Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Trap/Skeet Shotgun for my 16 year old daughter

Hello fellas,

I have a wonderful daughter that is a great shooting buddy. She is now 16 years old. She has been a rockstar at the gun club since she's been 10 years old. She's won several club shoots with her 22 and is now into trap and wants to get into skeet. I had a Benelli Montefeltro that she shot last year, but it didn't fit her. The stock was too long and the drop was too much. I really think she's got potential to be great and she's passionate about shooting. Being that I'm a certified looney, and I love her to death, I want to get her a gun that fits. Here's the problem. The school club she shoots for only allows 12 gauge. There are tons of guns that fit her in 20 gauge, but finding a gun that fits her in 12 gauge is a tall order. She is 5'2". We laid hands on a Browning CX Micro that fit her like a glove, but I couldn't afford to buy it at the time. I now have saved the money, but can't find one. I have relatives in the gun industry scouring the land to find one, but they are not made any more. Do any of you have suggestions on alternate make/models that may work for her.

The gun that fit her best had a 13-1/2" LOP and a 1-1/2" drop at comb. Ideally I want a 28 inch barrel, assuming double barrel. We're also open to a semi-auto, but I'm limited to around $1800 for the gun all in. (Man, I wish my old man would have spent that much on me.)

She is a great kid that doesn't ask for anything. She works hard around the house and has earned this rather spendy toy. She has never asked me for something this expensive, so I am willing to get her the right tool for the job, even if the pricetag hurts a bit. She deserves it.

If you all have suggestions on alternatives, I'm all ears. I need to get this done for her.

My suggestion is a Beretta semiauto. They have shims which allow for a rough fitting for drop at comb and cast on/off. I prefer to buy used and let others take the hit in depreciation, especially as I would be cutting down the stock in your case. There are many around so finding one at a good price should not be difficult.

Failing that, a Browning Gold, Silver, or other model in that line would do. The same for a Remington 1100 or 11-87. I would also look at a trap model as the higher comb would likely fit a woman better. It is also much easier to take wood off than to add it if necessary.

I suggest a semiauto rather than an O/U due to recoil, cost to purchase, and ease/cost of adjustment. A new, decent O/U will run you out of money leaving you with little to nothing left for fitting which will be needed. Whether new or used, I would go with a trap gun for the same reasons already mentioned.

Good grief. Definitely an O/U. The shotgun of champions for as long as I can remember! She's going to need to get into reloading unless you're far wealthier than most wealthy people. How many Grand Champion clay bird shooters do you see chasing empties? Figure on about 10K practice rounds to start.

Also consider a custom buttstock similar to this...



http://bumpbuster.blogspot.com/





DMc : )

+1 on the Beretta semi-auto. A nice 391would fit the bill nicely. I am a 390 fan, but the thicker forearm may be a bit much for a girl with smaller hands.

I just went thru this for my daughter but I got her a 20 ga M3020. She said the weight of the gun made a big difference, lighter being better!

Have you looked at the weatherby SA-08 Deluxe 12 ga? It has a wood stock which can be cut to her lop. Drop at comb is already 1.5".

http://www.weatherby.com/products/shotguns/autoloading/sa-08tm-deluxe.html

Small frame youth shooters are best served by the softest gun you can find, think 1100, 390 and so on. O/U are twice as much and not recoil friendly.
Dont reload. You can buy good ammo for 5 bucks a box and you just cant load for that. Find the sales and load up. Spending hours at the loading bench on your 400-600 dollar press makes no sense unless your looking for something to do. I loaded for years and now buy all my 12 and 20 bore ammo as its just less money.

As good as she may be spend the extra money and get her some lessons from the best guy you can find.

The OP has an $1800 limit, are you offering to make up the difference? That is including not only the stock fitting and adjustments but also the start up cost of reloading equipments and components. Remember, this is for a novice shooter who may easily find school, work, and dating a much greater draw in the near future. Starting with very serviceable equipment will support and keep interest while not breaking the bank.

She can switch to an O/U when she decides that she wishes to pursue shooting to that point. With some shooting experience she will be better able to decide on what gun she wants to switch to and you might save money in the long run. If she is as good as you hope, she might be able to get a sponsorship allowing her to buy at manufacture's cost or even shoot one for free for the season. That is a long way off at moment and it takes a lot of dedication and ability to reach that point so it isn't a concern yet.

Same for ammo. Just buy it as 12 ga is almost as cheap to purchase as to reload. Wal-Mart has 1 oz Federal promo shells for $4.74/box which is only a few cents more than one can reload, even if buying in bulk. Just like guns, if she is any good she can get a sponsorship which would be even cheaper than reloading. This is why one doesn't see Grand Champions chasing empties, they are buying them for less than they can reload.

As mentioned by another poster, lessons from a good instructor would be a great idea. One will progress faster than on one's own which actually saves money in the long run. The student will also be less likely to develop and ingrain bad habits which will hamper their ability to improve in the future. Starting and staying on the right path is also much cheaper as one will not have to unlearn and then learn the proper way. That is a very expensive way to g.

I have to disagree. I just bought a Winchester 101 O/U for under a grand and a good recoil reducer is pictured here for under $200. They're a simple installation and the OP is going to have to cut the stock anyway, unless he buys a youth model.



12 ga O/U's 28" can be found on GB for under a $1000 just about every day.

I primarily shoot sub-gauges at around $14 a box new, and didn't know 12's were retailing as cheaply as posters here have pointed out. But a MEC Jr, last I checked was around $89 bucks. Reloading makes sense to me, offer's a little self-satisfaction, as well as some of us enjoy rolling our own. There's a world of opportunities available when you do reload. Adjusting the size of your patterns by mixing shot, switching from 1 oz to 1 1/18th, to even 7/8th's to even 1 1/4oz, by changing a charge bar. Adjusting and finding a consistent velocity, etc.

Save the reloader money and put it into an adjustable comb to get that figure 8 sight picture for trap, and lower it for skeet.


DMc

For $1000 one can buy a decent semiauto, a couple flats of shells, and a few hours of coaching and be well on their way. much less in the way of add ins for recoil attenuation is needed than with an O/U. I use and overwhelmingly prefer O/Us for myself but recommend a semiauto for others for the previously mentioned reasons until they gain enough experience to decide for themselves. Far more shooters stick with the 12 ga events in any of the shooting disciplines (and that is all there is for trap) so the ability to tube for smaller bores is of limited use.

As for reloading, where does one find MEC Jrs for $90? A new one runs upwards of $100 over that price and I can't remember the last time I saw a used one for under $100 that didn't have some issues or missing parts. Using the prices I last recall, and it has been awhile since I have had to buy shotshell components, shot was priced at $36+ a bag (unless you can find reclaimed shot nearby and save shipping), primers $120/5000 for Cheddite which are hard on some firing pins, an 8# keg of Alliant Promo was $120, and clone wads are in the $80+ range for a case of 5000.

If buying new, one could get into reloading for around $1000 using a single stage Reloader and assuming components in bulk quantities for 5000 rounds. Reloading 7/8 oz in a 12 ga would run a little over $4.00/box which would take a bit to pay off which is why I recommend holding off on that part of shooting until a firm desire to stay shooting and not off on other of life's activities is known.

Maybe this will do till you find a CX.


https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...9/gonew/1/browning-bps-micro-trap#UNREAD

this mint 20ga was made in an era when guns were made in America by hand.
considering the age and condition, id suspect itll last another lifetime.
and...it appears to be fit to a youth already.
https://www.gunauction.com/buy/14517131

The 1100 competition is a damned good gun