Seems like a good choice, but if at all possible let her try one before you buy. The Syren version of the Fabarm L4S is also a good choice, but more expensive.

 

A300 Outlander with lighter loads should be a good gun in my opinion. I do not know how readily available they are nowadays and I do not know how adjustable the LOP is on the Ultima that is in current production. As mentioned above, a few of the manufacturers have women specific models available. No matter what you decide, I would stick with a gas operated semiauto for softer recoil.

 

The 300 is a good choice. Use 1oz 1180fps. Will have decent resale if she doesn’t stick with the hobby, or you could keep it for hunting. The only caveat is if the shooter needs to shoot left handed, you may want to get a left eject,

 

A300 1 oz 1180 good choice. I always recommend a 20 auto for newbies, enough pellets in the air and less recoil than even 1 oz 1180, so the shooter can concentrate on technique not impact. The Silver Hunter would fit the bill as it is 13" LOP and comes with at least on spacer and you can add more. AND if she graduates to a 12 someday you can use the gun to teach grandkids down the road with this purchase now being out of the way. Silver Field Micro Midas - Semi-Auto Shotgun - Browning

 

I am 5'6" tall. I shoot a "women-specific" Syren with a LOP of 13 7/8". If she is 5'1" tall the A300 will not fit her. She won't be able to reach the trigger. Not unless you go to a specialty shop and pay extra. Maybe hundreds of dollars extra.

In order to reach the trigger, the too-long butt stock naturally mounts well to the right of the shoulder pocket, on the upper fore-arm. The gun shoots well to the left of point-of-aim and the upper arm quickly becomes bruised.

Those who say "teach her to mount the gun correctly" may as well say "teach her to be taller." The only way to mount correctly is a shorter LOP.

It became economical for me to buy a belt sander and pad fitting jig, I have cut down stocks so often. Gunsmiths are rare. Cutting the stock and grinding the pad to fit is an extra couple hundred dollars.

Consider the Mossberg SA-20 Bantam (wood) (LOP = 12.5" .. very very short) or Tristar Viper G2 Compact (wood) (LOP = 13." very short). They are the same gun made in the same factory, imported by two different companies. They have excellent reputations. Both may benefit from the $12.00 trigger spring upgrade from McCarbo... a super easy home job. Both are budget friendly.

A bunch of tall men are likely to chime in, saying that gun fit is not important. Most shotguns fit them perfectly.
I dare anyone to tape 1 1/4" of extra rubber behind their stock, then shoot a round.

Cast and drop reduce proportionally when we cut a stock. This is a fact of geometry. The body of a small woman is not 100% proportional to the height of a taller man. As a rough guess: the smaller shotgun needs the maximum cast and drop shims installed. I made a custom shim to get just a little more cast on my Fabarms L4S Compact (just out of your price range.)

Out of the box, my Syren fits like a glove. It was designed for small adults.
The Franchi Instinct Catalyst is also designed for women, LOP= 13 7/7", but they use a proprietary butt stock pad that makes minor modifications a major league headache. It uses a hard-on-the-shoulder recoil semi-auto system, too.

Heart set on an A300, buy from a gun shop with parts needed to reduce the LOP for the shooter, in stock. These parts exist in concept, but buying the parts needed is often impossible.

Don't buy a shotgun until the shooter has shouldered it, especially when the plan is to throw away an expensive (ugly and useless, imo) kick-off gizmo. I believe that a soft recoil system, proper gun fit, and limbsaver or decellerator pad are as effective as mechanical gee-whiz systems.

Really, esp for young people, it's very hard to beat the Tristar 20 gauge Viper G2 Compact in wood.

I shot my first round of Sporting Clays yesterday with some friends from SGW. The squad in front of us had a fellow shooting a Tristar Viper. He was powdering the clays, far better than any of us. It's the Indian, not the arrow.

 

Beretta should be a soft shooter but I don't know how short they can get on LOP. Both my wife and daughter are also right at 5'1" - 5'2". When you're that short, LOP and barrel length make a big difference. If too long, they tend to lean backwards to support what for them is a long, large gun. This makes recoil even worse and shooting more difficult.

 

A300 Outlander is adjustable down to a 13" length of pull by removing the factory stock spacers.

 

The outlander can be adjusted pretty short as mentioned above. The A300 Ultima, not as easy if you want to use the kickoff.

Consider a 24" barrel. It will make the gun a lot more manageable. I have a smaller framed girl and she can't support a 28" barrel. The flat rib on the outlander offers a relatively long sighting plane so the 24" tube is not that much of a disadvantage.

 

Before you buy, consult an expert on shotgun fitting. They will point you in the right direction concerning stock dimensions that will fit your daughter. Some guns just can't be adjusted enough to fit.

I went through this with my daughter. She's about the same size, 5'1". When she out grew the youth gun, Beretta 303 20 gauge 24" barrel, that she started on. We tried to get a 12 gauge Beretta 303 fit to her and it didn't have enough adjustment in it. The stock fitter, Ken Rucker, suggested getting a Beretta Parallel Target. Found a 12 gauge, 28" barrel, 3901 Beretta Parallel Target on GB for a good price. The Parallel Target has an adjustable stock, both LOP and the height of the stock can be raised or lowered. She's been shooting it ever since, close to 15 years. With 1 ozw loads it's a cream puff to shoot.

 

Not readily available but they are out there is the Beretta 3901 Target RL (reduced length) which was specifically designed for the small framed person. I believe the LOP with original butt pad is either 12 or 12.5" and came from the factory with an adjustable comb. I've helped a couple women get started with these guns and the results have been pretty good. Do some web searches and watch the gun sites and you're bound to find one. Worth the effort in my opinion as it is basically a 390. Good luck and good shooting, Rey

 

If you’re near Dallas, give me a shout. I have one you can try.

 

Hi All,

I have a 15 year old daughter who wants to do some clay target shooting. She is average build and height, about 5’1” or 5’2”, and probably wont grow much taller. I have a couple of 12 gauge Browning O/U‘s and a Beretta Xtrema2 semi. She finds all of them too heavy and the length of pull on all three is far too long for her. I am after an all rounder gun that she can use for a bit of everything; trap, skeet, and sporting clays. I was thinking about a Beretta A300 Outlander. What made me think this might be suitable was the ability to remove spacers and shorten the LOP, and use the shims to adjust gun fit, and its lighter than my other guns

What do people think?

I would prefer a 12 gauge and to stay away from sub gauge.

My wife is scheduled for shoulder surgery and was planning on putting her Syren semi auto up for sale. If that is of interest let me know and then we should follow forum rules about offerings for sale.

 

You said you prefer a 12 gauge ... and I hear you. But hear me out..........

My granddaughter is about the same size or perhaps a bit smaller. We found a used Beretta 686 28 gauge gun for her at a reasonable cost. Then the search began for a replacement stock that we could cut down instead of cutting the one on the gun. After we found one, we took it to a gunsmith and had it shortened to fit her. We saved the original stock for future use or if she ever decided to give up the sport.

Why am I saying this? Because the 28 gauge guns are "usually" on smaller overall frames and are lighter. Makes them ideal for small statured shooters without having the unGodly short barrels. I'm not certain, but I think the 20 gauge models are that way also.

Just food for thought ..........

Good luck getting her situated with something that she will enjoy !

 

Adjustable stock and short barrel will make for a great young girl gun

 

I have one and my daughter and a friend's daughter in law have shot it, and enjoyed shooting the gun. Lightweight synthetic stock and forend, adjustable LOP @ 13 " to 14.5 " at .5 inch increments.
Low cost, low recoil, light weight and dependable action makes it a very good option for a young shooter.
If you are near central Ohio, you can check out mine.
Richard

 

I have one and my daughter and a friend's daughter in law have shot it, and enjoyed shooting the gun. Lightweight synthetic stock and forend, adjustable LOP @ 13 " to 14.5 " at .5 inch increments.
Low cost, low recoil, light weight and dependable action makes it a very good option for a young shooter.
If you are near central Ohio, you can check out mine.
Richard

I’m interested in this gun as well… you mentioned LOP is adjustable in 1/2” increments…how is that done?
I’ve looked online at the specifications and don’t see am
ny mention of this plus with a synthetic stock, it looks like cut once and done
would appreciate your input thanks

 

There is a used FABARM Syren Sporting model for sale in the classified for a reasonable asking price.

I would check that out first as it's made to fit a woman better.