Trap shotgun for my wife

D

DangerPigg

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Hi all,

My wife has decided to try her hand at trap (potentially skeet too down the road) after trying a few rounds at the club.

We’re on the hunt for a shotgun for her, however due to her small size and fairly long neck getting a good fit off the shelf has proven difficult. Factor in too she’s reluctant to spend too much on her first shotgun.

I’ve been looking at the EE for a while based on the below criteria (hers, not mine):

* must be O/U
* must have adjustable comb (adjustable LOP a bonus)
* budget of $2000-ish

I haven’t had any luck yet, and am thinking perhaps buying without the adjustable comb (have seen a few B guns within budget) and getting that fitted locally. Firstly, is this a good approach, and secondly what sort of ballpark figure would I be looking at to get an adjustable comb installed?

If that doesn’t make sense, I’ll just have to let her know she’ll need to up her budget and we will purchase next year instead; she’ll just be disappointed as she wants to get into it as soon as possible- adjustable comb shotguns seem to start at $3-3.5k broadly speaking from what I’ve seen

Thanks!
D
 
If she is small then she will have to get the stock shortened anyway so why not buy an inexpensive used field gun and spend 500-1000 getting the stock shortened and an adjustable comb installed. Or buy a new Churchill or similar Turkish gun just to get a feel for it. You can pick on of those up for under 1000.00. Stoeger Competition comes to mind too.
 
First ask around at the trap club, I'm sure people there have dealt with this before and know who/where to go. And there may be someone with a gun already set up and for sale.
 
Buy a shotgun that 'she' likes and one that fits 'her'. A good place to look is at your local gun shows. Most shows have hundreds of new and used shotguns that you and her can pick up, handle, point at the light fixtures and get a good feel for.
Example: I recently found a nice used quality O/U at a gun show that has cast on; exactly what I was looking for as a left handed shooter.......and the owner/seller didn't even realize it was a left handed gun. Made my day.....Good luck with your search and happy clay bustin.
 
Willy Tincup said:
Buy a shotgun that 'she' likes and one that fits 'her'. A good place to look is at your local gun shows. Most shows have hundreds of new and used shotguns that you and her can pick up, handle, point at the light fixtures and get a good feel for.
Example: I recently found a nice used quality O/U at a gun show that has cast on; exactly what I was looking for as a left handed shooter.......and the owner/seller didn't even realize it was a left handed gun. Made my day.....Good luck with your search and happy clay bustin.
Click to expand...

+1

what brand and model for the left cast?
 
When I shot trap, probably only the bottom half of the butt pad was against my shoulder. She should try holding the gun higher on her shoulder to get a good cheek weld to the stock if her neck is that long.

Having adjustable comb is good, never seen an adjustable LOP except for the precision fit stocks.

I would lean toward an older BT99. You can get one for about $7-800 and yes I know it is single shot - not sure why she want OU unless it is to shoot doubles - but you sure don't want to shoot skeet with a trap gun, its a heck of a lot easier to swing a short barrel at doubles skeet than a 32 in trap gun. Or older Citori that you can shorten the stock on if necessary. And if she wants to try skeet with it well at least it has 2 barrels.
 
Bigbubba said:
When I shot trap, probably only the bottom half of the butt pad was against my shoulder. She should try holding the gun higher on her shoulder to get a good cheek weld to the stock if her neck is that long.

Having adjustable comb is good, never seen an adjustable LOP except for the precision fit stocks.

I would lean toward an older BT99. You can get one for about $7-800 and yes I know it is single shot - not sure why she want OU unless it is to shoot doubles - but you sure don't want to shoot skeet with a trap gun, its a heck of a lot easier to swing a short barrel at doubles skeet than a 32 in trap gun. Or older Citori that you can shorten the stock on if necessary. And if she wants to try skeet with it well at least it has 2 barrels.
Click to expand...

Simply shortening the stock and adding a Gracoil butt plate provides an adjustable LOP.

436602.jpg
 
Hi D. I have given up Trap shooting due to failing health so I would be happy to sell you my. Citori O/U, 12 ga, fitted with an adjustable stock and a high rise comb. It is in very good condition and has been very well looked after. Also included is a Browning hard case designed for this shotgun when it is broken down. Will sell it for $1000 CDN. Please PM me for photos snd any other info you may desire.
 
In general women are very poorly served with the shotguns currently available, proper fit is critical to success and most guns are sized to fit MR average. In general, women need more drop ( or a higher comb), smaller grip and forend, shorter length of pull, more neutral balance and a little less weight than a man of the same height. There must be full pad contact to prevent bruising and care must be taken to fit the pad at the pocket of the shoulder where it won't bruise soft tissue on the chest. If it hurts her or bruises her just once in the early learning curve a flinch will be the almost certain result and the whole game may be over. Nearly the only suitable ladies guns on the market are the Syren line which feature Caesar Guerini and other guns specially stocked to fit women. For a slimmer, lighter and more responsive gun that can have length shortened if necessary and the comb raised I've found that a good used Beretta field model 686 with 28" barrels, suitably modified is a good cost effective first target shotgun for women. Fixed chokes are fine for trap but if the gun is going to serve for all shotgun sports choke tubes would be better. I recommend the Beretta over the Browning because the Beretta stock is a little slimmer and the gun is easier to handle for a woman or a novice. Stay away from the various inexpensive guns from places like Turkey, they may be fine for hunting but are not designed or made for the thousands upon thousands of rounds that a target gun must stand up to. Similarly, the true target models like the 682 and 692 are very heavy and somewhat chubby to grip and will be harder for most women to handle until they have considerable experience with a lighter, smaller gun. Good luck and have fun J.
 
Hi all,

Firstly thank you all for taking the time to chime in and share your thoughts and knowledge- much appreciated. I’m not a clay shooter so I may be mis-using terms etc, however as a shooter and hunter I am keen to make my wife’s foray into firearms a pleasant one, and something we can do together down the road. Her getting her rPAL was a great day.

She’s set on O/U simply for the looks of it. She’s set herself a budget however we are both the types of people that believe in buying once properly rather than buying several times cheaply. This, if the consensus is that it’s better to wait and increase the budget for an adj. comb, we’ll do that. If however it works out as cheap or cheaper to buy without the comb, and have it installed we can do that no problem. Really, I have no idea what the end cost would be of that.

My wife did look at Syren and is in love with those, but at $5k+ it would mean putting the purchase on hold for almost a year, which she wanted to avoid (she’s very keen to start- we have been borrowing shotguns at the range)

Thanks again to all members for your help, especially JetJock for your kind offer which I’ll follow up on, and Ashcroft for the great insight.

Dan
 
DangerPigg said:
Hi all,

Firstly thank you all for taking the time to chime in and share your thoughts and knowledge- much appreciated. I’m not a clay shooter so I may be mis-using terms etc, however as a shooter and hunter I am keen to make my wife’s foray into firearms a pleasant one, and something we can do together down the road. Her getting her rPAL was a great day.

She’s set on O/U simply for the looks of it. She’s set herself a budget however we are both the types of people that believe in buying once properly rather than buying several times cheaply. This, if the consensus is that it’s better to wait and increase the budget for an adj. comb, we’ll do that. If however it works out as cheap or cheaper to buy without the comb, and have it installed we can do that no problem. Really, I have no idea what the end cost would be of that.

My wife did look at Syren and is in love with those, but at $5k+ it would mean putting the purchase on hold for almost a year, which she wanted to avoid (she’s very keen to start- we have been borrowing shotguns at the range)

Thanks again to all members for your help, especially JetJock for your kind offer which I’ll follow up on, and Ashcroft for the great insight.

Dan
Click to expand...

Vic Tomlinson can install an adjustable comb on most shotguns for $200. You can have a gun shortened for about the same cost. But whatever you do, make sure the gun fits. A pretty gun that doesn't fit the shooter is just a noisemaker.
 
stubblejumper said:
Simply shortening the stock and adding a Gracoil butt plate provides an adjustable LOP.

436602.jpg
Click to expand...

What I meant was - "without cutting the stock", i have never seen and adjustable LOP shotgun "off the store rack"
Yes there are ways to make an adjustable LOP, but now you have limited your resale options since you have cut the stock down.
Sorry for the misunderstanding
 
Bigbubba said:
What I meant was - "without cutting the stock", i have never seen and adjustable LOP shotgun "off the store rack"
Yes there are ways to make an adjustable LOP, but now you have limited your resale options since you have cut the stock down.
Sorry for the misunderstanding
Click to expand...

Unless you are talking very high end shotguns, or guns with collector value, installing adjustable combs or butt plates doesn't restrict resale options, and it often actually makes them easier to sell if the work was done properly.
 
Consider the Franchi Instinct Catalyst. It is designed for a womans build. Shorter Length of Pull. Positive pitch to fit a woman's shoulder pocket. Slightly less drop at comb (for that longer neck). Reduced grip size for a woman's hand and just a touch extra cast off. Add in the attractive CCH treatment on the receiver and it may be just the ticket. Price would be within your budget even if you decided to install adjustable comb. No Pink. No roses.

Franchi is built in Italy and owned by Beretta.
 
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