What would you buy for a young lady to shoot as far as a shotgun.

packtray

Established Member
Jul 4, 2017
12
11
Alabama
What would you buy for a young lady to shoot as far as a shotgun. Looking under a 1000 per gun. Best for the money. Over and under or semi-auto for clays
I'm really glad you qualified the use. Clays are a lot of fun and you don't have to go in with a lot of money to enjoy it. I like that you're looking at an O/U; nice and traditional, not a lot of things to go wrong.

Let's go with a 20g, not because of the user, but simply because I like shooting 20s. More skill, less recoil, lighter. 16s would be OK, too, but I don't see as many as of late.

I'm assuming for the purpose of this post we want a new gun. The secondary market's flooded at this point, since people are trying to make a buck due to a lot of external factors, and they assume -any- gun is going to be high-demand (O/Us not so much). Interesting to me is that the new market is flush with supply right now. Likely a function of O/Us not being something anyone's going to panic buy.

I'm going to go with what may be an outlying opinion, but I think the import OEMs are bringing in some very good quality O/Us at a good price. You're not going to get a ton of Gucci scrollwork and unobtanium receivers, but a good, solid gun that looks nice without blowing a lot of money. The Turkish OEMs (working under the Stoeger and ATI labels, mostly) get it done here.

Take something like the ATI Cavalry in 20g ( https://www.gunbroker.com/item/882492889 ) or the Stoeger Condor ( https://www.gunbroker.com/item/883597818 ). There are even some unbranded Turk ones coming in as of late ( https://www.gunbroker.com/item/883230924 ) that I don't know much about, but they are likely coming from one of the bigger factories (Girsan, maybe?).

Hope this is helpful.
 

Direwolf334

Established Member
Oct 25, 2020
13
6
Heart of Dixie
I second the Benelli or Beretta. I have both although only a Beretta in 20ga. The Beretta shoots a little softer than the Benelli due to being gas operated. The Beretta and Benelli both come with shims for the stock so you can get the the cast and drop correct which will make a world of difference.
 

rmepilot

Established Member
Dec 12, 2020
10
7
Huntsville, AL
Depending on her size, a youth 20ga would be what I would look at.

LOP makes a difference. I handed my wife and daughter my Hk SP5 yesterday and they both said it was too heavy... :rolleyes:
 

KC1911

Established Member
Jun 5, 2017
24
19
LA
I second the Benelli or Beretta. I have both although only a Beretta in 20ga. The Beretta shoots a little softer than the Benelli due to being gas operated. The Beretta and Benelli both come with shims for the stock so you can get the the cast and drop correct which will make a world of difference.
Agreed
 

Randomprojectile

Established Member
Nov 29, 2021
24
23
Northern Bama
Save a bit more and get a Beretta with the kick off stock. Super duper soft shooting gun. Also, be careful with 20 g. The recoil velocity with lots of loads is higher than a 12g and the overall gun weight is often a bit lower with a smaller receiver. Makes the recoil impulse worse. My beretta 1301 comp pro shoots everything, even light dove loads. Never a jam or misfire yet. Several smaller shooters (youth and ladies) have shot it and done very well. I use it for sporting clays and love it.
 

Jrogers12038

New Member
Dec 5, 2021
1
0
Dothan
I got a Mossberg 715T for my wife. Bought it from a guy nearly brand new but he lost the dang plastic buffer tube, which I can get from mossberg quicker if I call and say it broke. But im trying to decide to keep or see if anyone interested in a trade. He also broke the magazine somehow. But mine is set to arrive Tuesday. So is anyone has a trade and realizes they gotta get a new buffer tube and stock assembly, I’m all ears
 

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Don75

Firearms Dealer… if can be got …I can get it.
Jul 30, 2021
16
3
Alabama
What would you buy for a young lady to shoot as far as a shotgun. Looking under a 1000 per gun. Best for the money. Over and under or semi-auto for clays
I definitely would look for a 20 gauge, it lighter, easier to handle, less recoil, many clay shooters use 20 gauge, some go smaller and shoot 28 gauge.
If I were buying… I would look at Franchi Affinity 3 in 20 gauge they have the same operating system as a Benelli. The Franchi is the best feeling, handling shotgun I’ve ever touched. Franchi can be had for under $800.
 
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Davyalabama

Established Member
Jan 7, 2022
25
47
Pike Road
Wow, $1,000, you can buy a lot of gun for that. You have to decide the gauge, 12 or 20, maybe 28 if you are feeling froggy. I would stick with 12 and shoot light loads. My picks would be a Beretta 303 or 390 silver mallard, the A400 EXcel with kickoff is above that pay grade; Beretta O/O 680 or 690, just natural pointers; a Remington 1100 , CZ makes a great O/U, Fabarm L4; ATA Silver line O/U (have a buddy that has one, it shoots where you aim it).
 
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