doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Shotgun fit for women

My significant other is interested in shooting. She knows nothing at all about a shotgun nor shooting, but has been reading a lot about it (odd, I know). She told me a youth gun will not work for her because she is a woman and her chest is built differently than a youth. She is petite, about 5ft 2in, with small hands. I'm having trouble finding anything that will work for her. I'm thinking a gun fitting is a good idea, but I'm afraid I might have to have a custom stock made for her?? I don't want to spend a bajillion dollars on this project, because she might just up and quit. Any ideas about how I should proceed and any ideas on specific guns? Thanks for your opinion.

Find the nearest skeet/trap range and find out when there's a shoot for women. Go and ask to check fit from different guns.

Hi Buzz, unlikely you will find anything straight off the shelf that will fit but most guns can be modified to suit so I don't think you have to go to expense of a custom stock.

As Mike says, first port of call should be an experienced gun fitter for females. Stock shapes for women tend to have a little more cast (or pushed out toe)and quite a reduced length in toe to fit their frame. As you have pointed out, females are different from us in the chest region and the stock has to accommodate the extra bits they have!

For the first timer female I would recommend an Italian 20 gauge over & under, not too expensive on the wallet, slender enough in the grip for small hands and can be bent and cut down to fit easily (at 5ft 2in, a stock length in region 13 1/4in to mid depending on length of neck and arms too). Coupled with a good pad on the end and some lower velocity loads, this is a good place to start.

One final thing, more than likely your significant other is left eye dominate, most females are, so beware of this but a good fitter will pick this up.

Buzz - some shooting schools have tryguns that can be altered to fit and then shot. You may want to ask around to see if you can locate one - that would give your friend a chance to shoot a gun that fit her and give you an idea of how much stock alteration may be needed.

My son's Benelli Montefelto has shims that allow for a decent amount of change for cast and drop - plus it is light but also manages recoil well. This is the first and likely last semi I will own but it has functioned well and was the right tool for this particular job.



I would agree that an Italian OUs would be a good candidate but many of them have throughbolts - don't those limit how much bending can be done?

Buzz,
Given that you don't know if she's going to stick with it, I'd opt for a 20ga auto to start with. A Beretta comes with all these shims to change drop and cast. But even a Remington can be altered very quickly for drop, cast and toe out/in. I just did a drastic change on a Rem 870 last night after a friend at the range gave me his "guest gun" and asked that I raise the comb by "bending" it, since he saw what I did with my sxs guns.

I ended up using a file and changed the simple head inletting. I raised the DAH by 1/2" and put a 1/4" of cast off in it. Took me about 2 hrs at the kitchen table with a flat file and some measuring stuff. I could have easily put some toe out in it. The good part about a Rem 870/1100 is that replacement stock is cheap and readily available. Another way to go would be to put an adjustable comb and buttplate on a shortened gun. Then she could "tune" it as she got more proficient. I think a lot of us have tuned our dimensions over the years and various guns.

With the autos, most have some limitations on how short they can be cut due to a spring housing in the butt. The 870 pump doesn't have this.

The guns I've seen small women have had grips that were small diameter and tight/close so the small hands could reach the trigger, the combs were very high, lots of toe out and cast off.

The current Ithaca gun Co. make a ladies stock for the M-37 if that is of interest.

Browning BPS Micro. It is a 20 gauge pump. Shorter stock, 20" bbl with screw chokes. The pistol grip is shaped for a smaller hand. The stock can be replaced easily, the barrels are interchangeable with standard length barrels.
The shorter bbls put more weight between the hands, making it easier for a smaller shooter to manage. I can't tell you how many kids/women I've watched arching their backs to support the heft of a full sized gun.

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=011B&cid=012&tid=225

My grandson is getting one under the tree this year. His mother is looking forward to trying it.

Joe

Chuck H and Joe have made some good points that I agree with based on my daughter's experience. I started her on skeet and preserve birds at the age of 14. She was about 5'2 or maybe 5'4" at the most. She tried out many 20 gauge guns but found that the 20 gauge Browning B2000 worked best for her with no modifications. Several years later I got a Beretta 391 20 gauge and because of the shims and two thickneses of recoil pads that came with it the 391 worked even better for her.

The main thing is that youths and small women do not usually have the upper body strength of men the same size and that causes the back arching mentioned above. For this reason having two barels out front rather than one is a problem for them. I have always been a double gun guy but for my wife and daughter a 20 gauge auto with a slim forend like the B2000 or 391 is ideal. A Franchi 48AL would also be good but will have a little more recoil than a gas gun.

Whatever you decide, I hope your lady gets into shooting and enjoys it.

Regards,
Roger

Shortened a gal's stock 3 times and she was sort of happy, added an adjustable butt plate and she liked it a bunch, made the comb adjustable and that was also a plus. She then married the guy who was bringing her and they had a baby, she is now very happy.
bill

This is good information to know. Maybe I'll finally find a woman who likes to shoot.