Originally Posted by BonnieB
(Not your fault, but we've explained this about 190 times before. Please search the thread for more info from women who shoot trap. Don't bother to read the ones where men talk about what their wife needs.)
It won't really work to shoot trap/skeet with a tactical shotgun with that short a (18" barrel). And the old guys at the range, who have been shooting trap for 30 years and know what they are doing, will laugh their ashes off at you trying to do that. The point of the longer barrel is to keep the shot pattern contained at a distance.
To fit a gun, she (not you) has to go to a good gun shop that caters to hunters, when they're slow, maybe a Tuesday afternoon. She should shoulder every shotgun they have that has a shortish barrel, til she finds one she likes. (You stay home and mind the kids, let her do her own test driving. I know, guys want to help shop, but test driving like this is just about fit, not the technicals of a gun. You can't help with that).
If length of pull is an issue, get a gun with a wood stock and have a gunsmith measure her and cut the stock to her size. You can't do this effectively with a composite stock, because they're hollow. If the length of pull is right, the gun will almost balance itself in her left hand.
Take a look at a Weatherby SA-08, nice gun, not too expensive, 12 ga, semi automatic, wood stock. Or Beretta. They made a model with an adjustable stock and cheek rest, very nice, not sure if they still make it.
And it's just a given that she'll get stronger over time using a shotgun. You use muscles in your left arm that you've never really used that way before. You work them, you get stronger. She could practice shouldering the shotgun, with a snap cap, (no 'its not loaded' here). She should work up gradually to shouldering it it 25 times in a row, daily if possible, simulating a round of trap. NO pulling the trigger when practicing. Muzzle must point in a safe direction while practicing.
This should help. And remember to tell her that shotguns are pointed, not aimed.
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