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Ok, so recently the girlfriend and I started shooting trap. We both like it a lot, and plan to continue going in the future. Up until now, she has been shooting either my 12ga 870 Wingmaster with 30" VR barrel, or my 20ga H&R Handi-Rifle. The 870 seems too long for her, the H&R is way too short (for some odd reason, we both have to raise the stock up so that just the bottom corner is touching the top of our shoulder to get it to line up right).
I had her try to hold a Mossberg 500 in 20ga, thinking the LOP would be shorter, but it was still a tad long. From looking at the displays in the store, it seemed like the stocks on the 20ga 500's were about 1" shorter than the 12ga, but I could have been mistaken.
I believe she needs a stock with a 13" LOP, approximately. So, I've been looking primarily at youth-sized models. The problem is, none of the local stores seem to have anything in youth sizes for her to try. Another "problem" is that all youth-sized guns seem to come with a short barrel, usually in the 22" range. Is this common? My concern is that the barrel will be too short to effectively shoot trap, which is the whole point of getting her the shotgun in the first place. Am I wrong? Is the whole gun just scaled down proportionally so that a 22" barrel on a youth model "feels" like a 26" barrel on a normal sized gun? I'd prefer not to have to deal with buying a youth-sized gun and then trying to find a full length barrel, if possible.
So, I think my options are to just get a youth sized model and have her try it to see if it works, and if not, try to find a longer barrel. Or, buy a full-sized gun with a full length barrel, then buy a Hogue short stock set. Which would you guys recommend? My girlfriend is about 5'5" and has no problem shooting either my 12ga or my 20ga (truth be told, the H&R 20ga kicks harder than the 12ga 870).
As for youth models, I've narrowed it down to an 870 youth 20ga w/ 21" barrel, Mosserg Bantam 20ga w/ 22" barrel, Charles Daly youth 20ga w/ 22" barrel, or a Benelli Nova youth 20ga 24" barrel.
Price is a concern, and while I'd like to keep it as low as possible (since it's just a recreational gun), I'd be willing to spend a bit more for the right gun. As it stands, it seems like the Benelli nova youth would be perfect, but it is also the priciest - probably at least $450 out the door. Anyways, what do you guys think?
I had her try to hold a Mossberg 500 in 20ga, thinking the LOP would be shorter, but it was still a tad long. From looking at the displays in the store, it seemed like the stocks on the 20ga 500's were about 1" shorter than the 12ga, but I could have been mistaken.
I believe she needs a stock with a 13" LOP, approximately. So, I've been looking primarily at youth-sized models. The problem is, none of the local stores seem to have anything in youth sizes for her to try. Another "problem" is that all youth-sized guns seem to come with a short barrel, usually in the 22" range. Is this common? My concern is that the barrel will be too short to effectively shoot trap, which is the whole point of getting her the shotgun in the first place. Am I wrong? Is the whole gun just scaled down proportionally so that a 22" barrel on a youth model "feels" like a 26" barrel on a normal sized gun? I'd prefer not to have to deal with buying a youth-sized gun and then trying to find a full length barrel, if possible.
So, I think my options are to just get a youth sized model and have her try it to see if it works, and if not, try to find a longer barrel. Or, buy a full-sized gun with a full length barrel, then buy a Hogue short stock set. Which would you guys recommend? My girlfriend is about 5'5" and has no problem shooting either my 12ga or my 20ga (truth be told, the H&R 20ga kicks harder than the 12ga 870).
As for youth models, I've narrowed it down to an 870 youth 20ga w/ 21" barrel, Mosserg Bantam 20ga w/ 22" barrel, Charles Daly youth 20ga w/ 22" barrel, or a Benelli Nova youth 20ga 24" barrel.
Price is a concern, and while I'd like to keep it as low as possible (since it's just a recreational gun), I'd be willing to spend a bit more for the right gun. As it stands, it seems like the Benelli nova youth would be perfect, but it is also the priciest - probably at least $450 out the door. Anyways, what do you guys think?
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