Which 20 ga. for woman (cheap but dependable)

magick

Wife wants to try skeet, I use 12 ga. but I know it would be a bit much for her. What 20 ga. would you guys suggest, something light but well made and affordable. Thanks in advance.

yachtdave

I have a Remington 1100 20 Ga sporting that will be going on the auction this week. Used in good condition and will come with 7 Briley chokes. This gun should work for her.. (or you)[:)]

roysclockgun

Shooting skeet, one wants to put a lot of shoot into the air. Get light 12ga loads and she will not feel anymore recoil than with using standard 20ga loads. If she likes the sport, she will want more shot in the air and will be able to increase her load.
More importantly, if she is a bit shorter then the average man, for whom the stocks are designed, she may need a custom stock, or at the very least a shorter pull on a stock then the off the rack shotgun. I have picked up a few of the Russian over/under shotguns that seem to have excellent balance and are lighter then semis and pumps. They are very inexpensive and seem to be made in a very robust manner. They are imported by Century International Arms of St. Albans, VT.

redman.com1

magick, sounds like you might be a thrifty shopper such as myself. the thing is that any descent auto will run $500 and up new and $300 and up used. you cant go wrong with a nice used 1100. then there are the charles dalys and veronas, but i have heard bad things about them. if shes a tough old country girl you can go with a pump. my local walmart has a 870 express for $189 in 20 guage. but then again a pump 20 has the recoil of a 12 auto?

Chewbaca

In my half-vast experience, I'd say if you have a woman who is both CHEAP AND DEPENDABLE, I'd do my best to buy her whatever she wants. Those ladies are hard to come by.

Henry0Reilly

I've heard the 28 gauge is popular with the skeet crowd.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=43208905

woodchuck

TRADITIONS, by FAUSTI, makes a nice afordable O/U. I bought mine at Walmart. It is a bit heavy, which would help tame the recoil of the 12GA My boy shot it when he was 10 years old.

TRAP55

The Fausti is the "sleeper" of O/U shotguns, but the length of pull may be too long for her. Yachtdave's 1100 would be a great gun, especially with Briley chokes.
The most important thing when it comes to shotguns is not bells and whistles, it's fit! If the shotgun doesn't fit, even the most experienced shooters are going to miss.
Recoil is the next biggest factor, especially with a novice shooter. ported barrels or choke tubes help. A good recoil pad is a must.
Gauge and ammo is another factor. For most women and kids just learning, a 12ga has too much recoil. Anything smaller than a 20ga won't throw enough shot for them to hit anything and they get discouraged. Good ammo makes a big difference. www.armusa-performance.com makes a Lite 20 and a Skeet 20 that has velocities fast enough for the game, but with lower pressures and recoil for the novice to be comfortable with.

mallard

good afternoon/evening magick,

i have the pleasure of taking a seventeen year old goose hunting five/seven times a year. he shoots an old 31 remington 20 guage pump.he puts them on the ground/water up to 30 yards with no problem using 5/8 oz 2's. i am impressed with some of his shots.

do not sell the 20 guage short, if it will take geese it should kill clay targets.

have a good evening,

jallman

Magick,

I'd get a 870 express, tough gun and pretty cheap. Walmart actually has good prices all the time on these, I'm all about supporting local gunshops but I still use walmart because they are cheap just be careful about what you buy they sell some junk too.

One of my friends I shoot clays with alot uses an old 20 ga 870 he just refuses to get rid of. He keeps up with my 12 ga 1187 speedwise, the recoil is a bit harder because it's a pump but it's much lighter so he usually gets it shouldered first.

mpolans

I'd go with a Remington 1100 in 20 gauge. They can usually be found relatively cheap used. O/U and pump shotguns will have more recoil than a semi-auto, since the cycling of a semi-auto absorbs some of the recoil. In addition, doubles would be much harder with a pump than a semi-auto. You don't give up much of an advantage to a 12 gauge with a 20...it's a much larger step down to 28 gauge, and shells for a 28 gauge are usually harder to find and more expensive.
Also, if she ever decided to sell the gun, there's a much smaller market for 28 gauge guns as compared to 12 and 20 gauge guns.

bobski

1100 20ga, bar none.

BHAVIN

I third or fourth the vote for the 1100. I bought my wife an 1100 20ga synthetic and replaced the pad with the new Limbsaver pad made for Remington. She shoots it well and now I have a shotgunning partner [:D] Well at least for clay birds. The limbsaver pad made a very noticable difference in lessening recoil. The semi auto guns have less recoil and lend themselves well to smaller shooters as well as the rest of us.