Recommendations

[MigdaleGal]

Hi All, What gun would you recommend for a woman?  I am 5' 5" tall and am looking for something I can use for the pheasants as well.  I currently have a Beretta 680 but struggle quickly with the weight. Cheers, MG

 

[Will Hewland]

Hi,Personally, I think that for clays you want the heaviest gun you can cope with. By `cope` I mean that you can hold it comfortably while keeping the weight on the front foot and also so that you can support the forend rather than the action (which is easier but offers little control). I see a lot of ladies with guns that are too long for them. This will make everything awkward and it will feel heavier than it is.. Is yours too long??? With clays, you shouldnt be holding the gun up for a long time, so the weight should not need to be really low. Minimum 7lbs I would say. Nearer 8 if you can cope. With weight, comes smoothness of swing and lower recoil, which is good. My wife uses a 12g with 21g shells. Surprisingly good kills even at distance and low recoil. For game, you could easily go for a 20 bore, which is easy to carry around. Maybe not the right thing for clays though.. CSC3

 

[MigdaleGal]

The one I have just now weights 8lbs.  Hoping to get to tray some different one once I get to the club I am going to join.  Someone told me that Beretta make a light weight gun? MG

 

[Fuzrat]

Mrs shoots a 686s just over 7 pounds. She's about 5,2 and handles it fine. I would stay away from the lightweights as even with 21g they tend to belt you. The more you shoot the more your muscles will build allowing you to be more comfortable

 

[Will Hewland]

There is a `Beretta Ultra light`. Dont know much about them. 8lbs is not crazy unless you are a very light build. Watch the length issue though. A standard gun is made to fit a 5' 10'' man. Get an experienced person to look at you and see if it is. An inch off the stock can sometimes cure a lot of issues.. Apart from the fit, any weight will feel heavier if it is further away from you. Cheers,CSC3

 

[Dean B]

If it was just for clays you could try a auto , lighter less recoil /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-smile.gif

 

[Fuzrat]

Forgot to say we cut an inch off her stock so it fits her for length but this made it feel barrel heavy. 6 oz of fishing weights wrapped in foam and stuffed in the stock bolt hole balanced it nicely.I think that weight is less of a problem than poor balance. If its barrel heavy it just feels heavy but if you bring the balance back between the hands it feels a lot lighter but still soaks up the recoil.Some prefer barrel heavy for steadiness but for someone getting tired quick bring the weight back.

 

[wylye]

Best option would be a 28ins Beretta 686, preferably a game version with fixed chokes. Most important though, have it fitted by a competent gun shop. I've noticed that you ladies are a different shape to us men and the stock needs to be a different shape. Use 21/24 gms cartridges and you will be absolutely fine. Good luck!

 

[Westward]

Hi MGThis could be a balance problem rather than total weight. Barrel weight varies a lot between various Beretta models and this makes the 682 Gold E in 28 or 30" feels much lighter than it really is. Heavy barrels projecting forward make a gun more tiring to shoot because the front arm bears most of the weight.Beretta has been steadily lightening the barrels on all their O/Us over the last 10 - 15 years and the field models are generally lighter than the sporters, especially the Ultra Light with it's alloy frame. The disadvantage as mentioned above is that less overall weight = more recoil. A 20ga would also be lighter in weight but you would be giving away the odd kill to the 12ga.Beretta also has a nice semi option with the ES100 which is quite light in weight and being a semi it naturally has less felt recoil than an O/U.If it's an O/U you really want then Wylye's post makes a lot of sense. It's just plain easier to try different load shells in a manageable gun.

 

[ROBERT6500]

I agree with Wylye.However, I guarantee if you practice your dry mount at home for ten minutes four times a week by the end of a month you will handle an even heavier gun than that with ease. No pain, no gain. Just stick with it./wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-wink.gifVery few new shooters and even experienced shooters dry mount at home at all let alone enough…it's asking for trouble.Use the 21g Hull or Express and you can't go wrong. Anyone who says they're rubbish has a problem with them mentally which is an instant handicap. They will kill any target with a bit of choke....we have to prove it every week for the unbelievers.

 

[Hamster]

As others have said I suggest you look into the balance issue/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-wink.gif, if size mattered as much as it's often made out I should be using a sawn off shotgun yet I shoot a 32" gun of just under 9 lbs!/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-smile.gif Off the shelf guns are often made too barrel heavy, sometimes on purpose in the belief that it promotes a smoother swing (no evidence of that really as great scores are made using neutral and butt heavy guns), and sometimes because the manufacturer simply can't be bothered to do otherwise.  In your case it does sound as though you may best leave out the 32 inchers but you'll be fine with a decent 28" or 30" so long as you keep adding weight to the butt and shoot it long enough to give it/you the chance to gel. Do NOT be afraid to shoot a butt heavy gun (I do), they have the advantage of not tiring you out whilst in the stand as the weight is easy to cope with close to the body and you'll soon get used to the swing characteristics.  I have a 2nd gun which shoots about 3-4 birds less per round at the moment, one of the reasons is that the barrels are too heavy; it'll soon be cured of that as I'm having the middle rib removed among other things/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-cool.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-wink.gif.

 

[jasper]

himrs jasper uses a 682 gold e with factory adjustable stock , 30 in barrel.weighs in about 8lbs. very light in the barrel dept(1465grms) and with the adjustable stock it balance a tad behind the hinge pin. she shoots eley first 24grm and never complains about recoil. 5ft2 in . currently shooting out of c class but knocking very hard on the b class door. even with the 30in barrels she can get the gun moving very quickly.(sometimes too quick).the 24 grm destroy anything steve and newbold can throw when shes on em.jasper 

 

[Fuzrat]

ROBERT6500 said:

I agree with Wylye.However, I guarantee if you practice your dry mount at home for ten minutes four times a week by the end of a month you will handle an even heavier gun than that with ease. No pain, no gain. Just stick with it./wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-wink.gifVery few new shooters and even experienced shooters dry mount at home at all let alone enough…it's asking for trouble.Use the 21g Hull or Express and you can't go wrong. Anyone who says they're rubbish has a problem with them mentally which is an instant handicap. They will kill any target with a bit of choke….we have to prove it every week for the unbelievers.

 Mrs Fuz uses the 21g Hull compX and kills plenty with 1/4 and 3/8 choke. I have had a go with them and they are good, but, (theres always a but) I still cant bring myself to shoot them over my eley olympics in 28g even though they are £30 per thou cheaper /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-confused.gif Edit, I'm with Hamster on the size thing, I'm 5'6 and 8.5 stone dripping wet and shoot a 32" MK38 trap with a daneuser recoil system which takes it to at least 9 pound. However, with the recoil system it balances just behind the pin and feels a whole lot lighter because of it

 

[Westward]

As a general warning on Hull Comp X 21gm shells, I tried some a year or so back and found that the recoil was so light the trigger wouldn't reset reliably for the 2nd shot. I spoke to the dealer and he said it was fairly common with Berettas. It's worth bearing in mind but I'm sure the spring for the inertia block could be changed for those guns that have the problem.

 

[Will Hewland]

I have a 471 side by side. Cost me £100 to get the triggers sorted so that anything less than 28g would cock the second barrel!Anybody buying a new gun, who intends to use 21g shells should try and get a guarentee from the dealer that it will work. If not, they can sort it..CSC3

 

[Hamster]

Better still anything over 40 yards and edge on use blanks instead of 21's, you get similar breaks and save money/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif.

 

[ianmaney]

HiMy wife uses a Browning B-525 with 30" barrels, we had this fitted to her and had a 'Kick-Eez' gel pad fitted to the stock, we use Elley Superb 28g cartridges and she shoots well with it, she's also 5'2" tall, hope this helps?? /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-smile.gifIan

 

[** Pending Removal **]

Answer from a woman.1) Same gun as a man!!!!! 2) Get a good gunsmith who knows about fit to cut it down to the right length and stick a good recoil pad on it. 3) Good quality 28 gm cartridges. Then go out and enjoy!Sick of this 'fairer sex stuff' :-(. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Les Graham]

Hamster said:

Better still anything over 40 yards and edge on use blanks instead of 21's, you get similar breaks and save money/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif.

Bit like buying a sausage roll without a sausage eh!! I likes a bang me, not a phut /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif