welcome to Beaker650

[movie zombie]

hey, saw that you recently started posting and wanted to say "hi"!
we women are few here at calguns and its nice to see another.
what brought you to calguns? i assume a gun or two.......what you got?!

[Beaker650]

Hi MZ! Thank you for the welcome. I am new, I have been waiting for months to start training because I like you recently had my baby cat Bear pass away. I spent 4 months trying to save him from his brain tumor, but he passed away in February and it broke my heart. I still cry all the time, but starting this new hobby has help me have something took look forward to.

I have been looking into this as preparedness for self defense and for when SHTF such as a major earthquake.

I just finished firearms training and I'm trying to figure out what kind of handgun to buy. I tried a Glock 17 and I did not like that. I did just buy a 20g 870 Remington Youth Express from the private sales here and I will receive it on Saturday. Yay! I am having a lot of trouble finding #2, #3 20 g buck for the gun, and in general have trouble finding any type of 20g ammo.

[movie zombie]

sorry for the loss of your Bear cat......and thanks for your post in my thread re Rusty.

i've been looking into youth rifles....and takedown style as well. can't decide.

Glock 19 seems to be popular in this forum......but i'm more a revolver woman, though i did by a colt mark iv series 80 .45acp from another calgunner that i love. didn't start out with that...worked my way up to it.

a friend also said that 20g ammo is pricey.......not sure i can handle a 12g. same friend has a 12g and i'll try it one day. i'm not discounting a .410 either.

i do have a marlin 1894 .38/.357 lever rifle that i like a lot. however, i find i take the handguns to the range a lot more than the rifles. i don't like the .22 rifle i have and am thinking of getting a "takedown" model for the scenarios you describe.

again, welcome.

[Beaker650]

I'm not sure it's pricey, just difficult to find. I drove to about 8 stores looking for 20g buck. Finally found a Turners had one package left of #2 magnum buck for 8.99.

As for ammo for the range, I was able to find one Walmart that sold 20g #7.5 multipurpose loads 100 for $23. Was the same price as the 12g. So not too expensive.

For me the 12 g was not an unreasonable shotgun. Yes it had more recoil, but it was manageable. The main problem I had was the length of pull is too long for me on regular models because I am 5'4", so I would have needed to get the stock cut down. Remington seems to no longer manufacturer the 20g youth, so I jumped on it when I saw it in the forums for $275.

[Shellshocker66]

Welcome Beaker to the forums! Nice to see more women on here and in the ladies forum.

Might have to look online for 20g defense ammo if you live in a county that is not prohibitive of mail order ammo. Brownell's has buckshot for the 20G in stock. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=4...NITION#skugrid

Might also check Cabela's, Midway, and there are several good places for online ammo sales. Not to mention it's nice to have Brown Truck Santa bring packages!

Good luck and have fun with your purchase/s.

[powaybob]

I got my wife a Stoeger 20 gauge coach gun. I went on line to get 20 gauge buck. I think it was Cheaper than DIrt that had it. I also recall picking some up at a gun show. I'll have to check, but I think most of it was # 2. Google "20 gauge buckshot" and you will come up with a number of sources.

Wecome to Calguns.

[Mr. Gillious]

mmm 650...welcome.

check this out, lots of selection...

http://ammoseek.com/?from=resultspage&gun=shotgun&cal=313&shot_size=&shell_length=&mfg=&keywords=&sortby=cpr&.submit=Search

[movie zombie]

like you, Beaker, i'm short.....and shorter than you, i might add. so i'm definitely liking the idea of a youth model. glad you found a deal here at calguns.

so, the responses seem to indicate that 20g ammo is available. personally, i call around to find out who has what before i drive to make a purchase. the fact i live in a forest and its 20 miles to the nearest "big town" probably has a lot to do with that......... of course, you live in the south land and know about big towns!

[Beaker650]

Thanks everyone for the welcome and ammo suggestions. I wanted to get ammo locally since I will be going to the range on Saturday and wanted to be able to try it out before I set up the gun for HD. It wouldn't get here in time via mail order, plus shipping is expensive!

Though I probably burned up a ton of gas at $4.20 a gallon.

I do have to drive outside of city limits since LA has these restrictions. EDIT: I just read that I cannot receive mail order ammo either because I live in Los Angeles.

Zombie, I did see that Remington has another 20 g youth model being sold (also seems to be discontinued?) with only 12 inch length of pull too. http://www.gandermountain.com/modper...2&merchID=4006

Mossberg also has the youth 20g that has details on the website and I think one of the model comes with a bunch of add-ons to modify the stock length in increments between 12-13" LOP. http://www.mossberg.com/products/def...&display=specs

I just really liked the Remington when I used it in the class I took. Funny thing is I met one guy in the class who lived in Dana Point, the next day I kind of partnered up with a lady named Dana, and the next day I remembered seeing the shotgun here on Calguns and when I looked it up it was being sold by someone in Dana Point. I took that as a sign. LOL.

[movie zombie]

thanks for the links. still researching....but feeling an itch to buy another gun of one type or another....... youth stock models are hard to find but not impossible.

[BadKitty]

With regard to needing to find the right size firearms for shooters tall, short, young and old....

If you ever "happen to be" in the Reno, NV area, definitely make a point to stop in at Scheels sporting goods store located in Sparks, NV (just outside of Reno). http://www.scheelssports.com/ They have a great selection of all types of firearms and what seemed to be friendly and helpful staff.

What's cool about Scheels, and the state of Nevada for that matter, is that they are less uptight about firearms. At Scheels, the handguns are locked up in display cases, but the rifles and shotguns are all out and accessbile to the customers. A friend and I spent some 30-40 minutes browsing, picking up and handling the 100+ new and used shotguns on display without needing "permission". Only one time did an employee ask us if we needed help and then he gave us our space.

I don't know what the purchase policies are for non-Nevada residents; but, I wasn't planning on buying that day anyway. The benefit to me was that I was able to easily try out dozens of brands and models to find the best fit for me. I didn't have to drive all over the place to keep looking at the same 10 models sold at the chain places.

And while you're "swinging by Reno", be sure to also stop at Cabela's in Verdi, NV (on the other side of Reno). http://www.cabelas.com

Scheels and Cabela's - you'll thank me later.

BK

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Breaker, welcome to CG. Try a Glock G-19 & a G-26. I've got both & love them. If you start collecting, check out the Baby Browning.

IIRC, there is 2 3/4" 12 ga. low recoil ammo available. They may not cycle a semi-auto, but will work fine in a pump action or break open shotgun. There is also mini 12 ga shells (shorter than a normal 2 3/4" shell) made that have less recoil & will increase the capacity of the magazine tube. They won't cycle a semi-auto but will function fine in all break open & in most if not all pump action shotguns.

If a shotgun's length of pull (butt stock to trigger length) is too long & it has a wood stock, you can always cut the stock down to a comfortable length for you. That would also be a good time to add a softer recoil pad to absorb some of the kick. There is a wide variety of them available. GPC/Numrich, Midway & Brownells sells them. Watch out as some of the rubber recoil pads can be very sticky on cloth & can cause folds in your shirt that can be painful when shooting. Competition shotguns are custom fitted & balanced to the shooter, so making one fit you is not a big deal.

If a 12 ga shotgun is not too heavy, I would get it over a 20 ga. If things get bad 12 ga ammo is the "standard" & the most common to find. A 12 ga would be worth more to sell, barter or trade in the future also. Just throwing some ideas out there.