12 or 20 bore

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wilkof3

Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Messages
5
Location
Eltham London
First i must apologize if this topic has been covered before but couldn't find it if it was . i have been shooting for a number of years and know what i want in a gun , however my wife has suddenly decided she wants to join the party . Dilemma , she is whats known as petite and only 5 feet tall . What i would like opinions on is do i get a 12 bore or 20 , both would have to have the stock altered ( shortened ) by a fair amount , doing an inside elbow to finger measurement its about 12 1/2" . Knowing what she's like once she gets the hang of it she will start to get competitive and with a lightish 20 she'll be restricted to 21gram cartridges . Or if she gets a 12 bore will the amount that has to be removed from the stock affect the balance and make the gun too barrel heavy .

  She likes the weight of 20 but she has also held a 12 bore white onyx with a very short stock that she found comfortable but was not able to shoot it . Trying to find a gun for sale with a short stock has so far proved impossible and every 12 she picks up has a full length stock which puts her off straight away . So do i  buy a 20 cut the stock and then have trouble trying to sell it when she wants to improve or bite the bullet buy a 12 and hopes she'll stick with it ?

  Sorry if the post sounds muddled but its somewhat difficult to explain .                

 
I would say a 12 all day long. It will absorb recoil better, be more stable to use and offer a better and cheaper ammo selection. Amber Hill shot hers perfectly well when she was 12/13 years old, so I am sure your wife can cope if she is in good health.

Cut the stock and stick some lead in it to retain a balance. Do all this at a gunsmith, who can chop a bit off, then a bit more, then make a nice fit of the lead ballast. Take the opportunity of stock cutting to fit a 23mm recoil pad (Isis Xpad almost certainly).

 
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I had a similar situation last year, in the end the lady in question went with a Beretta 20 Bore, she found the 12 bores a little too much too handle and the 'light' versions had too much recoil. She shoots the 20 bore very well which helps

 
Hello,

Let me start by saying I am no expert but I am a lady of 5ft in size with a short stocked 12 bore Beretta SP1.  My gun did have it's stock shortened to 13 and a third and my barrels are 28" in length which I like and I could I think manage 30" if I was inclined to have a gun with barrels that length.  I started on 21 grams but I prefer 24 grams and sometimes on occasion use 28 grams for the odd few stands when the mood takes me.  I think 12 bore is the way to go, more range of cartridges and I think works out cheaper and generally recoil better with a 12 bore.  It may be a tad heavier but once you get used to lifting it, you hardly notice weight.  That comes with repetitive mounting and swinging of said gun and building up muscle memory - just repeating what everyone tells me here.

 
If she's shooting regularly definitely a 12. I'm about 5'3"ish and also shoot a Beretta SP1 with a 13.5 inch stock and 28g cartridges. I put 340 cartridges through it at the weekend without any sign of bruising or strain.  I found the most important thing for me was to alter the pitch a bit (by taking a grinder to the bottom of the pad) to make sure it fitted comfortably.

No idea where you shoot, but if you are ever at Willow Farm in Kent on a saturday morning I'm usually there and would be happy to let her give mine a try.

 
I can only go on this particular case, the lady in question tried several 12 bores but we kept coming back to the 20 bore. Things to consider:

At 5 feet tall and petite she may not have the physical strength to handle a 12 bore and could end up not wanting to shoot. My lady is in her early 30's and struggled. No point trying to get someone to shoot a 20 bore if they will struggle, it is not as thought you can't trade up to a 12 bore later on.

Number of times I see people on shoots who are trying to shoot guns that are beyond their physical capabilities...

 
I can only go on this particular case, the lady in question tried several 12 bores but we kept coming back to the 20 bore. Things to consider:

At 5 feet tall and petite she may not have the physical strength to handle a 12 bore and could end up not wanting to shoot. My lady is in her early 30's and struggled. No point trying to get someone to shoot a 20 bore if they will struggle, it is not as thought you can't trade up to a 12 bore later on.

Number of times I see people on shoots who are trying to shoot guns that are beyond their physical capabilities...
Matt, were all these guns she was trying too long? (As is likely if 'standard). That makes them less comfortable and effectively heavier..

 
No tried a lot, she struggled with weight so we thought the 20 bore would at least give her arms a chance of developing in order to cope with shooting, if she start to get to a point where she felt she needed a 12 bore we would revisit it, so far she is still very happy with the 20 bore

 
No tried a lot, she struggled with weight so we thought the 20 bore would at least give her arms a chance of developing in order to cope with shooting, if she start to get to a point where she felt she needed a 12 bore we would revisit it, so far she is still very happy with the 20 bore
For sure guns feel heaviest when you are new to it. You hold them a bit awkwardly, for longer and without specific muscles being used to it. My wife started with a 20 but soon moved on; which is a common ladies journey.

 
First i must apologize if this topic has been covered before but couldn't find it if it was . i have been shooting for a number of years and know what i want in a gun , however my wife has suddenly decided she wants to join the party . Dilemma , she is whats known as petite and only 5 feet tall . What i would like opinions on is do i get a 12 bore or 20 , both would have to have the stock altered ( shortened ) by a fair amount , doing an inside elbow to finger measurement its about 12 1/2" . Knowing what she's like once she gets the hang of it she will start to get competitive and with a lightish 20 she'll be restricted to 21gram cartridges . Or if she gets a 12 bore will the amount that has to be removed from the stock affect the balance and make the gun too barrel heavy .

  She likes the weight of 20 but she has also held a 12 bore white onyx with a very short stock that she found comfortable but was not able to shoot it . Trying to find a gun for sale with a short stock has so far proved impossible and every 12 she picks up has a full length stock which puts her off straight away . So do i  buy a 20 cut the stock and then have trouble trying to sell it when she wants to improve or bite the bullet buy a 12 and hopes she'll stick with it ?

  Sorry if the post sounds muddled but its somewhat difficult to explain .                
I have tiny women friends who happily shoot 12 bores. You have to get used it it, but then no one is comfortable shooting a hundred clays all at once whatever the gun. Set the expectations that it's going to take a while to get used to holding up a gun and there should be less panic. My husband is still moaning about aching shoulders, but that's his own fault for never lifting anything heavier than a mobile phone and not getting up at the weekends to come shooting. Zero sympathy there! But even he is getting better. He shoots a 20G and 21g cartridges BTW. I shoot 21g cartridges and can smash a clay at 70 yards with them (really!), so I don't think you want to make cartridge weight an issue

Lots of my smaller friends got Silver Pigeon 20Gs on the grounds that they like game shooting too and clays are an out of season diversion. They don't want to be carrying the extra weight in the field. The ladies who are primarily clay shooters get 12Gs and the long term game shooters mostly have 12Gs. If you're going to upgrade it's not really a problem if she changes her mind.

The CG Syren is worth a mention. A chum tried my 12G with a silly short stock, had a 20G SP and then got a Syren because it was scaled to fit. I'm a bit jealous, they're very pretty guns.

For encouraging enjoyment of shooting and getting the chance to hold lots of guns belonging to lots of women I recommend the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club. The West London Shooting School ones are usually very well attended with a good variety of guns from the school and the attending ladies. People are very generous about letting others have a go. You also get £5 off your first booking when you mention my name :) It's a lovely place to get into shooting, inclusive and supportive and not too hard.

 
So you have bbs resident women with the voice of reason.  The physics do not lie.  Recoil does not care what bore the gun is - only its weight and the charge weight. (OK, properly fitted too)  Avoiding the current long barrel BS is def a hot suggestion.  And that is none of the stupid "proportioning the gun to the shooter", it is simply matching the gun to the shooter's physical capabilities.  

I have to emphasize the already mentioned, by the women, gun fit requirement.  Read Sian again.  My wife is about the same size, shoots an 8lb/4oz, 28" barreled MX8.  Everything from 24gm to 36gm pigeon loads with no problem simply because the gun fits properly.

On the other hand, a gas gun will defy physics.  Just sayin .............

Charlie

 
Depends on what you are really looking for,and what you want to spend.

I know where there is a short stocked beretta 682 gold e,but won't be available til after the beretta world in July. :hunter:

P.S 30" barrels.

 
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My Other half started shooting recently and I got her a silver pigeon and cut the stock down to about 13 inches. She is about 5 foot and she has no problem at all. She just uses comp x 21grams and really likes them. The only time she finds it gets heavy is if she shoots a lot.

 
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Assuming you shoot clays, certainly a 12b. Unless you're a very accomplished shot you will be putting yourself at a big disadvantage going down the 20b route.

Choose a light 12b with 30" barrels and have the stock made or altered to fit.

 
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Hello,

Let me start by saying I am no expert but I am a lady of 5ft in size with a short stocked 12 bore Beretta SP1.  My gun did have it's stock shortened to 13 and a third and my barrels are 28" in length which I like and I could I think manage 30" if I was inclined to have a gun with barrels that length.  I started on 21 grams but I prefer 24 grams and sometimes on occasion use 28 grams for the odd few stands when the mood takes me.  I think 12 bore is the way to go, more range of cartridges and I think works out cheaper and generally recoil better with a 12 bore.  It may be a tad heavier but once you get used to lifting it, you hardly notice weight.  That comes with repetitive mounting and swinging of said gun and building up muscle memory - just repeating what everyone tells me here.
I have to agree, i tried Sian's gun on Sunday  it felt like a 20 bore,  it's really petite 

Mart

 
I think Wonko has the right idea.

28 inch barrels...cut and weighted to fit and start with 21g carts.

The trouble, as has been pointed out, is that people don't commit a gun, to the person, for fear of wasting money. So they are forced to suffer a gun that is far too long and ill fitting...which causes them to give up.

So,commit. 28 or 30 inch 12g, cut to length with appropriate pitch...perhaps an adjustable comb.

Then, there is no reason why she would quit...other than it just not being her cup of tea.

 
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