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Women 20 GA for skeet and trap


Col Del Rio

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My wife wants to try skeet and trap. She is petite so a full sized gun would not work.

Any recommendations?  I am brand agnostic. O/U or Semi-Auto probably better.  

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Depends on how serious she gets. Basically, skeet and trap shooters use different guns. eg. chokes, length of barrel and stock design. I would begin with a Remington 1100. Very dependable and has interchangeable barrels, which solves 2 problems. It is also very reasonable in price. If she really gets serious, she will probably pick one of the 2 sports and the gun questions will solve themselves in a second generation gun later.

 

Good luck......I love them both!

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I'm assuming just getting out and shooting for fun. Competition trap is almost always shot with a 12 gauge, and I've never seen a dedicated trap gun chambered in anything else. I would definitely look at a semi-auto, because there should be less felt recoil. Like @Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life said, if you can find a used Remington 1100 in good condition, it would be a good choice because they are known for their softer recoil. With a 28" barrel it would be a reasonable compromise, better for skeet, but with effort OK for trap.

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My lady bought a Mossberg 550 (IIRC) youth model, it fits her. Not sure it is the right tool for skeet and trap, and as it is 20 GA, it has a surprising amount of kick for the load. And it is a pump.

 

Mainly posting the info as she is also petite and really likes how the youth model fits her frame. So my advice is to check out youth models.

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I suggest making arrangements with some shooters at your club, and letting her try their guns. That will tell her what works best for her. 
 

I’ll also state from experience that a smaller 20 gauge can have as much recoil as a larger 12 gauge. Trim the 22 gauge stock to fit her. Maybe trim and re-choke the barrel. I think you’d be surprised how well a 12 gauge 1100 will serve her. 

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8 hours ago, Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life said:

Depends on how serious she gets. Basically, skeet and trap shooters use different guns. eg. chokes, length of barrel and stock design. I would begin with a Remington 1100. Very dependable and has interchangeable barrels, which solves 2 problems. It is also very reasonable in price. If she really gets serious, she will probably pick one of the 2 sports and the gun questions will solve themselves in a second generation gun later.

 

Good luck......I love them both!

20 kicks as hard as a 12.  Look into a 16 gauge if you can find one.

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My god-son introduced his girlfriend to trap shooting.  She loved it, but did get beaten about some by recoil.

 

I loaned the lad my old 12 ga Beretta AL-2 for her to try with a shorter, replacement barrel with interchangeable chokes.  The Beretta auto-loaders are extremely soft shooting, and life on the trap range suddenly became wonderful.  The downside was that it looked like I might never see my shotgun again.  :lol:

 

Sassparilla Kid fixed that - her wedding present was a 12 ga Beretta AL-391 Urika.   :rolleyes:  ^_^

 

She was SO happy....  :wub:

 

 

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Two different butt stocks (a skeet gun more of a standard comb, but a trap gun has a higher comb since most Clay's are shoot in ascension).

Two different barrel lengths and chokes (skeet is a 7-20 yard game, and trap is a 30-50 yard game).

You can shoot both games with one gun, but performance will suffer until guns match the game.

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On 6/29/2020 at 11:59 PM, Col Del Rio said:

My wife wants to try skeet and trap. She is petite so a full sized gun would not work.

Any recommendations?  I am brand agnostic. O/U or Semi-Auto probably better.  

Going to a smaller gauge such as 16 or 20 can sometimes mean going to a smaller, lighter gun so the recoil will be as bad, if not worse, than a 12 gauge.  I would suggest a semi-auto GAS operated shotgun such as the Remington 1100 already mentioned.  I've fired 16 gauge ammo out of a light hammer double and the recoil was unpleasant and I am not recoil sensitive or a small person.   Factory 20 gauge out of a coach gun is famous (at least around me) for it's nasty recoil.

 

As to your wife's size, I've seen a woman all of 5 feet tall and maybe 120 pounds run a 12 gauge 97 at cowboy matches.  The key was the stock was cut to fit HER.

 

Finally take a look at a youth model semi-auto, Remington makes a 11-87 youth model in 20 gauge.

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One big downside to 20 gauge is the limited payload. Unless she is already are a pretty good shot at upland game and doves she may miss a lot which may take a lot of the fun out of it.

 

Winchester 20 ga heavy target loads are 1 oz of shot with a velocity of about 1165 fps. This is equivalent to a light target 12 gauge load. Of the two the 12 gauge load will have less felt recoil simply because the gun is heavier.

 

As others have stated there are several good semi-auto 12 gauges that when fitted to her will make trap and skeet a lot more fun.

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I shot trap with my 870 and got tired of getting my shoulder pounded after 3 or 4 boxes each week.
I did the research, settled on the Remington V3, which is a simpler, more reliable improvement over the 1100.

As to recoil, gauge is irrelevant.
Felt recoil is entirely a function of the gun weight, the shot mass and the shot velocity.
You can load 3/4 oz shot loads in both 12 and 20 gauge.
In the same weight gun, recoil is identical.

AA Featherlites do NOT cycle my V3 properly.
They are soft shooters in the V3, but do not cycle.
Trap is a single shot anyway, so this is a minor inconvenience.

A semi-auto gas gun has less felt recoil than my 870 or SxS because the action absorbs a lot of the punch when it cycles the next round.
A Kick-EEZ thick recoil pad is a great help.
 

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