Shotgun recommendation

B

BogBabe

New member
I'm interested in adding a shotgun to my small but growing arsenal, and I figured the good people here at TFL would be a great group to ask for advice.

The only shotgun I've shot in recent years is my boyfriend's 12g Remington 870 Marine Magnum -- a heavy sucker with major recoil. It's way too heavy for me, and the recoil actually forces me backward a step or two after each shot. This morning we were out shooting, and I had a dead computer monitor that needed executing. At about 20 feet, I didn't hit it once with 4 shots from the Remington. :( So I whipped out my little .380 handgun and blasted the thing with every shot. :)

Obviously, the Remington is not the shotgun for me.

I'm pretty sure I want a 20 gauge, but I have no idea what kind. This would be basically for home defense, plus perhaps some trap or skeet shooting, as I've been thinking that would be fun to get into. Emphasis on home defense.

What say you all?
 
SHOTGUN

I would recommend a Remington 20 ga 1100, or if you want to spend a bit more the Beretta 391 20 ga.

Both are gas operated and that tends to mitigate some of the recoil. It is much more pleasant to shoot a gun that doesn't beat you up:D

Either gun will do fine for HD duty. Despite all the hoopla about short barrels and tac lights and all the stuff sume people hang on their guns, a plane Jane 1100 will do the job nicely.

Check around at the local T & S club , you may be able to find a good used 1100.
 
How much do you want to spend? I recommend getting something you can be really proud of, if you are willing to spend a little. Maybe Franchi 48AL or Benelli Montefeltro in 20ga. Both are light and very beautiful guns. As mentioned, you can't go wrong with a Beretta 391 or 390. If you want a pump the Browing BPS is a very attractive gun. Benelli Nova pumps are the rage now. A 20ga is available in scary black matte.
 
Might I ask what you were shooting out of that 870? My 12 Gauge 870's are fairly mild shooters with the generic "multi-purpose" stuff I get from Wally World.
This would be the 2 3/4" shells that are filled with 1 1/8 oz of 7 1/2 shot.
If the Marine Magnum you were shooting had a factory recoil pad on it, I would recommend getting one with a Pachmayr Decelerator Pad. I have these and they made a very big difference in felt recoil for me.
Don't give up on the 870. It is a terrific SG.
Also as Dave McC should have mentioned by now, stock fit and lots of practice are essential.
Mike
 
Thanks, you guys have given me some good information! I'll be looking into the various shotguns recommended here. I don't want to spend a lot on a shotgun, as I'm really more "into" handguns. I just feel like any gun owner should have a shotgun as part of a well-rounded collection. ;)

May I ask a dumb question now? (Well, really more out of ignorance than any innate dumbness):

What is a gas-operated shotgun? (Mentioned by K80Geoff as "mitigating some of the recoil")

9mmMike, I was shooting 2 3/4" 1-oz federal slugs. Also buckshot. I've shot the 870 several times now, and I just have to give up on it. Even if I could minimize the recoil to an acceptable level, the sheer weight of it makes it too hard for me to hold it steady.

Thanks again, everyone, for the input!
 
I'm a fan of the 870 but my wife at 5' and 97# won't shoot my 12g 870. a 20g youth model might work.
The 870 is a pump action, which remains locked when fired until the pump is maually cycled to eject-reload.
The 1100 Rem and Beretta 391 are gas-operated semi-automatics that cycle the action at time of firing. a mechanism of gas piston and spring perform the eject-reload cycle "mitigating some of the recoil".
 
Thanks, Kingcreek, for the "gas operated" explanation. I had seen that term used before, but had no idea what it meant.
 
Slugs and buckshot? I don't mean to be mean but what kind of guy sets up his gal with slugs and buckshot for her first outing with a SG? That is wicked!
Please forgive my tone but, wow! That is almost criminal. I would not/could not ever do such a thing to my bride.
It hurts just thinking about it.
As far as overall weight goes, I have never weighed any SG's but the gas operated ones seem heavier to me. The Mossy's have an alloy reciever that may save weight but remember that more weight will often mean less felt recoil.
As many of the TFL'ers have mentioned, lots of folks go to the semi's to manage recoil. If cost is a factor then I would lean back towards the pump guns.
My shoulder is aching just thinking about those slugs! ;)
Mike
 
If cost is a factor I would search out one of the "Wall Mart" 1100 synthetic shotguns. They are not expensive as decent shotguns go and are reliable and soft shooting.

I apologize for not explaining further about "Gas Guns". This is a term used by shotgunners and often we assume everyone knows what we are talking about.

Gas operated shotguns use some of the expanding gas from the barrel to operate the bolt. As opposed to recoil operated shotguns that use the force of the recoil to operate the bolt. Gas operated shotguns are considered to be softer shooters as the recoil is spread out over a longer time frame. More like a shove as opposed to a punch.

Thousands of shooters have started out with the 1100, and the new Beretta 391 is starting to give remington some competition. I have known several shooters who started their sons out with the 1100 20ga youth model . Some of these kids are now using O/U's and regularly outshoot their old man (and me too unfortunately:D )

Many shooters getting on in years and no longer able to handle the pounding from their O/U's are going back to the 1100 or the higher grade 391.
 
Hmmm, well, don't blame the b/f, 9mmMike. First, I had shot this shotgun before. I knew what kind of recoil it had, and I wanted to use the slugs to execute this dead computer monitor I had. I thought the slugs would provide a very satisfying ka-blam! :) (We enjoy shooting various fun things at our private range.) So that was all at my own instigation. Plus my boyfriend knows that I enjoy guns sufficiently that it wouldn't permanently scare me away from shooting, or anything like that.

Unfortunately, I couldn't even hit the darn monitor with the darn shotgun. I resorted to my Glock .40 and blasted it to pieces in short order. I only brought up yesterday's shooting incident because it helped me realize that that particular shotgun is definitely not the one for me.

So the gas-operated semi's have less recoil, but cost more, than pump-actions? Cost is a factor, so I'll have to investigage the pros and cons there. I'll have to ask around and see if any friends have a semi that I can try out and see if I really prefer that, and then decide if it's worth the extra cost.
 
My $.02....

BogBabe,your boyfriend deserves a few strokes of the Bastinado for starting you off with everything going against you.

Unless you're built like a 5'10", 160 lb man of medium build, that stock didn't fit you. Bad fit= more pain.

Second, even if you're built like Tinker Bell, that 870 should NOT have forced you back.Bad form = pain.

Third, hard kicking slugs and buck loads are NOT good starter loads. Even my old agency, far from enlightened in the ways of effectively training folks with shotguns, used 1 oz light target loads for trainers. If I was to break in a new shooter now, I'd do some reloads with 3/4 oz of shot in a 12 gauge, a real creampuff load.

Fourth, shotgun weight is a mixed blessing. More weight = less kick. My HD 870 weighs in around 9 lbs. What kick?

BTW, gas guns run heavier as well as more expensive than pumps. A 20 gauge 391 or 100 will weigh within oz of that 870. I suggest getting used to the weight. I've seen real featherweights and pixies do very good work with shotguns, but it takes some work. And committment...

As to what to do now,here's my suggestions...

First, have the churlish oaf you call a boyfriend read this thread until he knows he seriously messed up. Otherwise, next he'll want you to try his 44 mag with full house loads.

Second, find a local range that offers lessons with a qualified instructor, and maybe rental shotguns. A Sporting Clays course usually has at least one Instructor that's excellent at training women, since women tend to shoot SC rather than Trap or Skeet. He/she also will probably be able to fit a stock to you, or at least tell you what you'll need. He/she'll also help you get your form right so you can handle the weapon and the kick, better.

Third, try some different shotguns and see what you'd like. Besides the ones mentioned above, Remington has a 20 gauge 870 Youth Express with a 12 1/2" Length of Pull, better for smaller framed
folks and topped with a nice pad. BTW, rounding off the toe of the pad slightly often lowers discomfort for women.

Fourth, there's wearable pads out there that help a lot. PAST makes one, as well as shooting vests with builtins. These REALLY help.

Fifth,find a reloader you know and ask him/her to set you up with some super light loads for starting off. My son is 15 and small for his age, he shoots a little with a 3/4 oz, 1000 FPS creampuff reload I developed for him and his little NEF 12 ga single.

Sixth,the Archives here have tons of info on handling kick, proper form, fit and so on.

Hope this helps.....
 
I did not mean to sound too judgemental there (well maybe a wee bit ;) ).
Now, regarding your hopes that "slugs would provide a very satisfying ka-blam":
The next time you go out, try some lighter loads. Just about anything coming out of the loud end of a SG will "provide a very satisfying ka-blam".
Private range huh? That would be nice.
Good luck,
Mike
 
All right, you guys, quit picking on my boyfriend (who's not even here to defend himself). First, I am not new to shooting in general, just inexperienced with shotguns. Second, he wasn't trying to teach me any shotgun-shooting skills. We were out shooting our pistols, and I asked him to bring the shotgun so I could blast a computer monitor!

Oh, and Dave McC? I've shot his .357 with those plus-p loads, and I've shot his brother's .44 magnum. I've also shot his brother's .50 caliber Serbu BFG, and a friend's fully automatic machine gun (disremember exactly what kind, but definitely full auto). Big guns and big ka-blams don't scare me.

Shooting the slugs out of the 12-gauge shotgun was my desire, and knew it would throw me for a loop, and I wanted to do it anyway. The responsibility for that is all mine.

Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way . . . . ;)

Thanks for all the good suggestions. Using light reloads sounds like a good idea, once I do get my own shotgun, as does taking a course -- I like the idea of a sporting clays course. I'll have to do some research and find out what's available in the Tampa area.

And I've taken notes on the various models mentioned here, so that I can look into them and see what I like. And thanks to you guys, now I know the difference between pump action and gas-operated semi, so I won't sound like a total ignoramus when I go shotgun-shopping. That alone is worth its weight in gold. :)
 
Jumping in a tad late ....

BogBabe,

Fairly "hip" to your shooting adventures from reading some of your posts .... a 12, with "major" loads is a real kick - pun intended. Not too many log guns have a boot as do they.

Light loads is a good idea, just to play a bit with that shotgun. Suggest maybe something in the promotional "dove/quail" loadings of about 1 ounce of shot .... & NOT max dram equiv.

My Baby, The Wife, is 5' even & 100 lbs - she shoots an 870 20 ga youth model fairly well - we still need some practice though - shotguns can be way different than either handgun (at which she excells!) & rifle (she's none too shabby there neither) ...

The only problem I have with the 20 ga is availablitity of the various flavors of ammo - it seems to get a bit shorted as opposed to the 12.

The 20 has plenty going for it if talking about any flavor of game-type ammo, but it does seem to be a bit difficult to find a decent variety of buckshot/slugs, etc. without hunting all over for it. Just not as common as the stuff for the 12.

Too, a 20 may have more of a boot to it merely due to the gun's usual lighter weight. It will probably point more quickly though due to that lighter weight. Nothing for free ....

One very nice thing about a pump is that it is manually operated - you get to decide when & how fast the action works. If any "screw-ups," it's atributed to the operator & not the firearm's action - moreso a fool-proof action design.
 
OK, Babe, I'll lighten up on your SO. However, I've seen so many guys set their women up for failure by turning them loose with heavy loads. One I knew got a nasty scar on her forehead from a 44 Blackhawk in her first and last shooting session.

Some guys think it's funny to see their women in pain from kick, others just do not think. Rant moded off...

From postings over on trapshooters.com, it sounds like Fla has lots of ranges. Check at your friendly neighborhood gun shop.

HTH...
 
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