We're getting married in April (leave the "too soon" comments out, I'm looking for gun advice not relationship advice at the moment) and I would like to buy her a quality shotgun. I have read just about every thread I could find on autos for women on the OB and still feel like i haven't found the advice I am looking for.

-I would like it to be a surprise and taking her a long to shop and feel definitely eliminates the element of surprise.
-right now she has an 870 in 20 ga and needs something with less felt recoil.
-She prefers the look of a nice wood stock so composites are out.
-She will mainly use the gun for dove hunting and shooting clays. We go on the occasional duck hunt, but I think for this gun I want to go with a high quality finish and skip the duck hunting qualities.
-I really like the look of the benelli montefeltro silver in 20ga but as I have read it Isn't the softest shooting gun. Is this in comparison to gas? If so is it a big difference? Is it still significantly less than a pump, specifically an 870.
-I haven't decided on gauge, but I am leaning towards 20 as opposed to 12. At this point I have ruled out 28 gauge due to the cost of shells.
-The next concern is the fit of the gun. Some suggest a youth model and others have said this is a horrible way to go. We aren't competitive shooters, but I don't want her to be frustrated with poor shooting due to a poor fit. Is it best to buy a gun and have the stock cut to fit by a gun smith?
-budget is $2k but would prefer to be closer to $1500 or $1600

Browning White Lightening 28 gauge.

Let her try them out and pick

NW - she has indicated she wants a semi for her next shotgun, though she has not shot an o/u yet

eyeguy - if I can think of some way to make it a surprise and make it a wedding gift to take her shopping for a gun, where would you suggest going in the Houston area? We live in Conroe.

Anybody have a browning micro? Or a rem 1100 with short stock?

You want to look for a gas operated semi auto. The Montefeltro is a nice gun, but it's inertia operated, and has more felt recoil than a gas operated. My suggestions would include the Browning Silver Hunter. It is also available in a shorter stock version.

Also, be prepared to get 1000 responses about a Remington 1100. That certainly is a decent gun, but definitely not in the ballpark of a "nice gun" that you are looking for. Also, they are heavy as ****. I know with my wife, the weight of the gun made a big difference on how well she was able to shoot it. She was able to control/aim/swing a lighter gun much better.

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NW - she has indicated she wants a semi for her next shotgun, though she has not shot an o/u yet

eyeguy - if I can think of some way to make it a surprise and make it a wedding gift to take her shopping for a gun, where would you suggest going in the Houston area? We live in Conroe.

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what time frame are you looking here? Cause I know a guy. Honestly, I dislike the service but carters country probably has the best selection of high end shotguns. I'm hoping that I can cater to that as well being right next to asc but I'm taking a wait and see approach.

I bought my wife a Beretta AL 391 ultra 2. She loves it. I wouldn't mind letting your future wife shoot it and see if she likes it. Problem is I'm in the Valley and kind of hard to get it to you and not heading up to your area anytime soon. If you know of anyone heading down or up I'll gladly send it with them.

If we can find a way to get it to you, you can take her out shooting clays and see if she likes it. That way its still a surprise on her wedding day.

Recoil pad. 10 bucks

Benelli Legacy Pro 12ga may fit the bill. Has only minor recoil and is often requested by the women when we shoot clays in a coed group. Not really intended for the duck blind though.

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I bought my wife a Beretta AL 391 ultra 2. She loves it. I wouldn't mind letting your future wife shoot it and see if she likes it. Problem is I'm in the Valley and kind of hard to get it to you and not heading up to your area anytime soon. If you know of anyone heading down or up I'll gladly send it with them.

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This in a 20ga

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-right now she has an 870 in 20 ga and needs something with less felt recoil.
-She prefers the look of a nice wood stock so composites are out.
-She will mainly use the gun for dove hunting and shooting clays. We go on the occasional duck hunt, but I think for this gun I want to go with a high quality finish and skip the duck hunting qualities.
-I really like the look of the benelli montefeltro silver in 20ga but as I have read it Isn't the softest shooting gun. Is this in comparison to gas? If so is it a big difference? Is it still significantly less than a pump, specifically an 870.
-I haven't decided on gauge, but I am leaning towards 20 as opposed to 12. At this point I have ruled out 28 gauge due to the cost of shells.
-The next concern is the fit of the gun. Some suggest a youth model and others have said this is a horrible way to go. We aren't competitive shooters, but I don't want her to be frustrated with poor shooting due to a poor fit. Is it best to buy a gun and have the stock cut to fit by a gun smith?
-budget is $2k but would prefer to be closer to $1500 or $1600

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I was in this same boat and went with the Benelli Ultralight 28 gauge. The shells cost twice as much but
it's way worth it for less than one case of shells a year. The thing weighs 4.5 lbs. It's definitely one to try when you go look at shotguns.

ar.

I'll leaver out the "too soon" joke, but surely you'd have to expect them with a shotgun wedding....

Drummer - how significant is the difference between the inertia and the gas driven? I've only had gas semis

Eyeguy - when will you be up and running? The last time I went to Carter's country the guys working the counter were extremely disrespectful and we're not helpful whatsoever. I haven't been back since. I was hoping you'd have another suggestion.

JMC - I believe you cannot buy a 391 NIB. Do you know how it compare the the 400?

Agsprt - what is the difference between the legacy and the montefeltro other than cosmetics?

Panhandle - the other concern I have with the 28 gauge is frustration with missed shots. I've heard it's not the easiest gauge to shoot and hunt with. I don't have experience with it personally, but I've read that it can't be frustrating. I've also heard and read differing opinions.

Benelli Ethos is your huckleberry.

for your specs. get a gas operated semi auto. Any name brand will do as long as it is GAS OPERATED. let her pick the finish, gauge, fit . Yes I am a Rem 1100 guy. Have shot thousands of shots thru 3 of them in the last 60 or 70 years with excellent results for vary little money. Best of all, very little recoil. Have shot numerous over/unders ,pumps,double barrels. they all kick like hell. Get the gas operated and thank me later.

Browning Silver Hunter micro midas fits everything you're looking and is well under your budget.

Custom fitted Guerini, can't go wrong there.

Benelli Ultra Light 12 gauge (semi-auto)
Browning Micro Midas Satin Hunter 12 or 20 (O/U)

Look at the Benelli 28. Its around that price range and one of the most fun semi-automatic shotguns I've ever handled! Its also easy on the eyes and would be an excellent choice I my opinion. Great field gun. Not sure I'd want to compete in "clays" with it, but to shoot for fun it would be great!

I think they call it a Legacy28.

NW80 makes a great point. I understand your concern about the cost of shells when it comes to the 28, but, in reality the shells are a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of the activities that involve shooting. You could always reload as well

My Legacy 28 is absolutely the most fun shotgun I own. Honestly there is not much drop off for me compared to my 12ga in terms of targets hit. Anecdotally I attribute it to the light weight helping to get on targets or birds faster and being able to re-direct for secondary targets much faster. Additionally the 28 patterns very well so there isn't a whole lot of difference between a 20 and a 28 down range.

My wife loves the 28 for the lack of any appreciable felt recoil.

My wife has been talking about joining me when I go shoot sporting clays, so I have been researching
this a lot lately. This is my take.

I think the 28ga isthe best option for females who aren't serious shooters. Dba Fido's take on the recoil and patterning is spot on. I personally think the 28ga throws the best patterns regardless of choke of any gauge shotgun. Too many people get hung up in the belief that a 20ga recoil is always lighter than the 12ga and that isn't the case. Most of the cheap 20ga shells on the shelves are 1oz of lead doing about 1200fps, the exact same weight and speed as the cheap 12ga shells too. So the same payload going the same speed is now being shot out of a smaller gun that weighs less. Chances are the recoil is going to be about the same or worse out of the 20ga. If you aren't going to go 28ga then go 12ga, get the stock fit to her LOP and pitch and you will be better off long term. If you are near a major market then stock fitters are easy to find. If most of her shooting is going to be doves and clays take a look at the Syren shotgun line by Caesar Guerini and Fabarms. The XLR is in your price range, is a very nice gun, and is specifically built for a woman, with a shorter LOP and more pitch at the toe.

Don't get too hung up in the cost of shells, UNLESS she is going to get serious about shooting competitions. Yes 28 ga is a few more dollars a box, but how many boxes a year will she go through that $5.00 a box more matters.

That is my 2 cents,it's probably worth half that.

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Panhandle - the other concern I have with the 28 gauge is frustration with missed shots. I've heard it's not the easiest gauge to shoot and hunt with. I don't have experience with it personally, but I've read that it can't be frustrating. I've also heard and read differing opinions.

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My experience has been the opposite. The frustration of missed shots has gone away. When I go shoot dove by myself sometimes I choose to take her 28. I kill the hell out of them. Not just the close birds either.

You're getting lots of good advice up ^ there from people with way more gun knowledge than me. I just know she has gone from one or two birds and one big bruise per box of shells to seven or eight birds per 25.

My current girlfriend has only shot a shotgun once ( her brother played a prank on her). She wants to learn to shoot. I'm going to use the Legacy28 to teach her. Eventually I'll get one for her to have as her own. There are alot of excuses to not get one. However, there are many reasons to get one.

At this point I'm leaning towards the Legacy28 with all of the positive input towards this model. I think I need a little more convincing to go for the 28 gauge. For those of yall that shoot 28ga what shells do you run for dove and clays and where do you buy them? I hardly see 28ga on the shelves but maybe I just havent noticed many because I haven't been searching for 28s.

I buy them by the flat. You can get high velocity 7.5s and 8s in one ounce loads. Both Fiocchi and Rio load them. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING AT GANDER MOUNTAIN !!!! Those idiots are waaaayyyyy too high (on just about everything).
I would expect she's shooting clays for Ss& Gs so it doesn't matter for that.

Just watch and look around from now until hunting season and pick up 2 or 3 flats.

rp2012 take a look at the Ethos. If Mike is still running the shotgun facility at the gun Emporium, he can help you find the right shotgun.

It's tough to convince anyone to buy a 28 because it seems counter intuitive to everything we think we know about shotguns. You either have to go shoot one for yourself or take it on a leap of faith. I challenge you to find someone who has a 28 and doesn't love it though. Do you ever travel to the New Braunfels area? I'll be happy to let you shoot my Legacy at the range in San Marcos.


I use Winchester AA 7.5 Super Sports from Academy for $9.99/box. Loaded up when Winchester had the rebate last year.

What if she wants to go duck hunting someday with this 28ga?

Look at the franchi fenice or AL48.

Bought the Win SX3 in 20ga for my 11yo daughter and she loves it. We narrowed it down to this gun and the Rem 1100 based on these being considered the lightest recoil guns out there, but we chose the Win because of the completely adjustable stock and shims. She can grow with it without buying a new gun. You don't have to worry about the growing part, but I'd imagine it would be nice (and cheaper) not involving a gunsmith to try out slightly different LOP, drop, or cast settings.

We bought the Win in a synthetic/camo pattern because I didn't want her to have to be care for the wood, but they offer it in a nice wood stock as well...I think they call it the Field model. Can be had for $1,000 and is a very nice shooter. If you want to spend more, I think they make a Browning model that's the exact same gun for a couple hundred dollars more. I don't know the exact name/number but I think there's a Silver and Gold model available...

In fact, me and a friend went and shot clays yesterday and we took our synthetic guns instead of our nice 12ga o/u's because rain was expected and I put up my highest score of the year (84 btw) with that 20ga SX3.

"fido" we can lead a horse to water............

I'd consider the new Escort Yote (youth). I've shot one and they're great. Good price too. Escort Yote