My wife and my 870

[Mainah]

Here's the deal, my father-in-law has an extensive firearms training background. He taught me how to shoot, and he's an excellent instructor. He raised his daughter around guns, and she's a much better pistol shot than I am. But he made one mistake.

When he gave her shotgunning lessons he must of used slugs or buckshot because she's convinced that my 870 is only a source of pain and bruising- she will not shoot it.

How can I convince her that her father, who knows more about guns than I'll ever forget, made a mistake?

I've tried talking her into shooting bird shot, but she's convinced that she'll end up with a gimpy arm. Any advice on how to re-introduce her to a 870 12 gauge?

 

[Scattergun Bob]

Mainah

Start out slowly. Take her to your local Skeet range and see if you can rent a .410 or 20 gauge. Use light loads, let HER develop confidence at HER speed. I do not recommend 12 gauge for most women, 20 gauge seems to work out fine. Sport shooting and pain should not be used or thought of in the same sentence!
Be patient, you have some work to do.

Good Luck and Be Safe

 

[The Meatman]

My 870 20ga belts the hell out of anyone who shoots it. I have some video of my wife shooting it on my MySpace page, and she's only using light dove loads (she won't shoot it anymore.) It's not as bad as an old single shot .20 I used to have, but I don't enjoy shooting it as much as I used to enjoy my Mossberg Model500. Just my .02

 

[hogdogs]

Might not'a been a mistake. To many people a shotgun is a tremendous impact. Some folks have a low pain tolerance.
I would set her up with a nice shoulder shooting pad and a nice recoil pad on the gun and try to get her to try a light load...
My wife shot my .410 one time after many times on .22 pistols, rifles and my 9mm. After that one round she said HELL NO to my 500 20gauge.
Brent

 

[Mainah]

Thanks for the advice. The darndest thing is that she can shoot a .357 or .44 mag all day long.

 

[flyby]

Check these...
http://knoxx.com/products/CompStock.php
http://knoxx.com/products/SpecOps_Stock.php
http://www.chuckhawks.com/sims_limbsaver_recoil_pads.htm
http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=58546
http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=101940
http://www.niceshot.net/webstore/category.cfm?Category=73&CFID=2539861&CFTOKEN=53486420

 

[hogdogs]

limbsaver was the word I was tryin' to remember...
CRS?
Brent

 

[WacosSon]

Take it from another married man....never tell her that her father made a mistake....just SLOWLY retrain her

 

[guntotinguy]

My lil lady is 5'2' and about 100# dripping wet...she can handle both our 12 Guage Mossberg tactical,and now our 20 Guage Rem 870 tactical also.She prefers more heavy calibers and guages,she,also for her tiny size is very strong...knows how to 'take stance' and so on...I think its all in how its 'held and shot',really...

 

[flyby]

Also Remington just came out with a new recoil pad 'SuperCell' thats supposedly as good or better than the Limbsaver R3(according to some reviews) though there may be some fitting problems with some models ..but you may want to check into these also...
http://www.remington.com/superCell/
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=353215
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/52425-65779-2189.html
http://www.amazon.com/review/produc...cm_cr_acr_txt?_encoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/48775-57521-2189.html
http://www.amazon.com/Shooterpads-R...e=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1215166350&sr=1-1

 

[Dave McC]

A couple things.....

First, the recently developed ultra light 7/8 oz loads are a godsend for new shotgunners. One of these at 1150 FPS is about half the free recoil of a 1300 FPS 1 1/8 oz load if my math skills serve.

Next, good form REALLY mitigates kick, and a session with a good instructor is money well spent.

Same goes for fit. Women are built differently, as you may have noticed, and a stock that's a little shorter, straighter, have a bit of toe out and with a tighter curve to the PG will often make a great difference.

HTH.....

 

[jbones71]

Go out and buy a Beretta 391 12 gauge. I promise you you will have less recoil even using a 1 1/8 oz. load. Plus you will have a much better gun!

 

[kozak6]

Do any of your friends reload?

You could have them load up some light loads.

 

[chuckles]

Do like my old DI did to show how 'gentle" an M14 recoil was. You take your 870 and load it up with 00 Buck, and place the butt of the stock in your crotch. Touch it off and she'll see how mild the kick is. When you recover, get her a.22.