Low recoil shotgun for daughter advise

[jreyna920]

I am in the market for a 20 or 28ga for my daughter to dive and duck hunt. I don’t have experience with a 28ga but am looking at the sbeIII compact or a Franci 20ga youth. Any experiences y’all could share would be great. I know a gas gun would be softer on the shoulder but finding one in a youth size has proved to be difficult.

any input or direction would be welcomed

[Artos]

A lot of the recoil is in the ammo...they make outstanding target shells where 12ga recoil like 20 & 20 like 28ga. Look for a fps in the 1200 range for dove. Waterfowl rounds are obviously going to kick more, but you shoot less so start out dove hunting & graduate.

As autos go, I would go with a gas operated...I'm a fan of benelli, but their inertia guns recoil more than the beretta gas & others. Don't overlook a minty older Remington 1100.

[Yelladog]

My DIL shoots my M2 20 and she is pretty small. Prob around 5ft. My wife shoots a super sport 20 and is pretty recoil sensitive and she has no issue with it. You will get a lot saying get an A400. I had both thinking my wife would like the A400 better and she did not. Benelli 20 gets my vote. I know you can get them in 28 also.

[DUKFVR]

A good gas semi auto. 28 ga duck loads will be harder to find shells but no problem getting them online. I would definitely shoot bismuth if you go 28 ga. I would look at a beretta A400. Stocks can always be cutdown. Buy 2 3/4 in 20 ga steel if you go that route. I prefer bismuth in all sub gauges & will be able to shells that don't recoil as much. Most 20 ga steel loads will be loaded to max.

My daughter was tiny & opted for the 20 ga Benelli Montefeltro youth gun.
she had no problems shooting it. I made sure I got the light loads in lead & 2 3/4 in steel shells. She shot clays, doves & ducks with it. She just like the slimmer gun, it fit her better.

[Yelladog]

A lot of the recoil is in the ammo...they make outstanding target shells where 12ga recoil like 20 & 20 like 28ga. Look for a fps in the 1200 range for dove. Waterfowl rounds are obviously going to kick more, but you shoot less so start out dove hunting & graduate.

As autos go, I would go with a gas operated...I'm a fan of benelli, but their inertia guns recoil more than the beretta gas & others. Don't overlook a minty older Remington 1100.

agree on the 1100’s. I don’t think they can be beat for low recoil. Only downside is typically fixed choke barrels on most of them.

[DUKFVR]

Whatever you decide, make sure it fits her good. If a gun doesn't fit pretty close recoil will be worse. A buddy of mine had his daughter shooting a full size 12. Recoil was bad & gun was too big. I told him to get her a smaller gun.

[dirtybay]

Them light weight 20s can recoil. Get a good fitting semi auto gas with a good recoil pad to help offset it. If it’s cold, a good lined jacket will help some. Won’t notice as much recoil once shooting at birds. Proper mounting will help as well.

[Javelin]

I would look hard at a SA28 from Mossberg. It is around 600 bucks, that way you are not out a ton of money and they shoot great. Mine has been hammering the wood ducks this year with number 5 boss bismuth.

[Sidro]

Beretta xcel A400 with kickoff in 20 ga or xplor A400 with kickoff. Wife has 12 ga BERETTA A400 XCEL PARALLEL TARGET KO and boys aged nine and 10 shot five boxes each with no problems. If you could find one of these guns they have a shorter stock and very low recoil.

[BrianL]

Beretta xcel A400 with kickoff in 20 ga or xplor A400 with kickoff. Wife has 12 ga BERETTA A400 XCEL PARALLEL TARGET KO and boys aged nine and 10 shot five boxes each with no problems. If you could find one of these guns they have a shorter stock and very low recoil.

x2

[LivinADream]

My daughter didn't like the 20ga recoil, bought her a 28 and she loves it.

FWIW the 20 she was shooting was a light weight O/U, so that didn't help any. I'm going to try to find her an A400 in 28 next year.

[Leverhunter]

I don't know if they make it in a youth model but look at the Browning Silver 20ga. semi auto. I recently shot a few rounds of skeet with one and was very surprised at how soft the recoil was. Noticeably softer than my M2 20ga.

[TacticalCowboy]

Weight is your friend, assuming she can hold the gun. Gas operated is your friend.

I love the Benelli/franchi guns, but they aren’t the softest shooting. I’d probably be looking at a beretta or 1100.

[Smokeater]

Might give the Weatherby SA-08 a look. I bought one off here several years ago just to try. Now it's my go-to. They have em in compact models as well. Merry Christmas!

[Tommyh]

What if, say, someone wasnt independently wealthy, and looking for a lighter recoil shogun for themselves? A400 is pretty, but pretty danged expensive.