Advice Needed: Light minimum LOP for daughter's first shotgun

T

Tarheel59

Inactive
My daughter is an adult, but needs something light with a minimum length of pull to comfortably shoot... She has a small frame and not a lot of arm or upper body strength. Probably thinking 20ga, even though I maintain that 7/8 oz loads from a 12ga seem to have less recoil than most 20ga loads to me.

Even the stock on my wife's Remington 1100 LT20 Youth model is too long. I light the idea of a semi-automatic for recoil reduction, but my familiarity is limited to the Remington 1100-1187 series and my understanding is that the youth LT20 stock is about a short as you can go due the 1100's design with the recoil spring in the stock...

The 870 express compact junior with a 12" LOP is a much closer fit, but recoil is a potential concern. Fixed breech may be my only choice though - so recommendations on pumps or O/U's will definitely be looked at.

Usage would be universal - some skeet, some sporting clays, and probably her long gun of choice if needed around the home/farm.

I do not anticipate heavy use, but one can always hope.... :)

Any assistance you can provide will be greatly appreciated!

Tarheel59
 
For a lightweight semi-auto ....I went with the Benelli Super Sport model ( and its available in both 12ga and 20ga )....and in the 20ga with the 28" barrel it only weighs 6.2 lbs...

The synthetic stock on the super sport model has a "comfort tech" recoil gel pad --- and optional pads slip on and off can be purchased - to change the length of pull to 13 7/8" , 14 1/4" or 14 5/8"..../ there is also a gel pad insert on the top of the comb .../ so overall, even being a Inertia system ...its a soft recoiling gun.

If you keep the guns clean and properly lubed...they will operate reliably with any load at 1200 fps...but they tend not to be able to cycle loads at 1150 fps...and my guns operate with 3/4oz, 7/8 oz or 1 oz loads just fine at 1200 fps...( both the 12ga and 20ga versions).
--------
The 12ga with a 30" barrel only weighs 7.2 lbs...so its light as well ...but the shorter and lighter 20ga is a good training gun for new shooters in my family at 6.2 lbs ---- especially for some of the younger grandkids because they lack the upper body strength to swing a 7.5 - 8 lb gun...

If I had to go with a fixed breech gun, like a pump, I'd go with a 28ga instead and 3/4 oz loads...Browning BPS hunter model would be my choice for an affordable 28ga. There are a couple of 28ga semi-autos around as well...and Remington did make some in the 11-87 models.
 
Thanks for the replies. Will probably stick with 20ga. I do reload, but currently only in 12, 20, and .410 - so far there are no 28 gauges in the gun safe. I hear lots of good things about it, but will probably not go that route at this time. I have loaded down to 3/4 oz and even 11/16th in both 12 and 20 - using a little cardstock to help fill the shot cup up enough for a decent crimp. If recoil is still any sort of issue I'll give that a try.

I'll check out the Benelli and BPS Hunter.

Thanks,

Tarheel59
 
BPSs are relatively heavy. I wouldn't recommend an inertia gun to anyone I didn't like, much less my daughter. :eek:
You can go shorter with an 1100/11-87 youth stock. If you look, you can get closer to the action tube, and you could even go with a shorter action tube nut. A 26" barrel will probably handle better for her. You will not get anything that kicks less. I do have a mahogany stocked 28 gauge 1100 that is a little lighter than my LT20, but my daughters didn't have any trouble with the 20 with a youth stock when they were starting out.
 
I got my recoil shy son a 20 Gauge gas operated Wetherby. Less than 500 bucks, short LOP and once it was broken in it has not skipped a beat.
 
The things that affect recoil are the shot being fired (weight) and the weight of the gun. How the recoil feels includes other things, most notable, how the stock fits.

Once your daughter has reached her full adult growth, having a stock properly fitted to her is a good idea. If you shorten a stock for a youth, you may have to lengthen it again if they grow more. My son's .22 that we shortened the stock on when he was 12 just didn't fit right when he was 17 and 6'4".;). This may not apply to your situation, or it may be something worth keeping in mind.

Another thing to consider, is loading shells a bit lighter, just for her.
 
The Benelli - with the comfort tech system built into the synthetic stock...is a surprisingly soft shooting gun. But before you buy one ....ask around your local club and see if someone has one that you could test a little. Don't confuse the guns with the comfort tech with the solid wood stocked Benelli's - the solid stocked guns will give you a lot more recoil.

Look at the Browning Silver series...for a semi-auto...the Silver Hunter is available in 20ga....and so is the Silver Micro model.../ length of pull on the Micro model is around 13"...

with 3/4 oz loads...the 20ga is effectively a 28ga ....
--------------
But with shooters that lack upper body strength ...or guys with injuries ( I tore my rotator cuff, tore bicep and fractured my shoulder blade )...finding a lighter gun to shoot is a big deal --- because after surgery - as those injuries were healing, I could not swing my typical 8.5 lb over under..../ and the Benelli Super Sport let me shoot that sporting clays season with no pain in the 12ga. With a bunch of younger grand kids coming along a few yrs ago ....I picked up the 20ga version with the 28" barrel at 6.2 lbs...and it was a great training gun for the younger kids from 12 - 16 ...especially the young girls or the boys that were not big kids.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top