Clays newbies

[76shuvlinoff]

My wife whose total firearms experience has been my bottom feeding sidearms that she hated, an SP101 she finally fell in love with, and my .22lr rifles is thinking shooting clays might be fun. I love her but she has repeatedly shown me she is recoil sensitive.

I have no experience shooting clays. My thoughts are before any large investment is made I might put the ribbed barrel back on my HD 870, buy some lite skeet loads and let her have at it. A loaded 870 should suck up some recoil shouldn't it? If I am going about this wrong let me know. I really don't want to get her beaten up and turned off from a potential new interest.

 

[PapaG]

Pick up an 1100 in 20 ga with a mod barrel. With 7/8 oz loads it will be a pussycat. Should be able to find a used one for well under three bills.

 

[oneounceload]

If the gun doesn't fit her properly, the recoil will feel substantial and she will not like it; the 870 is not the friendliest platform for clay shooting; you might want to consider going to a trap/skeet club, explaining your newness and seeing what they might have to borrow or rent. She will need something different than you, and do not fall into the false belief that she must shoot a 20 for recoil reduction. Recoil is reduced by shooting the heaviest gun with the lightest load in a gun that fits

Get a lesson or three and have fun...........

 

[ISO1600]

Pick up an 1100 in 20 ga with a mod barrel. With 7/8 oz loads it will be a pussycat. Should be able to find a used one for well under three bills.

Used 1100 20ga's are not going for under 300 in most places these days- more like 500+. That is not a cheap thing just to let the wife try out.

 

[eastbank]

a under 300.00 rem 1100 in 20ga around here would indeed be a rare bird. not saying their may not be one lurking out there, but be sure to wear a mask as it may be called stealing.,eastbank.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

Thanks for the inputs

I don't intend to use the 870 for clays. I thought something substantial with a lighter load might be good to use to introduce her to some recoil. As far as fitting a shotgun to someone, that is out of my league.

Maybe the 870 is poor choice. I gather I should do some looking at the used racks for an auto loader to soften things up. Hopefully whatever I discover it won't have a problem cycling lighter loads.

No clubs close by but we will do some research.

Thanks again!

 

[Virginian]

Your 870 with lite loads should work, but if it has standard dimensions it is likely not going to be a good fit unless she's 5'-8" or taller. Note - I said likely.
If you buy a good name brand used gas operated semi auto and take decent care of it, you should not lose a dime, if or when you decide to re-sell it. But, don't jump in before testing the waters. Try to get to a club and let her talk with some of the other ladies shooting there and look at what they shoot. The real experienced ones will likely be shooting heavy 12 gauge O/Us, and while you may not want to jump in for those dollars EVER, seeing that may alter her mental perception of things.
I am of the opinion that a 20 gauge 1100 with a youth length stock and a GOOD recoil pad is pretty hard to beat for teaching newcomers of the female gender, but there are other options as well. I do not like the flat black youth models with the short barrels, but I got one of those for my stepson because he wanted a black gun, and it worked out well for him.

 

[throdgrain]

I shoot an 870 for clays all the time. If thats the gun you have, and you're not sure if you're going to like it, I would say it would be a fine choice.

 

[eastbank]

yes,do go to a club. when any new shooters come to the two clubs i belong to and shoot at, they are warmly wecomed and if they want advice or would like to try shooting a round or so,many will let them try their shotguns,incuding me and i always take more than one shotgun with me. i like to shoot several different shotguns and gages from 20-16-12 and older type shotguns. a half hour at a shoot and you will know the ones who are full of them self,s and be able to avoid them. it,s supposed to be fun,so go enjoy your selfs. eastbank.

 

[oneounceload]

Here's a list of shotgun clubs in Michigan. Call and check to make sure they are still open:
http://www.claytargetsonline.com/list.php/MI

 

[76shuvlinoff]

oneounceload, Holy cow, I did not realize there were that many options.

As far as the 870 fitting her, she's nearly 5'10". I will pick up some light skeet loads this weekend and we will try some tin cans soon. If she's still interested then we'll move forward from there.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Virginian]

Smart man! My wife was 5'-11-1/2" with long legs. Didn't have to alter guns, or even adjust the seats in the cars, or get stuff off the top shelf !

 

[XD 45acp]

My wife wanted to give clays a try and bought into the " Oh gosh, it's gonna kick, it's gonna kick" hype. So instead of doing a "Recoil test shot", where you are shooting at nothing, have her shoot at something like clays. I did that with my wife and After it was all over, later that day I said " Did it kick you"? "No" she replied. She said "I didn't even think about it". SO, the point I guess I'm getting at is; If all they concentrate on is " Oh gosh its gonna kick, Oh gosh its gonna kick" then ya get belted, and that is the same whether it is an 400.00 870, or a 7000.00 Perazzi or a 20,000.00 Silver Seitz. But when the rubber meets the road, and you are shooting AT something, yer mind is fixed on another direction, you don't feel it. My wife?? 5' 4" 110 lbs, and that was with full Handicap loads out of a Model 12. Nowdays, she has her own 870 Trap 12ga, that has been fitted to her. She loves that thing. I offered to buy Ljutic for her, but she declined it. Her and that ole 870 just dance good.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

Virginian,
I'm a few frog hairs over 5'8" so she's 1.5 to 2 inches taller. You ought to see us riding around on my old Harley. The passenger seat is between 3 and 4 inches higher than my pilot chair. Then she's nearly 2 over me to start with. She is perched up there taking more bugs in her teeth than I am.

XD,
there is a lot of truth in what you're saying. I have made a conscious effort to not talk about recoil since she brought this topic up. She's a tall woman and in better shape than I am but not necessarily a physically strong woman. I am really resisting picking a up a lighter scattergun like a youth model.

 

[Titusdrake]

I hear the slip on Limbsavers are awesome, ordering one myself on Friday. There are also PAST pads available, if recoil is truly the only gripe

 

[MechanicKid]

Recently purchased a 12 ga. Stoeger m2000 combo from Bass Pro. My younger brother (husband and father of 5) needed some man time so the excuse for me to get into shotgunning was great! Paid 500 (540 with tax) for the semi-auto with 5 chokes, 2 barrels (18.5 and 28?) and promptly took it out and ran 100 shells through it shooting skeet in my brother's back 40. I haven't really ever shot skeet before, or shotguns (mostly pistol and rifle) but I would have to say the felt recoil was a lot lighter than I expected and it ran without a hitch. I felt a bit later, but that was later. +1 for starting with targets, recoil becomes a necessity to fun! +1 to load selection also. Just because it is 12 guage doesn't mean it will recoil like a mule.