looking for a gas gun for my wife.

B

BerdanSS

New member
With the help of a GREAT instructor at the skeet range yesterday, I FINALLY got my wife to get a scatter gun in her hands. While my wife loves pistol shooting (and is quite good) She had this you-tube induced fear that anything you put to your shoulder other than a .22 is going to break your collar bone.

She also has finally showed a serious spark of interest in hunting, an wants to accompany me on this springs turkey hunt :) I told her we need to get a shotgun in your hands and get comfortable with shooting it. The local range has a couple beretta 20 and 12ga auto loners. So we headed over there.

After watching me shoot my first round of 5 stand ever (and I did pretty good with a little coaching, dusted 19:D) the instructor got her talked into blasting a couple shells from his personal 12ga 1100.....she squeezed the trigger...her jaw dropped....she loved it. on the 3rd shot she busted a clay to dust....big grin out of her on that one.

I want to find her something decent, clean used, that is good handling and a soft shooter. Also something that is as much at home in the woods, as it is on the trap range.


The guns I'm looking at/for are the following:

Remington 1100
Browning B80 (found a gently used one locally for $350)
Beretta
Lower end Beneli

Thoughts? Perspective? Suggestions?

I've never owned a browning, but I only hear good things about the B80.
 
Top of the line these days for an autoloader is the Browning Maxus and Beretta A400. Both very dependable and very soft shooting. Also quite spendy. Not far behind is the Winchester SX3 but it is several hundred dollars less.
 
Forgot to include a budget:o

Trying not to go whole hog on her first one. looking to spend no more than $550. I've spotted a couple berettas and one beneli in that range. I have shot a couple older berettas, they were total Jam-o-matics with trap loads.
 
Since she liked the 1100, that could be a good option and can be found in the right price range. Same with the Remington 11-87.
 
is the 1100 and 11-87 basically the same gun? I've been looking at both. The 11-87 is just a newer version isn't it?
 
Get a good used Remington 1100 or 11-87 Premier - if you think you will need 3" capability, and go from there. I have owned guns costing 20 times what an 1100 costs, and I have shot about everything available. They have all gone and the 1100 is still here, along with some bretheren, after 51 years. No it doesn't have all the latest bells and whistles, and no it won't go as long between quick 5 minute cleanings, but so what? I shoot it extremely well, and they have never failed me, and have killed about everything legal that flies, live or clay or plastic. And they shoot as soft as anything ever made. That steel action sleeve really helps.
 
No need for 3" shells. There are some really great options for 2 & 3/4 turkey loads out there. No need to hammer her shoulder and put her of to the whole thing with magnum shells, Everything else with be trap loads. So the 1100 and 11-87 both use the same gas system?
 
11-87 is 99% 1100, but that 1% is the gas system. 11-87 is 3" and 2-3/4" whereas an 1100 is either 2-3/4" or 3" from a chamber perspective. If all I needed was 2-3/4" I would stick to an 1100. Available new or 51 (almost 52) years old, with only very small changes. In my experience an 1100 is less likely to have issues with lighter loads. If you get a nice used one - widely available - as long as you take care of it, if she decides she wants something different down the road you shouldn't lose a dime either. If you get an older one, have a nice recoil pad fitted. If she shoots trap, you may want to get a shell catcher, or fit a knock down pin to the barrel, or just buy a trap barrel.
If someone starts on the O ring stuff, they are real cheap, but they don't move in service and are usually damaged by ham handed owners during cleaning. My '63 has the O ring I replaced my metal V ring with (because the O ring seals better and I didn't want to lose the V ring) about 1967. Call it a test in progress.
 
Thank you sirs....I believe we will pass on the B80 and look for a nice used 1100

one I forgot to toss in was the Mossberg 930. I've never shot one, but people seem to be raving about them.


Virginian
The o-ring thing was brought up by the instructor, said it was a big ordeal.....he then laughed and said "I'm just mess'n with ya! They cost about 27 cents and install in seconds"
 
You didn't say how tall,etc your wife is. You need to make sure you get a gun that fits her correctly and is comfortable for her to carry in the fields/woods if you expect her to go hunting with you more than once.

The correct length of pull, etc. Once you get this worked out, you will know whether a youth/lady sized gun is in order or one with a standard length of pull and barrel size, which will then allow you pick out brands and models to look at.

My wife is 5'3" and 115lb. So for her, a youth sized 1100 20ga with its 13 LOP is perfect. So are the 2 16ga Ithaca 37's that I built for her. Both 13" LOP, 24" barrels. Not too heavy and not too light to hurt when she shoots.

My full size Ithaca 37's would not work for her beyond a couple shots at the range, if she could get comfortable on the stock.

Above all, buy her the gun she wants, not the gun you want.
 
"...The 11-87 is just a..." Different gas system. Supposedly so all ammo will cycle without doing anything.
Shot a Berretta 90 something long ago. 12 gauge. Didn't have any recoil. No idea what ammo. Wasn't mine. Mine is an 870.
 
one I forgot to toss in was the Mossberg 930. I've never shot one, but people seem to be raving about them.
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I thought of mentioning it, but, as far as I know, only 12 ga models with full length stocks are available, so I wasn't sure if it would be a good fit for her.

My dad has one and it's worked well for him, although he hasn't put a ton or rounds through it.
 
the instructor got her talked into blasting a couple shells from his personal 12ga 1100.....she squeezed the trigger...her jaw dropped....she loved it. on the 3rd shot she busted a clay to dust....big grin out of her on that one.
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I think the lady has a preference already. Mossberg 930 is I believe also 2-3/4" & 3" capable, and no where near as pretty as an 1100.
 
drcook

My young lady is 5'7'' and about 126lbs. (105 pounds of which is pure spitfire) as far as the weight, shes a pretty athletic girl that can out lift most guys her size. She told the instructor after handing him his gun back, that sheet couldn't believe how little it weighed based on its size. Im a pretty good wood worker/finisher, so as long as it has a wood stock i can cut the LOP to her needs. The instructor was a couple inches shorter than her, and had shortened the LOP on his gun. She said it seemed to short for her. Like her wrist was to close to her nose.

My main goal was to get her a gun she would use for a while, get her comfortable then let her pick something special if she wants. She's not a real picky gal, more of a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it kind". She's had that issue with shooting a shoulder fired weapon since high school. Her friend had one of those typical inbred A hole jock boyfriends, that thinks there's nothing funnier in the world than telling a girl something will be fine ''you wont get hurt, trust me'' for a laugh. After leting her shoot a .22 rifle, he gave her a single shot 20ga with a 3" deer slug in it. You can guess what happened. I knew all it would take is one bad experience to put her off to it for another 10 years. From what ive been hearing the 1100 is one of the softest shooters. Without breaking the bank. The B80 just popped up locally, but i know she can handle the 1100 for sure. Ive never fired a 930 or any beneli...so I wasnt sure if one or the other had less recoil.
 
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Any inertia action, such as a Benelli, requires the receiver to move under recoil to function. They didn't come up with those two piece stocks for nothing.
 
BerdanSS. I am only 5'8" and while it is rumored that women are built differently than men, I would think that your lady will be fine with an LOP around 14", which is what my stock was cut down to and I have short arms. Since you can work with wood and she may need her stock cut, that is all the more reason to avoid a gun with a synthetic stock. Depending on which one, they can be difficult to cut.

If you go with a used 1100, make sure to get one that takes choke tubes. The older barrels have fixed chokes.
 
My oldest daughter is about the size of your wife actually a little shorter but, she shot this Beretta 390 Sporting Clays gun just fine, more than held her own on the skeet range.

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An inertia gun, like a Benelli or a Stoeger, will have a bit more recoil than the gas guns. The 1100 is certainly a mainstay for the clays and birds as are several others. The Browning Maxus, which replaced the Golden Clays is a great shotgun, but a bit beyond the prize point you were looking at. The VersaMax is the softest shooting auto-loader on the market, and in a Sportsman model, you will be a few hundred over your budget. I would avoid the Mossbergs, just too many issues and they have not been very good about fixing the lemons.

For a multi-purpose, reliable shotgun, these are the four (in decreasing price) I would consider.

VersaMax Sportsman, Beretta A300, Weatherby SA-08, Stoeger M3000.

Synthetic stocks are easier to cut and fit a recoil pad to than a wood stock, IMHO. The Stoeger comes with a shim kit for the stock and since their is no recoil assembly in the stock, can be cut short enough for a 5 year old.
 
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