Wife Shotgun

[JaxNovice]

I am thinking of buying the 128 lb wife a shotgun to take some sporting clays lesson with me. She has never shot before so this will be a leap of faith. Would a 28 ga be too hard of a gun for her to hit clays with? What would you guys suggest.

I know I am going to get the "wait until she tries a few and get what she likes". Bottom line is that she will not bother with that and most likely will not even come the range unless I tell her, "here is you new gun lets go to the range."

Thanks!

 

[BozemanMT]

28 ga is a fine starter shotgun
throws beautiful patterns (better than a 20ga, far far far better than .410)
has pretty much zero recoil
and SM likes 'em.

ammo is crazy expensive though

 

[JaxNovice]

Bozeman, What else would be a good starter?

 

[BozemanMT]

I don't understand the question
you have 4 choices.
12, 20, 28, 410

.410 sucks cuz the pattern sucks, you won't ever hit anything.

28ga throws a beautiful pattern with very low recoil but ammo is spendy.

20ga is nice, but a 28ga throws the same amount of lead with a better pattern and less recoil.

12ga puts a lot of lead into the air, but it has more recoil. ammo is cheaper though.

Start her with a 28ga, I'm sure SM will be along to 2nd that. and if she doesn't like it, well I'm sure you could "give it a try". If she does like it, just get into reloading. After you get the hulls, would be cheaper than running 12ga (less shot and powder)

My wife shoots a 12ga, has from day 1. After a while we went to reduced load shots (1oz, slower) and that certainly lightens it, but most of it is stance.

I'd shoot a 28ga on a sporting clays course. You may not get the really far ones, but hell, I never get those anyway.

 

[BozemanMT]

start her with this. (I want one of these bad)

http://www.rblshotgun.com/RBL28_1.htm

 

[Milkmaster]

IF possible at all, my advice would be to find a local woman that shoots at the same range as you and introduce your wife to her. The let the two of them spend some time together. Most likely the woman will let your wife try her gun and even help your wife choose a clay buster. Bottom line is that at times a woman will listen to another woman and trust opinions better than their own husband. Good luck whichever you choose to do. My choice for your wife would ba an 1100 gas gun probably in 20 ga. The 1100 x 20ga is about a pound lighter than the 12ga. Around here ammo for both 12 & 20 costs the same.

 

[sm]

Send your wife out to see Will Fennel and have him and his bride give this wife of yours lessons, and try a variety of guns for fit and get some measurements.
IIRC Will has a gun fitter involved with his set up.

28 gauge will be the gauge Will and his wife puts in her hands btw.

Accept the fact, one cannot put a monetary value on what a person is worth, and your wife and you both are worth 28 gauge, guns, reloaders and reloading components.

Investing in one's self, and in one's spouse and family are some of the best investments anyone can make during this journey we call Life.

 

[kentucky_smith]

You can always download a 20 gauge to 28 gauge levels, fairly easily.

You'll find 20 gauge guns easier.

You'll find 20 gauge shells (and hulls!) easier.

 

[TrapperReady]

I know I am going to get the "wait until she tries a few and get what she likes". Bottom line is that she will not bother with that and most likely will not even come the range unless I tell her, "here is you new gun lets go to the range."

If that's truly the case, then I'll be brutally honest. Buy a small-gauge gun that you like. If you want a 20ga, then go with that. If you'd really like to get a 28ga, then go with that. The fact of the matter is that if you buy a gun for her and she starts shooting enough, she'll likely end up getting another one of her own. When that happens, you keep the first one. Consider it like a "teaser rate" on a loan. It's just designed to help move the transaction along.

My wife was funny for a while. She would comment that I had a bunch of guns, but she only had one. I would then point out that she had the 20ga auto she started on, the 12ga auto of mine that she moved on to, the 12ga O/U that came after that, the 28ga pump that is set up for her to hunt with... and so on.

If you're fortunate enough that she really enjoys herself, then just recognize that she's likely to move through at least a couple guns before finding "the one".

FWIW, a 28ga gun will reliably kill clay targets out to 35 yards and even more. On most non-tournament (and even a lot of tournament) courses, if you kill all the birds at that distance and closer, you'll end up with a very decent score. Ammo prices are high, though. Enough so, that I'd probably lean heavily toward a 20ga.

 

[sm]

I got another idea...

You could trade her in on a new nice O/U for you and not have to worry about her a gun, and all the other related expenses...

Just a thought...

*kidding*

 

[viking499]

My wife shoots a 20 guage Franchi 48al. Fits her nicely and she really enjoys shooting it.