What ammo was she shooting in your 12, and is it gas or inertia operated? Understand too that if the gun does not fit her (very likely) that will increase felt recoil. Have her try the lightest ammo that will cycle the gun or better yet try to rent or borrow a gun that fits better.
As far as "choosing a gun for her", get that out of your mind and let HER pick the gun unless you are just going through the motions. See if there is a woman's shooting group in your area and connect with them, some other gals will be the most help she can get.

 

I think length-of-pull is critically important. If the gun is too long and she is shooting off her back foot, the recoil will be noticeably worse.

 

Unless she is about 5'10" and about 180lbs that gun isn't going to feel nice to shoot. anyone over the age of say 12-14 should be able to shoot a standard 12 ga target load, so if the recoil is too much, it is a gun fit problem. So find a 12 or 20 ga that is sized more appropriately, that she also likes and have fun. If she's shorter that probably about 5'8" a youth size stock should work fairly well. The Beretta Vittoria stock is pretty nice also.

 

o

 

The SX4 below might be a better choice than my initial recommendation.

 

My girlfriend has shown interest in going skeet shooting with me. After trying my 12 gauge she quickly realized shes not a fan of the recoil. What gauge or gun should i look to get her started?

Look here: Shotguns for Women. No More Compromises! – Syren USA.

 

The Winchester SX4 comes in a compact size with barrel lengths of 24”, 26” and 28”.
It is a soft shooting gas type and is reasonably priced with great reviews and support.
The gas system is the same as the more expensive sister brand Browning uses.
It comes in 12 and 20 ga.
For Skeet I would go with a 20 ga. for her.

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I recently bought a used Beretta A400 Upland in 28 gauge and fitted it with an adjustable butt plate. I got it "for my daughter" who's 5'2" and small. I can adjust the LOP all the way in and its great for her to shoot and all the way out, I can shoot it well also. It allows for some cant and height adjustment as well. With 3/4oz. at approx. 1200 fps it is absolutely fabulous to shoot. The gun is also light enough that my daughter can hold the gun properly with a correct gun mount. It is very common to see smaller statured people that may not have the upper body strength struggle to bring a gun up to a proper mount. They typically then lean back and push their hips forward to counter-balance the weight. This situation is always a bad one. A light weight semi-auto that fits her well and will cycle light target loads is what I'd look for. For the record, I don't love recoil either and I shoot 28's alot, 90+ % of the time.

 

1. The gun must fit.
Silver's formua will get you in the ballpark:
0.1485 X her height in inches + 4 = LOP.

For 5'7" a starting LOP would be 14"
If the shotgun is too long, the butt pad mounts to the right of the shoulder pocket, out onto the upper arm. OW, OW! OW!
And the shot goes to the left.

Women generally have smaller hands, so the grip radius and trigger reach should be shorter. Longer necks will affect comb height and cast... but if the LOP is too long... it's guaranteed pain.

Those who don't believe, try shooting a shotgun with an inch of extra length added to your buttstock. You'll find out.

2. Gas operated semi-autos can't be beat for soft shooting. The recoil action slows down the punch to the shoulder like nothing else.

3. Reduce the load. No need to go faster than 1220 fps. No need to shoot more than 7/8 ounce. So her scores are not ready to take on the State Champ? Big deal. It's about having fun and improving.

4. Nice soft recoil pad. See #1 above, too. Good fit, good pad.

5. Gun weight. Heavier guns recoil less. Physics.

Remember... it's HER GUN. She has to like it.

For all we know, she might be 6'3" tall... so can't gun fit her on the intenet.

For a cheap gun, hard to beat a Tristar Viper G2 20 gauge or Beretta A300... but they have to fit the shooter. The Mossberg SA-20 Youth is very tiny, for the about-5-feet-tall crowd.

 

Hello. I just came across your reply to this post and seems like great information. My wife is a new shooter and wants to get into shooting skeets on the acreage with me. Is there a couple 12 gauges that you would recommend for her, please? She it 5’7” 120lbs

 

I shot bunker trap today with 7/8 oz 1350 fps cartridges. They’re surprisingly soft to shoot. Maybe that type of ammo and a well-fitting gun would be a good combination for her. Big thing with the ladies is getting the comb built up. Too many females try shooting with guns that are too low in the comb, they pick up their head, and the gun smacks their face.

 

For fun, the wife got the ksg in .410 and loves it.

 

There are a number of companies making guns specifically for women - Syren, Fabarm and Beretta come to mind. I would consider those and then let HER choose.

 

Emphasis on “ let HER choose”

 

Syren is the woman specific brand for Fabarm.
Vittoria is the model designation for woman specific models from Beretta. The Vittoria shotguns used to be cut-shorter men's stocks, but now they have made 'em really for smaller people, like the Syren.
Franchi has its Catalyst models, women specific
Tristar and Mossberg make compact models ... which are shorter in LOP but not fully scaled down.

I shoot a Syren. I'm a stout guy and 5'6" tall. After years of fussing with fit, cutting nice wood stocks short, customizing shims... this one just fit me right out of the box. What a joy!

 

Don’t over-think it - you could get deep down the rabbit hole and drive yourself crazy (ask me how I know). A few facts to consider: (1) a gas gun is going to be softer shooting than your inertia gun. (2) 20 gauge is going to typically be softer shooting than your 12 gauge. (3) Some type of recoil reduction system will only help the situation. (4) gun weight should also be a consideration - everyone says the heavier the better for recoil, but not everyone wants to lug around a heavy gun. Best combination I’ve found with all of the above is the A400 Xplor in 20 gauge with the Kickoff system. If wanting something a little more budget friendly, the A300 in 20 gauge is a great gun and comes standard with the Kickoff system. You could go up to 12 gauge in either of these, but is that really necessary? I’d be willing to bet money your gf will like 20 gauge better, and it would be a fun gun for you as well. Both the A400 and A300 can be easily adjusted for LOP with Beretta polymer spacers (the A300 even comes with them!). Good luck.

 

I wouldnt discount that some guns are front heavy. Thats awful for small frame people, kids,women, and the elderly.
I love short guns for there handling capabilities. 20gauge,24" barrel thats o/ u or sxs are brilliant.
If you want to go one step further and lessen the recoil.
Buy or aquire 20gauge subsonics. Do not be put off with the subsonic low recoil performance. They are what we give to recoil shy small frame people. They settle down with those.

i even make 12gauge 1,1/4oz lead subsonics, #4 #2. To reach out and touch something. Thats through a very light sxs game gun.

maybe go off and get a lesson with a reputable clay coach for some lessons. They should have access to small frame/gauge guns to try.
after that she should make a very smart decision.

it happens here all the time. yoy can ring them up. "I want to try a tiny 20gauge" they will put you, to test on targets. Like driven, decoy, passing.
test
its all about driven shooting here.

i make shells, to get my 12 to behave like a different beast.
Again driven, fast shells are not needed.

if you are after dove. Select appropriate shells. But get comfortable with shells then introduce game shells gradually

 

Any Beretta 20 gauge. Get her used to gun mount, stance, feel etc. before making a bigger investment in a nice piece.

 

Take her. Let her try the guns. Get her one she finds comfortable. Not over the Internet.

 

I went through this not long ago. My wife is 4’ 11” and 120lbs at her heaviest. She needed a LOP of 12.5”, a barrel no longer than 26”, light weight and gas to mitigate recoil. I settled on the SKB RS300 as it hit all of the wickets. I paid very close to retail because it had to be special ordered, and SKB dealers are far and few between.

 

JJ72,
My young wife hated the 12 gauge guns of any type, she shot a 28 Gauge Rem 1100 Skeet Grade gun all the time, softest shooting gun we ever owned. She was deadly with it, especially shooting Mearns Quail. Linda was 5' 6" tall weighed about 100 lbs.
She could shoot the 1100 all day long using light shells. Linda did not use any other shotgun, she liked that gun so much. You might consider something like this for your lady.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

 

I owned one of those 28-gauge 1100's, deadliest grouse gun I ever shot. Like a moron I traded it on a 20 gauge Ruger Red Label thinking it would be an improvement, WRONG.

 

My wife is 5'7" and she shoots a Beretta Xplor Unico gas gun with no stock alterations. It came with the recoil reduction system on the end of the stock. Gun weight is ~7#, is capable of shooting 3.5" shells (not that it will EVER see that ammo, and it also shoots my 3/4oz reloads with no issues. For shooting sporting she'll use 1oz running anywhere from 1200 to 1250 with no pain or other issues

 

Thank you for the response. And that is a 12g she has?

 

I have nothing other than to let her choose her path.

12...20...it's not up to you. It's up to her.

Take her somewhere she can handle different models and let her choose.

 

Absolutely the best way to go about it sir. It needs to be fun for her and not punish her body. 7/8oz out of a 20ga is plenty of shot to kill lots and lots of targets. Only on top level tournament targets might it be a hindrance.

 

Thanks again.