Now retired yy 71 year old wife has expressed interest in shooting sporting clays with me. She has never shot though goes along and pulls for me. I have never chosen a gun for a lady. With concern about recoil and weight, would think should look to auto and 20 gauge. Any suggestions as to that as well as manufacturer?
I am partial to Remington so although a little heavy, the 1100 Competition Synthetic might be ok. Fantastic recoil reduction and adjust-ability.
We have a 12 year-old girl on our youth team and she is using the new Beretta "Ethos" in 12 gauge. Very nice semi-auto that is lighter, swings and points well and the young lady has not complained about recoil. She usually shoots 75 targets a session and just started this season.
Highly recommend a semi auto. Women, due to lighter weight(at least in other countries) are less able to stand the recoil. Have her try an over under and then a good SA. I bet most times she will pick the SA, even if it does not shoot as well as the O/U.
TMB has right approach, make sure she likes\chooses the gun. My wife (of 52 years) shot\used an 1100 (12ga) that was shortened & fitted just for her. I loaded light 7\8 loads for her. When she quit shooting (late 60s) I had a case (500) or more loaded ahead, thought (to myself of course) now what the heck am I going to do with these??? At that time I was a 3-1&1\8 guy. Well given that I'm not the sharpest tack in the pack they just sat there, until one day it dawned on me, hey knothead she was breaking tgts with them just fine. So I said OK just shoot them up for 16yd practice, well guess what they worked just fine for me too, still shooting that same load today. You are a lucky man to have her for a shooting companion. Have FUN----Ross Puls
I guess my wife is easy to please, I bought her a 11-87 Remington in 20 ga and she loves it, and she can really break the clays with it, very gentile kick
My wife shoots a, fitted to her, 391 12 gauge she has shot all load sizes and never complains, and trust me, if it was not right she would tell me.
I can not emphasize enough fitting the gun to your wife. Once I did this my wife and I shoot pretty much every weekend with no problems. I had her work with a good fitter and she tried several stock fits till we hit the right one, I also have a gooey pad on hers as well, 6 years old pad still just fine.
Where we shoot every weekend I see women all the time with, you guessed it, way too long a gun and they are trying to be good sports but are really not enjoying the shooting as they should be.
As far a recoil felt, IMHO, the extra weight of the 12 gauge helps with that, but when shooting a lighter 20 gauge the recoil is about the same.
Looks like 391 Shooter...posted the same time I was pecking out this one.
A similar thought thought...but I'll leave the following up anyway.
It depends on the gun..
Some 20 gauge guns are often pretty light...and will sometimes kick worse than a 12 gauge. For that reason I shoot a 28 gauge in all 20 gauge events.
As mentioned above, a 12 gauge with a light load may be much easier on a lady than a light weight 20 gauge..
Another thing to consider is whether or not you have to pick up your own hulls at your club. Semi-autos eject to the ground. Break opens can be easier for hull management ..especially if reloading is in the picture.
Note: "very" good idea to let the lady heft a few and choose for herself. It goes better in the long run, even if it does kick a little more or less....it may just "feel" better...which is good for confidence.
My husband had me pick up and try a lot of different guns to find one that I liked and that fit me. It turned out to be a semiauto in my case, a Beretta 390. That gun was a birthday present, but I've since bought myself two 391s. I like a heavier gun, myself, and SAs, as it turns out.
Trying a lot was key for me. I'll still pick up a break open now and then just to see if my tastes have changed, but so far, they haven't.
It is hard to pick a gun for someone, even a family member. As others have posted, let her try a few for herself. I do think most ladies do not care for recoil and a good Semi Auto is a good place to start. I would also lean toward light loads. My wife shoots either a single barrel or a Winchester pump but, she is an experienced shooter and has been in the game for well over 4 decades. She does fine with light 1 oz. loads. The 1100 is a fine gun but some lighter framed ladies find it a bit heavy since it is all steel construction. The Beretta 391 is made with light weight, high strength, Aluminum and is a lot lighter to handle. In the end focus on what she wants, even if it cost more. Have her shoot with you a huge dividend so try and make her happy!
Buy her the 12 GA Beretta auto shooting light loads and you won't go wrong. The tighter grip radius on the Beretta makes it the better choice than maybe the 1100 or SX-1!!
Lots of good advice here. Very important...let her choose her own. Take her to a club that has rentals or loaners, and let her try a few. Once you make a decision and a purchase, get her with a good fitter. If the gun fits her properly, she will shoot better, have less felt recoil, and be happier. My wife shoots a 391 Teknys with a stock we had custom made for her (she's left handed). The gun fits her like a glove, and she loves it. You definitely want your shooting partner to be happy, or she won't stick with it for long!
Have been teaching my wife to shoot and tried many different guns and after dozens of different choices the 1100 28 ga. was the hands down winner, light enough, no recoil and plenty of bird breaking power. Gary
My wife has zero interest in shooting, so I introduced my 12 year old daughter to skeet shooting, I bought her a remington 870 pump in 20 ga. for Christmas this year just to see how she would like it, well long story short, she loves it, she has now joined a youth shooting team where they shoot skeet, trap and sporting clays. I let her shoot my Browning Citori with tube set, so now I am purchasing a beretta 682 for myself and giving the browning to her, she likes the weight and swing of it, and has no trouble with recoil, and of course I load lite loads for her, she absolutely loves shooting and is pretty damn good at it. My 2 cents........Joe
Started my wife with a 391, she now shoots a K-80, quite well I might add,Jake
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