I know that no one can really answer this for certain over the internet. I'm just trying to narrow down the search for my gf's first shotgun.

Let me start by saying I have read the stock fitters bible more than once and fully understand special needs for ladies such as pitch.

She is 5'7" 125 lbs. She is exceptionally strong from boxing, martial arts, and so on. Her frame I would call medium in reference to shoulder width in particular. Breast are small. I think she could beat me up lol.

I am wondering if we should be looking at youth guns or fullsize?

Because she is pretty big maybe the 14 1/4 LOP would be fine? She is also so strong I think she can handle longer than the 24" barrel standard on youth guns and that would swing better. I realize if its too long and heavy she will lean back, and that is no way to take recoil.

I'm going to look for the heaviest 20 ga she is comfortable with and use some very light 3/4 oz loads.

She has only fired a shotgun one time. Some jerk thought it would be funny to have her fire a 3 1/2 slug from a pump gun...I don't want her to get beat up and break no targets on her first time out.

Do you shoot at a range or a club with people that you are familiar with? Whenever I hear about someone that wants to start a new shooter, I'll bring a couple loaner guns to the club for them to use. I have 12s and 20s with different LOPs, and it gets them started with something that is at least in the ballpark for fit. The Standard LOP for Remingtons is 14", which is a little less than the norm, and might be a good starting point. Let her heft a couple different guns and see what she thinks. Mark

That would be ideal, but I don't. I just shoot clays a few times a year to practice for hunting with a buddy. The people I do know at the range have expensive o/u like Kolar. I would like to go more. She loves paintballing so I thought she might like bustin some clays.

My guess would be full sized providing the pitch can be corrected and at the same time, the stock can be shortened a little.

Chances are that the comb will also need to be raised.

Another consideration is the size of the grip. If her hands are small, a youth gun would be better. Its stock could be lengthened with a spacer and the comb raised, if necessary.

The grip radius is a stock dimension that is difficult to reduce for smaller hands.

I am approximately your wife's size. I am not a tiny girl and I am also pretty strong. I still found that most guns did not fit me. The first gun I purchased was a Beretta 3901 12 gauge, with adjustable comb and cast. I was able to fit this gun to my longer neck and shorter LOP.

I have since inherited a Beretta 682 gold (1998) that was NIB. This particular gun did not fit me well. I took that NIB shotgun and had an adjustable comb added, and a mercury recoil pad to reduce recoil. It is a light gun so it kicked hard. I took it to a gun maker named Dale Tate and had it fitted to me. The barrel was 30" so I can use this well fitted gun for most games. I shoot it for skeet, sporting clays, 5 stand, trap and bunker grouse. It is a nice all around gun. Your girlfriend doesn't need a 20 gauge although they are a kick to shoot. But, why handicap her when she is learning. If she is bigger and stronger, put a 12 gauge in her hands and let her shoot it. She will do fine.

This topic is old. Already got her a gun.

What did you decide to get? Sorry, I should have looked at the date.

I am actually curious myself. did it work out Stockranger?

Hope you didn't compromise and get a youth model. Granted most of the women i have had the pleasure of dating aren't the same size as your wife. (Usually between 4'10 and 5"6 and 175-250) I've seen little girls able to shoot large caliber rifles, and feel any woman can do the same given enough practice.