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18K views 47 replies 23 participants last post by  buster45 
#1 ·
My wife suddenly became interested in trap shooting a couple of months ago, and I went to the back of one of my gun safes and brought out my 60s era 1100 trap gun. Of course it didn't really fit her, but she liked it so we bought a brand new 1100 Competition Synthetic with all the adjustable features and a recoil reducer. To make a long story short, the gun is heavier than my old 1100 trap gun and she gave it up after two boxes of shells. Guess what is for sale?

We started shopping again and my trusted gunsmith, Bill Oglesby a.k.a. "Badlands Bill", suggested a BT 99 Micro Midas for her because of the shorter receiver and the shorter LOP. We found one for her to try that was owned by a fellow female trapshooter and she liked it, but she is convinced that she will soon want to shoot doubles. We started looking for an older Winchester 101 (my idea) and went to a Scheels store where they had a 101 but it turned out not to be a trap gun. The all too helpful clerk led her to another case and introduced her to a Syren Tempio Sporting shotgun which is a trap gun made for women. (Thanks a lot Mr. Clerk)

She fell in love with the gun just holding it. We are working out a road trip to a dealer that carries demo guns since we are not buying another gun until she shoots at least one box of shells through it - especially in that price range.

The point of this is, "Are there any women out there that own this gun, and how do they feel about it compared to other less expensive guns"?
 
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#2 ·
I have looked into the Syren line of shotguns for several months as there were some Lady shooters at my local club who wanted more info ect. I would definitely try befor you buy and take a very close look at the features you are getting on this shotgun for the money that you are spending.Please take note that the Syren line in the O/Us do not come with a adjustable comb for adjusting for comfort and POI. In being respectful to the clerk who showed you the Syren and explained that it is a trap shotgun made for woman I would ask him what makes it a trap-shotgun? Sure you can shoot trap with just about any shotgun but really what features does the Syren have that is making it a TRAP shotgun for woman? SOme features that a basic trap shotgun should have that to me would be important are adjustable comb/adjustable butt plate for Length of Pull along with maybey a recoil reducing device would be nice/something easy to clean and dependable/a shotgun that will shoot to a higher Point of Impact than a field shotgun.We had invited the sales rep. for Syren/CG for our area to come to one of our registered shoots and do a Demo Days type of event as there were several Lady shooters who were interested and after some back and forth and some emails they never did come back with a answer about why they chose not to do event. Take you time and look at a lot of the choices that are out there, one that comes to mind is Blaser does a nice O/U in a F3 Package that is set up for the lady shooter. Good luck in your search, George
 
#5 ·
A lady at my club had a demo with the "trap version" at the grand this year,she really liked it but it is not available for sale in the "trap version" until 2016.
Due to it not being available until 2016 she went with a new browning golden clays bt-99 with Adjustable GraCoil.
 
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#6 ·
Like others have stated...the "clerk" didn't inform you right...it is a SPORTING gun...hence the name Tempio Syren "Sporting". Having said this, my wife just recently purchased a Tempio Syren Sporting and we shoot primarily sporting clays, but she does shoot 16yd trap with it and does just fine. The stock does have a monte carlo on it and you could always have an adjustable comb cut in it. Overall, the stock design and "reach" is made specifically for a woman and everything about it seems to fit most women very well. My wife did demo one before buying and it has been the best decision we have made for a gun for her...she shoots it extremely well, it fits her extremely well and recoil is very mild. I don't see why if you have an adjustable comb installed that it wouldn't serve her well at Trap. Have her demo one first...and shoot as many boxes of shells that she can before making the decision.
 
#8 ·
I've already had to work on the stocks of several of the Syrens. The lop is still a little too long for most lady shooters. It has a cheap excuse for a recoil pad and adjustable nothing . Let's face it; CG laser ed some flowers in the stock and called it a ladies gun. Blaser did their homework on the F3 ladies gun ; CG didn't on the Syren.



Ken Rucker
 
#9 ·
I hear many woman comment that weight is an issue and ultimately if you are shooting 12ga. the lighter the shotgun the more felt recoil you will encounter. I like the option of a adjustable LOP recoil device so you can get a good fit and feel good at the end of a day of shooting because you have something to help tame the recoil even if you are shooting lite loads.If you are looking at mainly shooting trap and working with a pre-mounted gun then really a little weight is not a bad thing.If you are shooting sporting clays a lot and not working with a heavier shotgun could be an issue.THere is one thing on the Blaser F3s that I think is really nice is their ease of opening and closing of the action:) Say you found a nice used Blaser Super Sport and got the LOP adjusted correctly that would be a fantastic gun not just for trap but some other games as well.
 
#10 ·
my wife shoots sporting with one and does very well. however this was not her first gun. she started with a silver pigeon II and went to a san remo, prior to the syren. she says the recoil is nothing.she shoots clever 1150 1oz loads.

they are very hard to find,most times on back order.
as the other poster said you can always put adjustable comb on the gun.

we have one other lady shooter friend of ours that has one and loves it as well. again she was an experinced shooter before she bought hers.

it is also much cheaper than a blaser and is a quality gun.

buster
 
#11 ·
Some of you are missing my point. I am trying to learn if there is a less expensive shotgun than the Syren that will serve her as well, or if the Syren has problems. I appreciate people pointing out that this is a sporting gun rather than a trap specific gun, which I understand is coming out in 2016.

Some background: Neither of us ever plan to shoot in sanctioned matches, nor do I expect we will ever shoot well enough to qualify to do so. We just think of it as fun. I used to shoot SASS matches (Life Member) until it became all about competition and moved on to CMSA (Charter Member) until it became all about winning. I did very well in both, but I was doing it for fun. When SASS started with strict clothing standards (no zippers - hidden or otherwise) I became less enamored and when everyone was shooting custom race guns and buying trundle carts just to hall all their guns and equipment around in, I was out of there. CMSA was expensive because you needed a horse, trailer, and vehicle to pull it, but since I already had those anyway, it seemed reasonable. Of course it did not take very long before the race guns appeared, and then it was "period authentic" saddles that had been designed and engineered to a greater degree than barrel racing saddles.

Trap shooting allows people to go to local clubs and watch a very few people shooting 870s outshoot those who have invested heavily in 5 figure guns. I'm not against people spending money nor are we snobs or anti-snobs. (I have lots of friends who only drive Mercedes and a few that drive Bentleys, but I also have friends driving 15 year old pickup trucks.) We just don't often spend money we can't justify in our own minds, which is why our pickup truck is a 1975 International Harvester. (We also own newer cars, the truck is mostly for horse related issues.)

My point: I am able and willing to spend $4-5,000 on a trap gun for my wife if it makes her happy and it makes sense, but I (and she) would rather not if there is a better choice. I also understand I can buy her a used Winchester 101 which seems a good choice, but that I am going to put almost as much, or more, into getting it properly fit for her. That gets us there at half the price, but, what other issues are there I (and she) are not considering? That is what we are hoping to learn
 
#12 ·
Ultimately good fit and feel transcend how much or how little money you spend and I understand many like a certain amount of cosmetics. I feel that from experience even though this is a recreational thing for you breaking targets consistently and comfortably is the way to go. What many people do is get a basic shotgun say a Citori Cross-over Target ($1695.00) and get the following mods--adjustable comb and some sort of adjustable LOP recoil device such as a RAD or BumpBuster ect. you are spending on the long end of things a extra $800-$900 you are still money ahead by about a $1,000.00 compared to the Syren $3695 or so. You can also get a Browning 725 Trap with 30" BL.(My dad has one of these and likes it a lot) very nimble yet true trap O/U with a adjustable comb for $2850.00 and say you spend $150-$300.00 for a good stock fitting and LOP cut you are still money ahead and have a nice true trap O/U. Those are a couple ideas in the new area and of course the used market is wide open :)
 
#13 ·
:216: Great reply.
 
#15 ·
If you can find one look at a beretta 3901. shorter stock and 28 inch barrel and adjustable comb. Great ladies gun or for kids. No kick, easy to operate, relatively easy to clean. shoot all the games with it, easy to sell if you want to move up. You could also have taken the 1100 bought a shorter barrel and cut off the stock to fit her. motordoc
 
#17 ·
I can speak for my girlfriend whom I introduced to shooting, she's 5" 4" with average weight for her height. She has very small hands almost childlike so stock grip can be an issue. I started her on the skeet field with a break open 28 gauge to accustom her to all the points of having and shooting a shotgun. We then moved to the trap field with a cut down BT99 I had made up for my son, she shot this gun well with the very light 7/8oz loads I made up for her to shoot. As Time moved we moved her to a Beretta 682 which was larger and heavier causing her wear out after a couple of rounds as most new shooters do with a standard weight gun. Because she wanted to improve we started doing gun lifts in front of the TV two or three nights a week until hoisting her gun and holding it over the house and moving to the target was not an issue.

Because my favorite clay target game are pot shoots requiring heavy field loads we decided the (PFS) Precision Fit Stock would be the best investment to calm recoil while allowing the gun to be fitted to her in every aspect, lop, cast, comb height and offset recoil height. The PFS turned out to be the best investment to achieve gun fit and reduce recoil allowing her shoot 1-3/8oz waterfowl loads with no adverse affects. The beauty of a PFS is you can transfer the stock from gun to with simply buying a grip for another brand of gun.

If I were outfitting my wife or girlfriend and paying for it, I would be inclined to find a good used Citori, Beretta 682 and add PFS for fit and recoil reduction while in concert get her in shooting shape by doing gun lifts which will make shooting much more enjoyable. A light gun is a great gun in the field because you're hauling it around while a heavier gun is calmer and easier to point smoothly.

Surfer
 
#18 ·
FWIW I know a lady who has gone thru several guns and now has a CG Syren and is very happy with it.

I would suggest avoiding the 101 like the plague since they seem to kick the crap outta the majority of people, including me and my wife.
 
#41 ·
I would suggest avoiding the 101 like the plague since they seem to kick the crap outta the majority of people, including me and my wife.
As stated above...the 101 has a deserved reputation when it comes to excessive recoil.

The only thing I left out is she is 5'2" and 105 lbs soaking wet.
All the more reason to avoid the 101.

One more comment...guns are not gender specific. Just because a gun is specifically marketed for women doesn't mean it's the right one for your wife. Try to get your hands on as many different guns to try as possible. In my experience, if you ask nicely, most shooters will let you try out their guns. Also, virtually ANY shotgun can be made to fit your wife by a competent gun fitter using adjustable hardware or custom fit stock.
 
#19 ·
The only thing I left out is she is 5'2" and 105 lbs soaking wet.

There have been some very informative responses here - thank you.
 
#20 ·
Update: I talked to the field rep for Illinois for Syren and he is getting a demo gun for my wife to try. He is going to deliver it to a dealer about 60 miles away who has agreed to taking my wife to his trap club on his day off to try it out.

If she likes it, I'm going to be stuck. You cannot beat that kind of customer service. Bye-Bye money.
 
#22 ·
Chance,

You're headed down a road that many of us have traveled. That road started for me in 2003.

Bought a Leo Special BT99 #156......Country Gentleman adjustable Butt pad. (not sure why we traded this one)
Traded that for a new Ljutic......too hard for her to open after 10 flats of shells.
Traded that for an MX 3 combo. No comb and kicked. Sold that. (shot a friends MX 14 combo)
Bought an MX 14 combo. (2 months later......she decided she can't shoot an unsingle)
Traded that for a Kolar 32/30 combo. (that lasted a year until she decided that she didn't like the mechanical triggers)
So......traded that for an MX 8 combo. She has been shooting the MX 2000/8, top single combo 34/29.5 since 2007.
This one has lasted longer than anything else. She has assured me that she loves this one and won't part with it.

I feel your pain.
Good luck my friend......
 
#23 ·
Chance, glad to hear that she will be able to demo one....contrary to what others have said about the thin recoil pad, the weight and the stock not being made for a woman I think if you look up the stock dimensions compared to conventional stocks you will see a BIG difference...the stock IS very much dimensioned with the female shooter in mind. Does it fit every woman perfect? No, but it sure is closer than any conventional stock. Are they over priced? Show me any target gun that is not over priced.
My wife shoots 1150fps loads, 1200fps loads and 1250fps 1oz. loads with her Syren as it came right out of the box and doesn't need a thing changed...she doesn't have any issues with recoil whatsoever...she is 5'6" and I won't say her weight but it is south of 135. The gun was stiff to open at first (typical of a lot of O/U's)but after a few thousand rounds, it loosened up just fine.
If this gun were going to be used as a dedicated trap gun then you should look at having an adjustable comb installed, but that can come later. I did mis-read your original post, so if the price is an issue then go the route that others have mentioned...Browning Crossover Target or a nice semi-auto and have the stocks worked on. Unfortunately you are probably screwed...I think she will really like the Syren.
 
#24 ·
I have a BT-99 Plus Micro with 30 inch barrel, adjustable rib, adjustable everything that she can try if she wants. I live in Illinois north of Chicago. I have a few other guns she can try and in this way she can be more definite about what feels good to her. JM
 
#26 ·
Ultimately good fit and feel transcend how much or how little money you spend and I understand many like a certain amount of cosmetics. I feel that from experience even though this is a recreational thing for you breaking targets consistently and comfortably is the way to go. What many people do is get a basic shotgun say a Citori Cross-over Target ($1695.00) and get the following mods--adjustable comb and some sort of adjustable LOP recoil device such as a RAD or BumpBuster ect. you are spending on the long end of things a extra $800-$900 you are still money ahead by about a $1,000.00 compared to the Syren $3695 or so. You can also get a Browning 725 Trap with 30" BL.(My dad has one of these and likes it a lot) very nimble yet true trap O/U with a adjustable comb for $2850.00 and say you spend $150-$300.00 for a good stock fitting and LOP cut you are still money ahead and have a nice true trap O/U. Those are a couple ideas in the new area and of course the used market is wide open :)
You could certainly have a nice gun by starting with the Browning Crossover Target and adding an adjustable comb and some type of adjustable recoil reducing recoil pad. However, you would probably end up with a gun that is between 9 1/4 to 9 1/2 pounds in weight. This might be a bit too much for most women. Just my opinion.

Easystreet
 
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