Well my leftward-leaning daughter is returning soon from a year in brasil. She tells me she wants to learn to shoot a shotgun. She also told me that after spending a year in brasil she understands why the founding fathers penned the second amendment. Question for you guys - what shotgun should I get her? 12 vs 20 gauge? pump vs semi-auto? Thanks!
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daughter wants a shotgun
- Thread starter stevehaun
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justsurvivingincalifornia
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What does she want to do with a shotgun?
Hunt? What kind of hunting? self defence? both?
It would be best to let her shoot both 12 and 20 and let her decide for her self.
semi, pump, over under, side by side and bolt?
Hunt? What kind of hunting? self defence? both?
It would be best to let her shoot both 12 and 20 and let her decide for her self.
semi, pump, over under, side by side and bolt?
danurve
Member
I would never recomend any semi as someones first shotgun. A 20 will have a bit less recoil, I would also get her a recoil-pad for the stock or one she can wear on her shoulder.
swan hunter
Member
For trap/sporting clays...
We teach ladies trap shooting. They all love my wife's Beretta 391 sporting. You must cut the stock to fit her. A semi-auto will reduce felt recoil. My small framed wife can shoot hers all day. Make sure to start her with light loads, hearing and eye protection. A bad first experience will sour her for life.
Fit...noise...power...and a man's lack of patients have killed many women's drive to shoot!
We teach ladies trap shooting. They all love my wife's Beretta 391 sporting. You must cut the stock to fit her. A semi-auto will reduce felt recoil. My small framed wife can shoot hers all day. Make sure to start her with light loads, hearing and eye protection. A bad first experience will sour her for life.
Fit...noise...power...and a man's lack of patients have killed many women's drive to shoot!
My wife shoots a Remington 1100 12ga with a youth stock, and loves it. I would see no practical reason not to start her on a semi 12. Much more choices of ammo, cheaper to shoot, and very easy on the shoulder. With trap loads, recoil is minimal. And even with the cantilever deer barrel, my wife has no problems shooting sabot deer slugs. Good luck
sm
member
Even though we do not know your daughter's size, or experience...
I ALWAYS start a new shooter with a Semi Auto in 20 gauge. Male, Female, big or small.
Gun fit to shooter is very important! I would suggest letting her try a bunch with some qualified lady shooters to find gun fit best to HER. Rem 1100, Browing Gold, Beretta 390/391 are 3 great guns. Each fits a bit different. Ladies do better with addressing other ladies needs.
I have experience in teaching ladies - still I ask for other ladies to assist me.
Great buys in LNIB exist as well.
Now the best kept secret is 1100 in 20 ga [as the adage goes] these other two fit the bill as well.
TOO many of these "first guns" also saw double duty as HD guns. Even if down the road she gets a 12 ga, or goes to learning a pump, or she gets O/U in 28 ga ...that first gun- semi in 20 ga - is special, sentimental, will take clays, feathered critters, furry critters, critter-critters.
Gets older, and as time goes on...that semi 20 is easy to tote, easy to shoot, and will be there in old age and daddy has since passed. She can teach her kids to shoot, and pass it down...
steve
I ALWAYS start a new shooter with a Semi Auto in 20 gauge. Male, Female, big or small.
Gun fit to shooter is very important! I would suggest letting her try a bunch with some qualified lady shooters to find gun fit best to HER. Rem 1100, Browing Gold, Beretta 390/391 are 3 great guns. Each fits a bit different. Ladies do better with addressing other ladies needs.
I have experience in teaching ladies - still I ask for other ladies to assist me.
Great buys in LNIB exist as well.
Now the best kept secret is 1100 in 20 ga [as the adage goes] these other two fit the bill as well.
TOO many of these "first guns" also saw double duty as HD guns. Even if down the road she gets a 12 ga, or goes to learning a pump, or she gets O/U in 28 ga ...that first gun- semi in 20 ga - is special, sentimental, will take clays, feathered critters, furry critters, critter-critters.
Gets older, and as time goes on...that semi 20 is easy to tote, easy to shoot, and will be there in old age and daddy has since passed. She can teach her kids to shoot, and pass it down...
steve
She may be leftward leaning, but she has potential. You need to sit down with your daughter over a beer and find out what's on her mind. I doubt she's interested in Trap and Skeet. Sounds to me like she has her eyes on tree poachers in Brazil who can play very rough.She tells me she wants to learn to shoot a shotgun. She also told me that after spending a year in brasil she understands why the founding fathers penned the second amendment.
If my uninformed analysis is correct, look for a good pump shotgun, be it a Rem 870, Win 1300 or Mossberg. Pumps can handle whatever ammo her requirements demand and a good Rem 870 can be had cheap and then fit the shotgun to her. Since it's her gun, make her part of the selection process. Then get the gun fit to her with a Pachmyer Decelerator recoil pad.
It's her gun, so teach her to disassemble, clean/lube, reassemble, load, unload and then make her do it.
Trap, Skeet and 5 Stand/Sporting Clays are good for building confidence in gun handling and having fun busting clays, but she may also need some range time shooting buckshot. Did I mention having the gun fit to her with a Pachmyer Decelerator recoil pad?
Hope my analysis is wrong, that could get pretty ugly.
BA/UU/R
Tiny in Ohio
Member
The shotgun is like a hammer, more than one tool to fit a specific job. It would be best to allow her to shoot differing types of shotgun, and let her decide which action type she prefers. Semi-autos fill a broad niche, from sporting clays to skeet, to hunting. Pump actions can perform the same tasks, generally not as fast though. Side by sides and over/unders are more specialty guns, and are much more expensive. My only good advice would be that once she decides on an action, buy one that will last for life. A good shotgun is like a diamond, forever.
sm
member
Did I mention having the gun fit to her with a Pachmyer Decelerator recoil pad?
Best Advice anyone could heed, applies to rifles too.
riverdog, another that has not only practiced this, has shared for too many years.
what's your budget?
THAT is the biggest question.
Do not drop below a 20 guage to reduce recoil, the reduction leads to much fewer pellets on target shich results often in frustration at two many misses.
If you do not have a selection of shotguns, ask around, I am sure someone you shoot with or hunt with will havea few that she can start with.
How big is she? My daughter is not small at a Healthy 5'9 and she handles my A5 and my superposed just fine. My Daughter started with a youth Express 870 in 20ga. A fine gun for any kid to learn on once they reaach about 5'2. I would make a Dangerous assumption that your Daughter is full grown to have been able to go a way for a year to Brazil. If that is the case, then she can make the decision a couple of ways.
Get her to try out other peoples guns. (most of us really get off in letting someone learn on our guns.) then buy/help her buy the gun of her choice.
Go buy a youth 20 870, Already shorter, has choke tubes, and has a decent recoil pad. If she stays with that gun, good, if not and moves on you can sell that youth gun for close to 90% of what you pay for it. (Or put it in the closet for the eventual grand children)
Take her to a really good sporting clays place, talk to ownership and see what they have for her in a try gun. I have been to a couple of fancy clays ranges that have try guns, this is the big bucks solution.
Make sure that she makes the choice.
THAT is the biggest question.
Do not drop below a 20 guage to reduce recoil, the reduction leads to much fewer pellets on target shich results often in frustration at two many misses.
If you do not have a selection of shotguns, ask around, I am sure someone you shoot with or hunt with will havea few that she can start with.
How big is she? My daughter is not small at a Healthy 5'9 and she handles my A5 and my superposed just fine. My Daughter started with a youth Express 870 in 20ga. A fine gun for any kid to learn on once they reaach about 5'2. I would make a Dangerous assumption that your Daughter is full grown to have been able to go a way for a year to Brazil. If that is the case, then she can make the decision a couple of ways.
Get her to try out other peoples guns. (most of us really get off in letting someone learn on our guns.) then buy/help her buy the gun of her choice.
Go buy a youth 20 870, Already shorter, has choke tubes, and has a decent recoil pad. If she stays with that gun, good, if not and moves on you can sell that youth gun for close to 90% of what you pay for it. (Or put it in the closet for the eventual grand children)
Take her to a really good sporting clays place, talk to ownership and see what they have for her in a try gun. I have been to a couple of fancy clays ranges that have try guns, this is the big bucks solution.
Make sure that she makes the choice.
Steve 48
Member
My daughter shoots a Ithca SKB double barrel 20 gauge which is just perfect for her short arms Steve 48
Thanks Steve. When I started shooting Trap with my 870 field grade in original configuration I got beat up, not from the Remington recoil pad, but from the cheek weld or lack of a cheek weld. When I went to the Wenig stock I initially shot with no recoil pad and because of the way that stock design fits, I had a great cheek weld and didn't get beat up -- and that was with a bare wood butt. After a few rounds, I decided the final LOP should be what Wenig sent me, so I had a shotgunsmith do a final fit check and then he removed enough wood to make room for a Pachmyer Decelerator. That is a comfortable stock.
Gun fit aside, it's really hard to say what specific shotgun stevehaun's daughter needs. My gut is thinking she already kinda sorta knows what she wants. What makes a left-leaning person want to learn shotgunning after returning from a year in Brazil? Motivation is in play and we probably won't ever find out.
stevehaun,
Might be best to familiarize her with lots of different shotgun types and make no mention of what you (or we) think. Arm her with information and trigger time. Only after she's shot a few guns and has a better feel for shotgunning should she make the tough decision. Meanwhile, you'll have a better feel for where her head is. Good luck.
Gun fit aside, it's really hard to say what specific shotgun stevehaun's daughter needs. My gut is thinking she already kinda sorta knows what she wants. What makes a left-leaning person want to learn shotgunning after returning from a year in Brazil? Motivation is in play and we probably won't ever find out.
stevehaun,
Might be best to familiarize her with lots of different shotgun types and make no mention of what you (or we) think. Arm her with information and trigger time. Only after she's shot a few guns and has a better feel for shotgunning should she make the tough decision. Meanwhile, you'll have a better feel for where her head is. Good luck.
Grah!
I've never recommended a 20 gauge as a first gun to anybody. When I bought my NEF for foolin' around with I went with a buddy who decided he wanted to get his first shotgun, too. I got a 12, being the right thinking individual that I am. I tried to talk my friend out of getting a 20 because he figured it would kick less (he's a small guy, though he never had a problem with the 12 I already owned...) and no amount of preaching about versatility would reach that boy.
One year later he's stuck with that 20, and he's complaining all the time about how is ammo is more expensive and he's more limited with the kinds of loads he can get for it, and how he wished he'd got a 12 instead. 'Course, he always leaves the part about what I told him standing in that gun shop out of the lament.
Anyway, when you're shooting buckshot and other home defensey sort of loads I found that his 20 beat me up just as bad as my 12 (given, my 12 is heavier) and functionally speaking we didn't see a whole heck of a lot of difference when we were out shreddin' targets between our two guns other than the fact that he paid more per shot to do it.
'Course, if you wanted to buy the 20 and the 12 that'd be a different story. And don't even get me started on 16.
I've never recommended a 20 gauge as a first gun to anybody. When I bought my NEF for foolin' around with I went with a buddy who decided he wanted to get his first shotgun, too. I got a 12, being the right thinking individual that I am. I tried to talk my friend out of getting a 20 because he figured it would kick less (he's a small guy, though he never had a problem with the 12 I already owned...) and no amount of preaching about versatility would reach that boy.
One year later he's stuck with that 20, and he's complaining all the time about how is ammo is more expensive and he's more limited with the kinds of loads he can get for it, and how he wished he'd got a 12 instead. 'Course, he always leaves the part about what I told him standing in that gun shop out of the lament.
Anyway, when you're shooting buckshot and other home defensey sort of loads I found that his 20 beat me up just as bad as my 12 (given, my 12 is heavier) and functionally speaking we didn't see a whole heck of a lot of difference when we were out shreddin' targets between our two guns other than the fact that he paid more per shot to do it.
'Course, if you wanted to buy the 20 and the 12 that'd be a different story. And don't even get me started on 16.
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