from the 20 gauge it would be great to get her to try it before committing.

Re the,stock comments - prior to getting her current gun (dt11) she had a browning cynergy synthetic sporting. We changed out the stock to a wooden one with an adjustable comb and pad...it was totally mismatched. She nicknamed it her "zebra" and flouted it off as a badge of honour. Helps her psyche a lot in that she crushed birds with it...:) Even though her current setup is much nicer and fits better, to this day she kinda misses her zebra.

Cheers,

Brobee
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I shot a PFS stock for a year so I obviously don't care what the gun looks like as long as it breaks targets. ;)

It's always good to try it before you buy it if possible. Beretta is doing very well in Ontario with its program of getting demo guns into circulation. I've had the chance to shoot much of their current line and ended up with a DT11 after a side-by-side comparison with my P-gun.
 
Claybuster said:
I shot a PFS stock for a year so I obviously don't care what the gun looks like as long as it breaks targets. ;)

It's always good to try it before you buy it if possible. Beretta is doing very well in Ontario with its program of getting demo guns into circulation. I've had the chance to shoot much of their current line and ended up with a DT11 after a side-by-side comparison with my P-gun.
Click to expand...
Terry Fox stock.

Beretta is selling a lot of guns around my area as well with demos to try out.
 
My wife has a 20g Weatherby SA-08 in pink camo (it was the only semi-auto available locally that fit her). Nobody at our range has ever mentioned the colour pattern, they're just happy to see people come out and shoot!
 
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