Choosing a First Shotgun for a Lady or Young Person:
Choosing the right first shotgun for a lady or young person depends very much on who it is for - there is no 'one size fits all.' That said, there are some bits of information that allow us to make an educated guess of what you should be looking at.
Please bear in mind that this is meant as a rough guide, based on personal experience, and not everyone will agree with it. I strongly advise any lady or young person to visit a coach, myself, or another experienced RFD, to check gunfit and suitability. Also please note this guide is aimed at ladies and young people that are new to shooting, choosing a first shotgun. There are many ladies and young people who use 12 gauge shotguns and shoot fantastically.
Firstly, we need to examine the main causes for concern for a lady or young person; shotgun weight and recoil. The main reasons we hear given for why ladies and young people have been put off shooting, are, “the gun was too heavy” or “it kicked too hard” - this is from starting out with a totally unsuitable shotgun.
Now that we know what we are looking to avoid, we should examine the cause of these issues.
Gun weight, or more correctly, perceived gun weight is affected by more than just the guns' actual weight. The main factors affecting perceived shotgun weight are:
Gun recoil, or perceived recoil, is also affected by many factors, including:
Firstly - technique should be correct. When holding a shotgun, ensure the gun is held tightly into the shoulder. Shotgun recoil works something like when we hit something with a hammer. The further away we hold the hammer from the object being hit, the more force we exert - as such, the tighter we hold the gun, the less “kick” we feel.
Secondly - we can use the above information to help us choose a type of shotgun we think will be suitable. The table below is a basic chart for choosing the aspects of the shotgun we need - different gauges, barrel length, etc, based on height/build type. It's not very comprehensive as people are all built differently and have different levels of strength, etc, but it should give you some idea. The 'Young Person' categories are aimed at either sex, of average build.
Please bear in mind that this is meant as a rough guide, based on personal experience, and not everyone will agree with it. I strongly advise any lady or young person to visit a coach, myself, or another experienced RFD, to check gunfit and suitability. Also please note this guide is aimed at ladies and young people that are new to shooting, choosing a first shotgun. There are many ladies and young people who use 12 gauge shotguns and shoot fantastically.
Firstly, we need to examine the main causes for concern for a lady or young person; shotgun weight and recoil. The main reasons we hear given for why ladies and young people have been put off shooting, are, “the gun was too heavy” or “it kicked too hard” - this is from starting out with a totally unsuitable shotgun.
Now that we know what we are looking to avoid, we should examine the cause of these issues.
Gun weight, or more correctly, perceived gun weight is affected by more than just the guns' actual weight. The main factors affecting perceived shotgun weight are:
- Actual shotgun weight.
- Barrel length: the longer the barrel, the further the balancing point moves forward, causing the gun to feel a lot heavier.
- Stock length: using a gun too long in the stock means your arm with trigger finger has to be extended further, losing the 'tripod' effect, so making the gun feel heavier.
- Mechanism (e.g, Over and Under, Single Barrel, Semi Auto etc.)
Gun recoil, or perceived recoil, is also affected by many factors, including:
- Technique: the way you hold a shotgun makes a huge difference to the recoil.
- Shotgun gauge. (e.g. 12G, 20G, 410 etc.)
- Cartridge shot weight / choice. (e.g. 28g, 24g, 14g, subsonic, etc)
- Butt plate/butt pad.
- Shotgun weight: the heavier the gun, the less recoil felt.
- Mechanism.
Firstly - technique should be correct. When holding a shotgun, ensure the gun is held tightly into the shoulder. Shotgun recoil works something like when we hit something with a hammer. The further away we hold the hammer from the object being hit, the more force we exert - as such, the tighter we hold the gun, the less “kick” we feel.
Secondly - we can use the above information to help us choose a type of shotgun we think will be suitable. The table below is a basic chart for choosing the aspects of the shotgun we need - different gauges, barrel length, etc, based on height/build type. It's not very comprehensive as people are all built differently and have different levels of strength, etc, but it should give you some idea. The 'Young Person' categories are aimed at either sex, of average build.
Build Type |
Shotgun Gauge |
Mechanism |
Weight |
Barrel Length |
Stock Length |
Shot Weight |
Lady - small build |
410 or 28g |
SB/OU/SBS |
Under 6.5lb |
28” or Under |
12.75” To 14.25” |
12g to 21g |
Lady - average build |
20g or 28g |
SA/OU/SBS/PA |
Under 7lb |
28” or Under |
13” To 14.5” |
14g to 24g |
Lady - large build |
20g |
OU/SBS/SA/PA |
Under 7.5lb |
30” or Under |
13.25” To 14.75” |
21g to 28g |
Young person under 4' |
9mm or 410 |
Single Barrel |
Under 5lb |
28” or Under |
12” To 13.75” |
7.5g to 14g |
Young person - 4' to 5' |
410, 28g or maybe 20g |
SB/OU/SBS/SA/PA |
Under 6.5lb |
28” or Under |
12.5” To 14.25” |
12g to 21g |
Young person over 5' |
20g or 28g, but could suit a 16g or even 12g |
OU/SBS/SA/PA/SB |
Under 7lb |
30” or Under |
13” To 14.75” |
21g to 28g |
N.B. OU = Over and Under, SA = Semi Auto, SBS = Side by Side, PA = Pump Action and SB = Single Barrel.
The ranges shown on the table are for guidance only, so if unsure, always play it safe and look for something that will feel lighter and should have less recoil. You can always go up in terms of caliber etc, but if someone has been hurt by using a shotgun too heavy or powerful, they can be reluctant to try again.
Thirdly - shotgun alterations. If you already own a shotgun that is fairly suitable, but not a perfect fit, there are a few things that can be altered so it suits a lady/young person.
Replacing a hard butt plate with a rubber recoil pad can help to greatly reduce recoil. This is a cost effective procedure, and most RFD's will be able to do this on site. They can be fitted by yourself, but having seen many bad DIY butt pad fittings, I advise against this unless you are experienced. Please bear in mind that this will increase the stock length. If fitted correctly, a rubber butt pad should not affect the resale value of the gun - but hang onto the original butt plate.
Alternately you can buy a slip-on butt pad. This works in much the same way as adding a rubber recoil pad, but is easily fitted and removed by anyone. This will also increase the stock length. A word of warning; if left in place for a long period of time, the wooden stock underneath the slip-on sleeve can darken - not a huge problem, but can affect the resale value of the gun.
Another common alteration (sometimes in conjunction with adding a recoil pad) is to make the stock itself shorter – cutting off the end of the stock. It's a fairly drastic alteration, but often a good option. This is something I would strongly advise to have done by a competent gunsmith/RFD. Done correctly, the piece removed can be kept and re-added at a later date, e.g. when a young person who originally needed a shorter stock, has grown – the piece of stock can be re-attached so the gun again fits him/her. This will have a fair impact on the re-sale value of the gun, less so if you keep the removed piece, but does result in very good gunfit.
Hopefully you now have some idea about what sort of shotguns you should be considering for a particular lady or young person - maybe even having a shotgun you already own altered to suit them.
As mentioned at the beginning, it's best to be fitted to a shotgun by a coach, experienced RFD or similar. I try to stock a range of shotguns that may suit ladies or young people, if I can help please Contact me and I'll do my best to advise you.