Small Shooters

[Adam Striegel]

My wife is 5' tall and weights 98 pounds soak and wet. She can shoot my .40 Sig P226, but it throws her back pretty good. My Glock 26 she gets a good handle on. I found an old 1979 Walther PPK .380 in cherry condition and got that for her to have as her own gun. She loves the way it feels and shoots, so it was a match made in heaven.

We were talking about getting a shotgun that we could keep next to the bed, but also be able to use for clay bird shooting. I've seen several Mossberg setups that come with the pistol / standard butt setup that are easy to change out. Good friend of mine that is a Deputy told me we needed to get a Remmington 870 or go home.

My concern is that my wife might not be able to handle the recoil of a 12gauge pistol grip shotgun for home defense. Is there anything like a 20g or 410 that could reliability pass out acute cases of lead poison without rolling my wife over backwards or dislocating a shoulder?

My experience with shotguns is extremely limited. I shot a break-over 410 for years. I've shot a pump action 20 and semi-auto 20 a few times and that's about it. So any advise would be appreciated.


The goal is to get a nice short shotgun with 00 type loads that we can use as defense, but on the rare occasion, take it clay bird hunting.



Thanks,

Adam

 

[Jefpainthorse]

Get her a little professional coaching. Managing recoil in a handgun is totally about grip and posture...We have had several topics on BS about teaching spouses and SO's shooting... all the best advise is send her to a class... then don't be suprised when they go buy a .45ACP!

Shotguns... a Remington 11-87 youth model may be the ticket... 20 guage will get the job done.

 

[dennishoddy]

You can also purchase recoil buffers that fit into the buttstock to help tame recoil. I have one that slips into the empty chamber of the O/U when shooting trap. It does make a difference.

 

[Ksmirk]

I found some very light recoil 00 buck that for recoil is nothing, had a few girls shoot my little CZ last night and I'm pretty sure they are shooting 3-gun Saturday which is AWESOME! if you come out for the 3-gun she is more than welcome to try it out! I know the girls were shooting it and it looked rather painful from my view but it didn't stop them! real troopers.

You can find reduced recoil loads that can help and recoil buffers like Dennis was talking about can do wonderful things to reduce recoil. Biggest thing is to get the shotgun that fits her OR have one fit to her that will reduce recoil the most. Believe it or not my 28ga O/U bothers me more than my 12ga that has been fit! when the 28ga gets fit it's gonna be sweet. Later,

Kirk

 

[Matt1911]

Benelli Nova with a good recoil pad. Remington 870's suck.

 

[Corey]

My vote is youth rem 870 pump 20 GA. It is light and easy to handle shotgun.

 

[steak]

my wife just got a stoegar condor 20 ga youth o/u. so far it seems to be a shooter and she seems to love it. the only things i would change is it only has extractors not ejectors and the auto safety is kind of annoying but there seems to be a simple fix for that.

 

[Biggsly]

My vote is youth rem 870 pump 20 GA. It is light and easy to handle shotgun.

I agree with this.

 

[dennishoddy]

Rem 1100 light 20 auto loader would even have less recoil.

 

[Adam Striegel]

I was really hoping to get a pistol grip so we can keep it by the bed and the change out to a stock for clay bird shooting. I'll have to check into the recoil reducing loads, but the buffer isn't going to do a lot of good... :/

My brother had a 20g years ago that actually had a barrel that was on a spring and would retract an inch or two to absorb a lot of the recoil. It was a semi-auto so you could fire that thing as fast as you could pull the trigger without loose a lot of tracking ability. It was fun as hell to shoot clay bird with it. hehe Do they still make things like that and are they reliable. I was still pretty young and didn't really have a lot of concept for reliability, so I have no idea if that was really an issue or not.

 

[Jefpainthorse]

I was really hoping to get a pistol grip so we can keep it by the bed and the change out to a stock for clay bird shooting. I'll have to check into the recoil reducing loads, but the buffer isn't going to do a lot of good... :/

My brother had a 20g years ago that actually had a barrel that was on a spring and would retract an inch or two to absorb a lot of the recoil. It was a semi-auto so you could fire that thing as fast as you could pull the trigger without loose a lot of tracking ability. It was fun as hell to shoot clay bird with it. hehe Do they still make things like that and are they reliable. I was still pretty young and didn't really have a lot of concept for reliability, so I have no idea if that was really an issue or not.

Pistol grips are cool to look at... and a bear to shoot. I'd keep a buttstock on my shotgun and learn a lot about the tactics that go with such a firearm. Pistol grips recoil hard... In my opinion they are for a limited niche, deep concealment on a SBS or breeching.

Houses clearing with a shotgun? Not for the untrained or faint of heart. Sound home defense involves falling back to a pre-determined spot in the home. That spot should have "cover" for the homeowner and a structural point (doorway) that funnels the bad guy into a fire zone. After all- you did call 911... the safe zone gives the occupants a safe place to wait- and an edge if push comes to shove while your waiting for help

Hunting for bad folks in a structure is best done in teams... at least a pair of people who have some real training in such a skill set.

 

[dennishoddy]

My brother had a 20g years ago that actually had a barrel that was on a spring and would retract an inch or two to absorb a lot of the recoil. It was a semi-auto so you could fire that thing as fast as you could pull the trigger without loose a lot of tracking ability. It was fun as hell to shoot clay bird with it. hehe Do they still make things like that and are they reliable.

I'm betting your talking about a Browning Auto5. Yes, they are reliable.

 

[Adam Striegel]

Pistol grips are cool to look at... and a bear to shoot. I'd keep a buttstock on my shotgun and learn a lot about the tactics that go with such a firearm. Pistol grips recoil hard... In my opinion they are for a limited niche, deep concealment on a SBS or breeching.

Houses clearing with a shotgun? Not for the untrained or faint of heart. Sound home defense involves falling back to a pre-determined spot in the home. That spot should have "cover" for the homeowner and a structural point (doorway) that funnels the bad guy into a fire zone. After all- you did call 911... the safe zone gives the occupants a safe place to wait- and an edge if push comes to shove while your waiting for help

Hunting for bad folks in a structure is best done in teams... at least a pair of people who have some real training in such a skill set.

Sorry, yeah a defensive position is what I was talking about.... The plan for my wife is to go into the bedroom, lock the door, then go into the bathroom, lock the door, and call 911. That away someone would have to go through 2 doors to get to her. The issue, is our bathroom off the bedroom is really small and wielding a full shotgun in there would be a huge pain.

She has a Walther PPK .380 that she's pretty good with, but we were talking about getting something that had a little more punch to it.

 

[Jefpainthorse]

Sorry, yeah a defensive position is what I was talking about.... The plan for my wife is to go into the bedroom, lock the door, then go into the bathroom, lock the door, and call 911. That away someone would have to go through 2 doors to get to her. The issue, is our bathroom off the bedroom is really small and wielding a full shotgun in there would be a huge pain.

She has a Walther PPK .380 that she's pretty good with, but we were talking about getting something that had a little more punch to it.

That takes us back to a youth sized shotgun nthequiet: Remington and Mosseber 18 inch barrels are pretty easy to find.. and change out faster than the butt stock.

My home defense shotgun is a 60's era Harrington and Richardson 401 Pump... legally cut to 18.25 inches. With the uncle mikes ammo cuff I may have $100 tied up in this shotgun.
Lot's of cast- off nice shotguns hiding in pawn shops and back racks of gun shops....
American Walnut makes a nice club... it it comes to that...

 

[Jefpainthorse]

I'd really look at your furniture... dead corners that face doors and things like that..

If your bad guy gets into door one... and your locked in a little bathroom with a hollow core door...if he shoots through it what's he gonna hit? If he just kicks the door down were are you going to go? He's got ya?

Beds... book cases, chest of drawers make pretty good cover. Good tactics... dead corner behind you, bed or heavy furniture for cover... and when the door opens.... the bad guy is framed in a vertical coffin created by the door way.
Cell phone, keys for the house... firearm all need to be staged in the safe room. Plus... when the cops get there... the woman behind the bed.... or whoever described themselfs as the victim during the 911 call is a lot easier for the officers to sort out.

Drill with your kids and spouses... they all need to head that way on a signal... and have a plan B hidey hole if they get cut off...

If both of your are totin in the house... it would be worth your while to come up with some standard responses... where we go... what we are going to watch etc... a good plan may keep you from shooting each other by accident.

 

[Adam Striegel]

I'd really look at your furniture... dead corners that face doors and things like that..

If your bad guy gets into door one... and your locked in a little bathroom with a hollow core door...if he shoots through it what's he gonna hit? If he just kicks the door down were are you going to go? He's got ya?

Beds... book cases, chest of drawers make pretty good cover. Good tactics... dead corner behind you, bed or heavy furniture for cover... and when the door opens.... the bad guy is framed in a vertical coffin created by the door way.
Cell phone, keys for the house... firearm all need to be staged in the safe room. Plus... when the cops get there... the woman behind the bed.... or whoever described themselfs as the victim during the 911 call is a lot easier for the officers to sort out.

Drill with your kids and spouses... they all need to head that way on a signal... and have a plan B hidey hole if they get cut off...

The way our house is setup. the bathroom is really the only option to hide out. It's an old house, and the doors are all solid. Basically you open the door and it's on the far left of the room. The toilet, shower, etc, are all to the right. If someone went in there they could easily stand off to the right (in the tub) and be impossible to shoot through the door and would be clear to shoot someone the second they walked in without being immediately seen.

 

[Jefpainthorse]

Ok... at least your thinking. Good.

Murphy's law says...it your cover is so good they cannot get in...you probably can't get out. nthequiet:

 

[Adam Striegel]

Ok... at least your thinking. Good.

Murphy's law says...it your cover is so good they cannot get in...you probably can't get out. nthequiet:

Yeah, that's the problem... Our house has such an open floor plan and the rooms are so small, that there's just no where to hide except there. Couches, chairs, bed are all in a position that there's no way to hide without being completely open to the doorway. :/

 

[Adam Striegel]

Though, I have considered making a hidden trap door in the floor that lets you get in the crawl space. You could then get into the basement, and sneak out the door (outside) without anyone in the house knowing. Or you could just shoot up through the floor and really scare the piss out of them. lol

 

[Ksmirk]

Just remember if you scare the piss out of them from shooting thru the floor where will you be :sarcastichand: easiest thing to do is get a dog! they will let you know when or if someone comes in the house. Later,

Kirk