Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Best shot gun for a young woman?

Grandaughter turns 21 April 23. What 12 gauge would be best for recoil. She shoots 12’s now but the stocks have to be too long. She is 5’2, 100 lbs. I can get the stock cut down. Also, best recoil pad for it? I appreciate the help. She likes to shoot sporting clays, 28” barrel?

If you are looking to reduce recoil, the heaviest gas operated semiauto she can handle. Shims to adjust cast and comb height is helpful. I would not hesitate getting a 30" barrel if it is going to be primarily a clays gun and she has the least bit of upper body strength. I like Kick-EZ pads for reducing recoil and they are rather heavy which may help in your case if much of the buttstock is cut off. 1 oz shells or lighter of 1200 fps and lower also help reduce recoil.

I started a gal an inch shorter, 5 pounds and 4 years older than your granddaughter. She did local Motocross and other physical activities so had a decent amount of upper body strength. I used the same Beretta 390 with cut down stock that I have used for years. I started with a 26" barrel as the length with a 30" kind of intimidated her. That lasted about a half dozen sessions and the 30" is now on the gun. This year she will be shooting in a sporting clays league with me.

I've also used Remington 1100 shotguns as they are soft recoiling also. A Monte Carlo "trap" stock tends to work better for women and their facial structure than the standard stock designed for the "average" man. The biggest drawback I had with them was their being fussier regarding lubrication and cleanliness as load weight and velocity decreased. That was before I discovered the various CLP type products and I suspect those guns would have run better if I used something besides plain gun oil.

The only caveat I can think of is the prevalence of over bored barrels in today's guns. Being larger in overall diameter, the barrels can be heavier, sometimes significantly so in comparison to "regular" diameters. That may mostly affect handling and balance in the long run but it can cause fatigue earlier until upper body strength is improved.

26-28in O/U, preferably a Beretta, since their barrels tend to be a bit lighter than on a Browning. Buttstock will probably need to be shortened. Pair it with B&P Competition One shells with 7/8oz of shot at 1160. Popgun recoil and simple, trouble free operation. A REALLY good Grandpa would spring for a few shooting lessons from the local instructor. :-)

Find a proper youth/ladies 12 gauge gun, a gas semi. If you cut down the stock, you're now created a very poorly balanced, muzzle-heavy gun. The Youth/Ladies model will have a much shorter barrel to retain good balance.

There are a number of options for manufacturers.

FYI both my daughters started shooting with an 11-87 Youth in 20 gauge. They loved it.

Another vote for a Beretta gasser

Buddy's wife is very small and she uses a 391 parallel target RL

I’m thinking Beretta, thanks for the help

IIRC the A300 Outlander comes in a compact/ladies version.

My wife shoots a compact 870 Express in 20ga.

You can get light and heavy shotguns in all gauges, my 12s run from 5lb 15oz to 8lb. You can customize just about any shotgun to fit. A 20ga doesn't recoil any less than A 12ga with equal loads. I shot a 20ga in an international skeet comp. when my 24 gram loads didn't show up and the shotgun beat me up more than my 12ga with the same load. Take her shopping and let her find one that talks to her. There are some very nice o/u designed for women shorter stocks with a little more toe out than a man's stock. I have to shorten and adjust combs on most of my shotguns except the very old ones, people used to be smaller back then( no hormones in the meat and milk).

I’m considering the same for my 5’3” wife. What would be wrong (other than high price) with a 26” 12ga Benelli Montefeltro or Ethos with the rare as hens teeth short stock?

Browning Maxus 2 is super soft shooting!

Nothing other than potential recoil as those are pretty light, recoil operated guns. My former dog doc had one and she had recoil issues with anything greater than 1 oz at 1200 fps. I was able to "rough fit" the stock to her and, with 1 oz handloads, she was able to use it for light target shooting and hunting. She now uses a 20 ga Beretta 303 that is better fitted to her. The slightly heavier weight and gas operation reduce/lengthen the recoil enough that standard factory 7/8 oz loads are not a problem for more than a couple rounds of trap/skeet5-stand and factory 1 oz loads of any type are not unpleasant to shoot.

All else being equal, pretty much every other gun mentioned would likely have less recoil than the two you mentioned. The exception may be the 20 ga 870 and even that might be a push either way.

Which gun takes a back seat to how she mounts the shotgun and how it fits her. She would first be better off with instruction, from someone who knows how to evaluate and correct both. At her age she is old enough to benefit greatly from the right instruction.

Or you can go with light FPS loadings and shot charges.... and hope for the best.

On the SC courses I see more than a few small and young girls handling 12 gauges as well as the men. It is more in how they were started out, than any specific shotgun.

Additionally there is the right time....How much does She want it? What is her enthusiasm level? If she lacks either, there is no right choice.

My daughter is 18, and has been shooting trap/skeet/sporting for a few years. For trap she shoots a Citori CXT w/30", the others she uses a 725 sporting 32". The stocks are adjustable for her. For pheasant, turkey, duck and rabbits she uses a Winchester SX4 20ga. Sometimes she'll take her SX4 for sporting clays to change it up.