The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Both the Mrs and I have applied for our SGC. We've had the medical letter from Dr's done, cost us £13 each but hey ho. Within days we had a call from plod about a home visit. But as our cabinet hasn't rrived we've put him off for now.
But we went for a lesson the other day, we're both borrowing guns from the instr. They are both heavy, I served in the military for 24yrs so know what a heavy weapon is. Trouble is, the instr is a mate and doing it at mates rates so can't complain to much. Anyway, when we finished we went into the gun shop that is onsite. Spoke to the bloke there and he was going on about a womens gun. He pulled 1 off the wall and the Mrs tried it out.
She could mount the gun so much easier than her loan gun and she remarked how light it was. I know a light gun will kick a bit more.
So is it worth buying a womens gun or is it just a gimmick?
In my mind, if I buy her a gun that fits her properly from the start she'll be more inclined to keep going for lessons and the days when we can shoot on our own rather than buy a cheap second hand gun tht isn't a good fit, she won't hit anything and lose interest.
Price point is £500 for used or £2K for a new Browning.
What would you, the experts say is the best course of action?

If she wants to shoot 12g, then a womens gun from the off would be the better option.

Otherwise, a 20g is the other option, as these can be lighter and not kick as much.

My mate's wife (she's also a FAC holder) went with a new 20g for this reason, but 4 years later and having got quite keen on it (including taking part in ladies day events etc) she now feels the need to go 12g, but the weight issue is still a problem for her, until she was able to put a few dozen rounds through a new Browning Liberty Light at a game fair, and was smitten. She is now saving up for one, and she said that if the Liberty Light had been available when she started she would have gone straight with that from the off rather than the 20g. She's lefty as well, and the Liberty Light is available in left hand setup which adds to its attraction.
The Benelli 828U is another option in 12g for a light and recoil absorbing design. They are expensive, but lovely to shoot.
Does the shop not have a range of 'test' guns for her to try out?

Hull Cartridges do low recoil subsonic cartridges they may help.

Thanks for the advice. I think we need to go back to the gun shop and get her to shoot it and see what comes from that.
As for shooting with a different cartridge, that isn't an option. The club we shoot at only let you shoot with their cartridges, so no other option available.

Brownings are chunky. Like Winchester and Miroku. The more svelte Guns seem to be Berettas. 21 or 24 gram cartridges are worth a look at fir reduced felt recoil. But a fitted gun will absorb recoil so much better regardless of cartridge or make, for that matter.

Just looked on the gunstore website and the only gun listed at the correct price is this one. But the stock looked different to the one we looked at.

https://www.avalon-guns.com/guns/shotgu ... -light-12g

Sim G is correct when he says that

Brownings are chunky. Like Winchester and Miroku.

I took a customer gun out the other day for testing, it was a Yildiz 28 bore - never have I shot anything that light and the recoil was minimal.
Even the club owner was marvelling about it.

Normally the lighter the more recoil but not this one and they are not expensive, even from new.

Btw - Browning spares are often twice the price of Beretta.

If she is starting out - my advise would be to go for a lightweight and less recoil option - not a million pounds worth - correctly fitted - eg the stock is the correct length and if you can get it balanced even better gun.

Better to spend money on getting it correctly fitted than buying an expensive gun that just puts her off because she can't hit anything.

I'm not sure about where women's guns sit in the scheme of things having never shot one. But game guns are also usually lighter than clay guns. So possibly that might open up some more options.

Also the word "weapon" isn't looks too favourably upon here. I had to get out of the habit of it too. It is a military thing (I was an air cadet and always told it was a weapon) for obvious reasons. But civilian use they are never weapons...

A light gun does mean more perceived recoil so as everyone has agreed, fit is essential. Also a Sorbothane pad makes a significant difference. Regarding gun choice I would lean towards Beretta, I work with shotguns on a daily basis and would always choose Beretta over Browning or Miroku, especially for a woman based on he gun weight and profile as well as durability and reliability.