Help Wife is a Lefty

[Fishingted]

My wife is showing an interest in learning shotgun wing shooting. She is Left Handed and also Left Eye Dominant. Has Zero experiance shooting a shotgun and very little experiance shooting in general. I think it is a blessing that she is both same hand and eye dominant and basickly has nothing to un-learn. She is a full figured lady. Should she decide that this is something that she truly wants to do it is going to boil down to which gun to get her. Want to get her a left handed auto 12 gauge. Hopefully to get a lighter recoil. Assuming primarily to be used for target and hopefully some hunting. I have narrowed it down to either a Benelli Montefeltro with a field stock or an SKB RS300 with a fully adjustable stock and 30 in barrel. I really like the Benelies reliabilaty and toughness. Also a Lighter gun and slimmer forearm. Just hard to beat a Beneli. But I also like the idea of being able to work with the stock adjustability of the SKB. Also much Heavier. Both Guns are about the same in price. Both guns come in Left Hand. All input is Greatly Apreciated. Thanks

 

[rabid wombat]

I will not comment on the shotgun choice, but consider an over / under, also. A 12 is a good choice, as they typically weigh more than a twenty…and a great variety in loads. For games, added weight is your friend (within limits).

Two very strong pieces of advice:

• Get her shotgun fitted - more so as she is “a full figured lady”
• Get her lessons from a pro

Fit and lessons, fit and lessons, fit and lessons…if it sounds repetitive, it is. Best two things I did when my wife started with a shotgun. You will have a shooting partner for life.

A good guy local to me: http://www.felandgunsmith.com/

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

I'm a lefty and I don't own a left handed shotgun.

Semi is a good idea, IMO. My Pops has a Benelli Super Black Eagle (I don't know if they even make them anymore) that is just a joy to shoot.

 

[rabid wombat]

The following will be weird guy to guy - sorry. One of the ladies my wife learned from spoke about the various clasps and adjusters on bra straps…making sure they are adjusted out of the way. Eliminates some pressure and possibly bruising.

 

[1KPerDay]

Note that most of the lefty shotguns still have the action button on the right side. It’s kind of a weird hybrid. I also shoot long guns lefty and I don’t own and have never shot a lefty auto. No issues other than the safety but you get used to wrapping your trigger finger underneath the trigger guard if necessary. I don’t notice and have never been hit by any ejecting hulls.

 

[12Bravo20]

There really is no need for a left handed shotgun unless you really want one. I shoot left hand and never had a problem with right hand shotguns or most rifles for that matter.

 

[greyling22]

I'm a lefty. I bought a benelli m2 left hand. HATED it. now, this is 15 years ago, so maybe something has changed, but when they made the lefty conversion, they moved the bolt, but not the bolt release. So reloading was a super awkward dance of hold the forend in the right hand, drop a shell in the open chamber with the left, , then reach awkwardly under the gun fumbling the the bolt release, then stuffing rounds in the mag tube. I found I'm a lot happier with a right handed gun. I reload holding the grip with my left hand, stock on hip-ish area, muzzle pointed safely up, I can access every control easily with my right, I can see in the chamber or if there has been a failure to eject etc. But that may just be me. I sold the benelli and bought a much much cheaper tristar viper. fits almost as well, but I find I prefer an 1100 or 870 to either.

 

[Milkmaster]

If you consider a pump shotgun, many lefties choose the Browning BPS which ejects out the bottom. The Ithaca 37 is lighter and also ejects to the bottom.

 

[DocRock]

A gas gun will have the lightest recoil, all other things being equal. As recommended above, a stock fitting is important. The Syren L4S Sporting LH is likely the gold standard, but the price tag is commensurate!

 

[earlthegoat2]

I shoot lefty and my shotguns of choice are doubles and the Browning BPS. If shooting clays games a double is preferable to an auto for most folks. The light target loads will have small recoil and even a double gun will soak it up nicely. A nice double will fit your budget too. Pre-owned Browning and Berettas fall around $1000-$1500. Try both. She will like one or the other but not both. They each have their own fit differences. I prefer the Browning myself.

If you want an auto then by all means make that choice. I can tell you though that with light loads, which are often used for clays games, there just isn’t that much difference between action types.

 

[shooter1niner]

I am a lefty. I use a 12 ga. Ithaca M 37 with the LH safety installed. Bottom load and ejection with a solid top receiver. My wife who is right handed uses the same gun in 20 ga. but with a vent rib. She uses a shoulder pad with straps as the firearm has a hard butt plate. She loves her Ithaca M 37.

 

[jmorris]

My wife’s favorite is a 20ga LT 1100 but it’s not something I picked for her. It’s often best to let them try a few and pick what they feel most comfortable with.

 

[huntsman]

A lefty can make a regular gun work but if the stock has cast that’ll be a problem.

Yeah as a lefty I’ve had to “adjust” but about twenty years ago I decided to buy what I want so adjusting isn’t what I do now.

My choices for shotguns are single trigger SXS with straight(neutral cast)stock, pump BPS because the safety is a tang

If I were to go semi auto it’d be a Bennelli M2

 

[Fishingted]

I will not comment on the shotgun choice, but consider an over / under, also. A 12 is a good choice, as they typically weigh more than a twenty…and a great variety in loads. For games, added weight is your friend (within limits).

Two very strong pieces of advice:

• Get her shotgun fitted - more so as she is “a full figured lady”
• Get her lessons from a pro

Fit and lessons, fit and lessons, fit and lessons…if it sounds repetitive, it is. Best two things I did when my wife started with a shotgun. You will have a shooting partner for life.

A good guy local to me: http://www.felandgunsmith.com/

Thanks That sounds Like Some Very Solid advice. I was thinking along those lines my self.

 

[WisBorn]

I have owned both a LH Rem 1100 & Super Black Eagle. I prefer a top tang safety and switch to BPS and 835 pumps. Then to my current over and under.
If your wife may add other shooting sports I recommend a top safety.

 

[gunmechanic]

I am a lefty .My choice would be the benelli ,get the lefty model .

 

[skeeterfogger]

Featherlight. Great for right or left

 

[George P]

I AM LH and my semis are RH - no problem. My wife sounds like yours and she shoot a Beretta A400 Xplor Unico - weighs 7#, has the KO, and shoots my 3/4oz reloads. Benellis have too much recoil as they are not a gas gun and weigh much less than a gas gun. Get her to try several, including the Fabarm. I would also not rule out an O/U, start with a Browning or Beretta. The advantage of the semi for most folks is that they usually have shims so you can set the cast and drop for a LH shooter easier than an O/U.

 

[entropy]

I actually am working on this with a young lady in our league. Her dad is looking to get her a Beretta semi auto to shoot, because the field model Ithaca 37 she's currently shooting is keeping her to 2 rounds a night at most. The Ithaca was her Grandpa's gun, and she has a strong attachment to it, but even she was considering my offer of lending her either my 870 TB or my 1100 Competition Synthetic, both of which have recoil devices on them, after last week.
She is 6' tall, but slightly built, maybe 120 pounds. I can set the pad slanted to the left for her on either gun, and of course, take all the weight (hulls full of shot in the mag tubes) out for her.
Her dad asked me to look for a used Beretta A300 series, or a 400 if the price is right, I have some feelers out.
Next Thursday, I will bring both my Remingtons with and let her try them, I have a couple guns lined up to show her dad. It'd be a shame if she quit because of the recoil, she's actually a very good shot. (Outshoots her dad and her boyfriend week after week.)

 

[12Bravo20]

I will add one more comment since no one else has mentioned it.

You said that your wife has zero experience with shotguns. And this another reason to consider getting a right hand shotgun. If she for what ever reason decides she doesn't like shooting shotguns or doesn't the gun you get her, it will be way easier to sell a right hand shotgun versus a lefty. Also left hand version are harder to find at least around me.

Others have given great advice as far as getting the shotgun fitted to her. An ill fitted gun will put a new shooter off and they won't enjoy going to the range.

 

[irishlad]

Note that most of the lefty shotguns still have the action button on the right side. It’s kind of a weird hybrid. I also shoot long guns lefty and I don’t own and have never shot a lefty auto. No issues other than the safety but you get used to wrapping your trigger finger underneath the trigger guard if necessary. I don’t notice and have never been hit by any ejecting hulls.

Most of my shotguns and rifles are left handed. My 870 and benelli super nova I put left handed safeties on.

 

[huntsman]

My youngest son is lefty as well and I bought each an 870 express, his I took to a gunsmith and had the lefty safety installed.