[bwire]

My wife wants to start shooting clay birds and go along with me and the dogs on some of our bird hunts. Can anybody suggest a shotgun that seems to work out well for a woman. I have been looking at youth shotguns since I thought they would probably fit her better. I was looking for something in 20 ga. Right now I'm leaning towards the Stoeger Condor Youth gun in 20. Thanks for any input.

 

[turkey4life]

that is a good choice.
and if she ever wants to upgrade you can just get her a 12ga with a youth stock on.

 

[thecatskinner]

I probably will do nothing but muddy the water here--but it doesn't seem to be holding me back

There is another thread here about an 870 20 ga--which got me to thinking but I didn't want to pull that off topic.

So--here goes---back in the early 70's Remington came out with an 870 Feather Weight. As I recall only in 20 ga. This was not a 12 ga made into a 20, this was a 20 ga from the ground up, thus very light weight.

I wanted one! I told my gun dealer at the time that I wanted the first one in the door--and I got it.

Long story short--that had the shortest stay in residence of any gun I ever bought as a shooter

That baby kicked like the proverbial mule--it had NO mercy!

The problem was two fold--first it was light, secondly and likely more importantly was it didn't fit--and simply battered the day lights out of me.

So--be careful--make sure the gun fits--you could end this opportunity to bond before it even starts

There is no certainty that a youth gun will fit her.

 

[pappybear]

The BPS Ladies/Youth 20ga. is also a real nice shotgun. It's the same price range, maybe even a little less than as the Condor.
Beretta and Remington also have some very nice semi-autos in the same price range.

Take her to one of the big gun shops and let her shoulder them to see what feels best to her.

 

[rflktrman]

I got my gf a used Savage 20 ga pump.

 

[BuckMatty]

I got an 1100 - LT20 for my wife that works well for her. Like catskinner said above, the fit is the most important thing.

 

[duckman76]

I would go with an auto loader for the added recoil reduction. I know that the 20's don't have much recoil to begin with but if you want her to keep shooting lots of rounds with you I'd go that route. On that note I have a 390 Beretta in both 20 and 12 that have been put through the ringer with only minimal problems over the years. You can pick up a good used 390 or 391 for around $500-$600 if you look around.

 

[TRAPJAW]

My mother got the idea to shoot some clay birds the one year we were having a fun day at the property. I handed her my 11-87 since of all the guns that would have the least recoil. Surprisingly she had no problems with it. Now granted she has shot rifles before, but nothing over her Ruger 44mag lever, which doesn't have a ton of recoil.

My advice, get a good gun that fits, everything after that is practice.

 

[bwire]

Thanks for the information.

 

[hunt/fish365]

I would take her to a store that has a bunch of shotguns for her to shoulder. Just because it's a women doesn't mean they can't stand the recoil. When my wife used to go shooting with me she only ever wanted to shoot my 44 mag revolver because as she put it "it actually feels like I'm doing something". She had no desire to plink away with the 22.

You know your wife better than we do. Take he shopping, it normally makes them feel better.

 

[Born2Hunt]

I know small girls who are very good on the range with 12's they selected to fit her length of pull by visiting gun stores.

If you are going to a 20 ga. youth model you might want to give the New England Partner Pump a look. A great gun for the $$.

It is simpler for them with a semi auto.....

 

[bwire]

She has used a pump before but she didn't like it. We will look around and see what we can find. All of the replies have been helpfull.

 

[Woods walker]

Don't discount a .28 ga, O/U or S/S.

 

[fjp110]

take her out to shoot your gun. before you decide she needs a 20 let her see a what a 12 feels like. as far as youth sized, is she youth sized herself? We often decide what is best for others without letting them try options.

 

[bwire]

I'm going to have her try my 20 ga O/U. Just my luck and she will like it. But I don't think I'll be getting her a Browning Citori Whit Lightning for the little shooting she will do. If she does like that gun I may just use my 12 ga Condor when she goes out with me.

 

[thecatskinner]

I've made a lot of mistakes in my life but one of my bigger ones---allowing my sons to shoot my Citori

 

[4cslabs]

Find her a nice Beretta semi - Urika 391 - One of the lightest shooting guns on the market. Go with a 12ga right away and teach her to lean into it and absorb what little recoil is there. If you ever get over this way let me know and we'll set her up to shoot my Teknys and see if she likes it.

 

[mountainman09]

i have the rem 20 in youth 1100 and it kicks more then my regular 1100 20