Best shotgun for 95lb woman?

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elwaynum1

New member
I am currently searching for a skeet & trap shotgun with minimum recoil and preferably light weight. The shotgun will be for my mother-in-law who weights about 95lbs and is 50yrs old. She really enjoyed going out with us to the trap range this weekend and had the opportunity to shoot a 20-gauge 870 but it might have been a little too much for her.

Can you guys recommend anything that would be a little more fitting for someone of her stature if there is anything? We will look into some good recoil pads as well and some light loads if need be.
 
You want a gas operated semi-auto for her ...and probably in a 20ga / although a 12ga with light loads might be even better. It isn't her weight that is an issue ...its how much upper body strength she has / but a solid breech gun ( like an O/U or a pump is usually a bad idea )...you need some recoil reduction / but most of all it needs to be in a weight she can handle ...and with a length of pull that fits her. "Fit" is important - so it hits where she looks ...

In terms of brands ....Beretta probably has the most options for you / but I'd probably look at Browning/Winchester as well ...

In the Browning silver series... something like this .../ and they have about 6 guns in their silver series..

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=020B&cid=011&tid=389&bg=x

In my area --- that gun new sells for around $ 800 so its a lot of gun for the money.
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Beretta has 30 or 40 models of semi-autos .../ the UGB on the high end...down to a youth model ...
 
For whatever its worth. You would think buying thicker stock pads to help the female with recoil is a great idea. It may extend her arms further out making the gun uncomfortable.
 
I recently taught a whole family to shoot. The Mother and wife is an Asian-American about one click bigger than Tinker Bell. Probably less than 95 lbs.

She first shot with my little SKB O/U in 20 gauge. I loaded some 3/4 oz,1100 FPS handloads to make things easier on her. After that,she bought a Beretta White Onyx in 20 gauge and now outshoots her husband.

Do not GET a shotgun for Mom. Let her try out different actions and styles and let her pick her own.

There's a former "Yute" 870 here, a 20 gauge. It handles well, but it's so light that kick is a problem for folks who haven't gelled their form and whose fit is not optimum.

Another option's a 28 gauge. Thse have little kick, more than enough moxie to bust clays, but the ammo is expensive unless you reload. Then it's quite cheap, relatively speaking.

HTH....
 
I second Dave's mention of a 28ga...

I have two guns that I start most of the younger shooters in my family on:

Benelli supersport model ..semi-auto in 20ga, very light gun at 6.2 lbs ...and even though its an Inertia gun ( vs gas operated ) it has Benelli's comfort tech system in it ...making it shoot pretty soft. The plus side is the weight at around 6 lbs...and with lighter loads -that I reload in a 20ga 7/8 oz at 1200 fps ...it cycles them just fine. About 75% of the time ...it'll cycle 7/8 oz loads at 1150 fps .../ and with Trap that's fine...or with new shooters just shooting singles. New its a relatively expensive semi-auto at $ 1,875 or so in my area today.

A Browning O/U in 28ga ...its a 7.5 lb gun ...but if they have the upper body strength to swing it ....balistically its a good option. I reload for it ..so cost is no factor. Most 28ga guns are a little pricier...this is a gun I use myself for sporting clays, some quail, some skeet, etc... its not a great "youth" gun ...but there are some less expensive 28ga guns out there ...some used Rem 1187's --- Browning BPS hunter model comes in a 28ga ...etc...

I don't think there are any new 28ga semi-autos out there right now...

But if she's just getting started ...borrowing / or renting a gun is a much smarter choice anyway ...unless you're just looking for an excuse to buy another gun ..and letting her use it ...
 
My wife and daughters shoot a Remington 1100 20ga. I bought a1100 youth model for my son when he was 12 but the felt recoil was more than a regular 1100.
It will work well for trap and skeet.
 
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+1 870 Youth 20 Gauge
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If you do the math a 6 lb. 20 ga loaded with 7/8 oz shot has more recoil than a standard 7.5 lb. 12 ga loaded with 1 1/8 oz shot. You buy a 20 because the guns are lighter and easier to carry, not for recoil reduction.

When my son turned 11 I did a lot of research and ended up buying a good used 12 ga. gas operated semi. I found one with a short 24" barrel and had the stock cut shorter for him. It fit him well, recoiled far less than a pump 20 when loaded with 1 oz shot and gave good patterns which allowed him to actually make enough hits to gain confidence.

The only thing lighter recoiling would have been a 20 ga gas gun. But he handled the 12 with no problems.
 
With young shooters ...or inexperienced shooters....its more about upper body strength than anything...for these games to be fun for them.

Some petite women ...have a lot of upper body strength ...some don't.

Kids are the same way ...some at 12 can handle and swing an 8lb gun / some can barely handle a 7 lb gun ... / so to me, that is the primary factor in selecting a gun for young shooters.

A couple of the better instructors I know in my area....keep some loaner guns for new shooters ....all gas operated guns...older Remington 1100's or Berettas ...and they shorten the stock / and reduce the weight ...so they have 6 lb and 7 lb guns for new shooters / at their lessons.
 
If I were you and it being your Dear Mother in Law I think one of those German sporting arms might not be out of line.
 
Thanks for the recommendations. We are going to try and go out and shoot as many 20 gauge's with her and see which she likes, if any.

Are inertia-driven semi-autos like Benelli's or Franchi's worth looking at?
 
I have a Benelli Montefeltro that's inertia driven and the felt recoil is more than my Remington 1100 gas operated.I'd go with gas operated for her.
 
Some petite women ...have a lot of upper body strength ...some don't.
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I've competed with petite women and young girls who shot full sized 12-ga O/Us. None of them ever complained about their gun's weight. If you think about it, the gun is at your shoulder only about 2 to 4 seconds for each target. Those who can carry a small child hour after hour should be able to shoulder a lighter gun for less than 2 minutes per round of trap or skeet.

Unless you have to carry it for hour after hour while hunting, don't consider a light weight gun. Shoot a full sized 12-ga, it will swing smoother and absorb some recoil.
 
Inertia guns can be a good option ...if they have the comforttech system in it.....which means it has to have a synthetic stock vs a wood stock...

I'm not a fan of the Franchi guns ...I know they are a subsidiary of Beretta - just like Benelli ...but the systems in the Franchi and the Benelli are different/ and at my club --- there are a lot more problems with Franchi than the Benelli's.

Most of the inertia guns ---- will not cycle reliably with loads less than 1200 fps ...

Benelli SuperSport model...is my semi-auto model of choice / but they're around $ 1,875 new ...unless you can find a used one / and they have both 12ga and 20ga versions.

Zippy was right about most mature women having plenty of upper body strength ...( my wife is only 115 lbs ...and she can do one handed pushups) ...and I sure as heck can't at 6'5" and 280 lbs...and women are way tougher than men anyway ...for the most part. But every now and then I help on a lesson with a few ladies ..that just don't have much upper body strength ../ or younger kids ... 10 - 15 or so ... and they can't swing a 7.5 lb gun .../ so I like that Benelli Super Sport in a 20ga at 6.2 lbs with a 28" barrel ...as an option....but the 12ga version is only 7.2 lbs in a 30" barrel...so they're both good options....but more expensive than most of the gas gun options...
 
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