Wife wants a shotgun

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  • TX69

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    Recently my wife has expressed an interest in owning her own HD shotgun. The only experience she has unfortunately are the shotguns I have. She has shot two of them that are 12ga one semi one pump. She is a petite woman at just 5'2" and under 130lbs. She is not afraid of large calibers firearms as she shoots her own XD45 and my 30 caliber rifles with ease.

    I am thinkng about getting her one for Xmas/Bday I will most likely purchase a better set of stock/forend and sights if needed and smith those myself.

    What would be a decent HD shotgun for her?
    Target Sports
     

    benenglish

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    What, in general terms, has she said she wants? If she's expressed an interest, I assume she made some reference to something she's previously experienced.

    Of course, I could be totally off-base, too.
     

    reddog

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    My wife is 4'11" so I know where you are at. Bought her a Rem 870 20 ga magnum express and chopped the stock, really made it "her" gun, I'm eating my fist if I try and shoot it. For HD a 20 is plenty if you are hitting what you are aiming at, and I figure she'll practice more with it than if it was a 12, even though like your wife, she handles large calibers just fine. I went with a pump instead of an auto because I didn't want to be worried if it would work with light to heavy loads with out changing something. So there's my 2 cents...
     

    RickLovesBacon

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    My wife is in the market for a shotgun as well. But she has already made up her mind. She wants the mossberg 930. The only issue is they are hard to find.

    Sent from the Bacon isle at your local grocery store.
     

    robertc1024

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    My wife is 4'11" so I know where you are at. Bought her a Rem 870 20 ga magnum express and chopped the stock, really made it "her" gun, I'm eating my fist if I try and shoot it. For HD a 20 is plenty if you are hitting what you are aiming at, and I figure she'll practice more with it than if it was a 12, even though like your wife, she handles large calibers just fine. I went with a pump instead of an auto because I didn't want to be worried if it would work with light to heavy loads with out changing something. So there's my 2 cents...

    I'd put my two cents in, on top of his. I would think the BG would recoil at the sound of a pump gun being racked.
     

    itchin

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    I myself keep a youth bantam 20 guage bed side. I have other 12 guage shotguns but the youth 20 guage is perfect. Sorry I cannot spell gauge or guage . Whatever.
     

    M. Sage

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    Recently my wife has expressed an interest in owning her own HD shotgun. The only experience she has unfortunately are the shotguns I have. She has shot two of them that are 12ga one semi one pump. She is a petite woman at just 5'2" and under 130lbs. She is not afraid of large calibers firearms as she shoots her own XD45 and my 30 caliber rifles with ease.

    I am thinkng about getting her one for Xmas/Bday I will most likely purchase a better set of stock/forend and sights if needed and smith those myself.

    What would be a decent HD shotgun for her?

    AR15.

    #broken record
     

    TheDan

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    AR15.

    #broken record
    lol, yep... or any other carbine. Only problem is that if she just really wants a shotgun and gets an AR, then she's not going to use it. A shotgun that is loved, practiced with, and kept at the ready is better than an AR in the back of closet. Wouldn't hurt to ask if she'd consider a carbine instead, tho...

    On the shotgun, I'm in the 20ga is plenty camp. I'm not at all a recoil whimp, but even I prefer shooting 20s over 12s. Which one? Well that's a pretty big matter of preference. I really like the tang safety on Mossbergs, but my favorite shotgun is actually an old Winchester 1200. The parts are nicely worn in and the action is slicker than buttered snot.
     

    mitchntx

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    My wife shoots clays with a 20G 1100.

    I'd like to find another for her to use as HD, but for now we have pistol grip Mavericks stashed around the house for emergency use.

    She and I both drag them out a couple times a year for some needed familiarity and the subsequent bath.

    In an emergency need, an unfamiliar weapon is dangerous.
     

    ervdrvr1

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    I'm a 20g fan also. We have 3 at home. For HD, an Ithaca M37 Defence, 18.5" barrel, 2 3/4-3" chamber, shortened stock, just as smooth as my older M37 featherlight 20g. My wife has a Franchi 720 youth that she loves(she's 5' tall). She can handle the longer length of pull, but she loves the shorter length for clays, dove and ducks. I have a couple of 12g's, but I always seem to reach for the 20's the most.
     

    rushthezeppelin

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    I'd put my two cents in, on top of his. I would think the BG would recoil at the sound of a pump gun being racked.

    Why do people still spout this. If it's a petty theif, perhaps its going to scare them. But a determined home invader, especially one specifically coming after your wife when she is home alone, will now have a great tactical advantage of knowing where she is and what she has in her hand. If you home has a very clear choke point (top of stairs) she can be behind then she might be okay but still element of surprise trumps the potential of scaring of the petty criminal imo.
     

    SR9TEX

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    I agree, I think the sound that scares the perp should be a shotgun blast when your on target. Why scare the person off and give them another chance to possibly come back another day.
     

    M. Sage

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    I agree, I think the sound that scares the perp should be a shotgun blast when your on target. Why scare the person off and give them another chance to possibly come back another day.

    I heard shooting the guy in front tends to scare the hell out of everybody behind him a lot more than the sound of an action being cycled.
     

    UncleSamsMisguidedChild

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    I'll interject my experience here...

    I'm not a big guy, as most who've met me can attest to. Recently I bought Weatherby's 12g p459 12gauge pump action. It's an 18.5" barrel, with a pistol grip, Ghost ring sights with a fiber optic front sight post, and picatiny rail on the pump grip. I was hesitant to buy a 12g because I've shot them in the past with let's say, less than optimal results, but this thing shoots like a dream. I really enjoy shooting it, and can go through 30 to 50 rounds of 00 buck in a session with no ill effects.

    If she's looking for a quality HD shotgun, please do yourself a favor and go check this one out. It's reasonably priced and IMHO worth every penny.
     
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