# Shotgun for a small framed Woman



## gregm

My wife is a small framed Asian girl, about 5'3" tall. She wants to shoot with me and I'd love to take her to the skeet range and pheasant hunting. However, nothing I have fits her, even the 20 Ga I used as a kid. I'm looking to get her a 20 Ga youth frame gun for her. I was thinking either the Remington 870 wingmaster youth or a Remington 11-87 Youth (autoloader=soft recoil?) 

Any opinions from the ladies out there?


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## Lindsey

My wife has had youth model Rem 1100 and 11-87.
Both worked well for pheasants, small game, deer and even boar, as well as clay targets. 
I'd go with the 11-87. There are more options in 20 gauge ammo for the 3" chamber on the 11-87.
That being said, I prefer the 20 gauge 870 express or wingmaster. There is just less that can go wrong, the youth models are readily available, and the express version is about half the cost of the 11-87. 
I haven't found the alleged recoil reduction of the semi-auto to be significant. I'll take a little more recoil as a fair trade-off for the lighter carry weight of the 870 versus the 1100 or 11-87


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## tangleknot

Lindsey knows his stuff, great suggestions there!


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## booker81

Take her to a gun store and let her "try out" guns. I've bought all my guns based on "fit" to me - I'm not little (I'm 5'10"), but I sure don't care for shooting my husbands ginormous 28" barreled 12ga - and it's not a problem with the kick, I just can't swing it when shooting skeet. I can handle kick, I enjoy shooting my .270 often, but I just don't like front heavy guns if I don't have something to rest the gun on - not possible when shooting skeet or birds.

My shotgun is a 20ga JC Higgins that is older than me, bought from a friend while we were shooting clays. I love it - I can't miss with it. I bought it because it "felt" good - I can pull it right up and hold it easily - it slides right into my shoulder, and stays put. It's been well cared for, and will continue to be well cared for.

So, I would start with letting her hold a few, and get an idea of what SHE likes, then do a little research on the guns she feels best with. Even the best made gun out there is worthless if it's not what SHE wants. Teach her how to shoot with something small, like a .22, if she doesnt' know already, and then let her use that knowledge to choose a larger gun where fit is more important.

As an aside on kick - I've helped a few of my female friends learn about gun safety and how to shoot. I always start them on a .22, and get the flinch factor out of the way immediately. If they decide they love it, they get to shoot the 20ga, and I've never had one get flinchy, even after dropping it down and waling the heck out of their arm (how they get the butt on their bicep, I'll never know). Taught right, they seem to remember to hold the gun properly, rather than get scared of recoil if they wale on themselves. I've shot a variety of shotguns and rifles, and recoil doesn't bug me as much as a front heavy gun that makes my arms tired and makes me miss. If I miss a lot, I get pissy and want to stop.  If I drop the gun and bruise myself, I want to keep trying and remember not to do that again.

I'm rambling....been up since 2am! YAY!


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## sweetblu

My hubby and I bought my shotgun the same way...we went to the store and I picked up every single 20ga they had until I found one that 'fit me'. I have a 20ga Youth Rossi. I'm 5'4" and the recoil wasn't bad, but again I also use my .270 for deer hunting.


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## sfw1960

booker81 said:


> Take her to a gun store and let her "try out" guns. I've bought all my guns based on "fit" to me - I'm not little (I'm 5'10"), but I sure don't care for shooting my husbands ginormous 28" barreled 12ga - and it's not a problem with the kick, I just can't swing it when shooting skeet. I can handle kick, I enjoy shooting my .270 often, but I just don't like front heavy guns if I don't have something to rest the gun on - not possible when shooting skeet or birds.
> 
> My shotgun is a 20ga JC Higgins that is older than me, bought from a friend while we were shooting clays. I love it - I can't miss with it. I bought it because it "felt" good - I can pull it right up and hold it easily - it slides right into my shoulder, and stays put. It's been well cared for, and will continue to be well cared for.
> 
> So, I would start with letting her hold a few, and get an idea of what SHE likes, then do a little research on the guns she feels best with. Even the best made gun out there is worthless if it's not what SHE wants. Teach her how to shoot with something small, like a .22, if she doesnt' know already, and then let her use that knowledge to choose a larger gun where fit is more important.
> 
> As an aside on kick - I've helped a few of my female friends learn about gun safety and how to shoot. I always start them on a .22, and get the flinch factor out of the way immediately. If they decide they love it, they get to shoot the 20ga, and I've never had one get flinchy, even after dropping it down and waling the heck out of their arm (how they get the butt on their bicep, I'll never know). Taught right, they seem to remember to hold the gun properly, rather than get scared of recoil if they wale on themselves. I've shot a variety of shotguns and rifles, and recoil doesn't bug me as much as a front heavy gun that makes my arms tired and makes me miss. If I miss a lot, I get pissy and want to stop.  If I drop the gun and bruise myself, I want to keep trying and remember not to do that again.
> 
> * I'm rambling....been up since 2am! YAY! *


:lol: :lol: :lol: 
I own AND recommend a Mossberg 500 Bantam "Youth" model ... I bought it so I could shoot it with one hand and I think it has a 22" BBL on it.
I paid around $239 if I remember and it has a coupon for a full size stock at a discount - but I love the way it swings just as it is....
My step daughter and step son both cut their teeth on it AFTER the .22 Ruger.


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