Slug Gun for petite shooter

[gogopher]

Two weeks before Deer Hunting my 20 year old daughter (who has never hunted, nor held a weapon of any type) e-mails me to ask, "Hey Dad, can I go Deer Hunting with you?" My immediate answer was "YES!" After consulting with other members of the hunting party we decided that she should NOT carry a gun, but should still have a hunting license along with the apprentice hunter validation. We agreed to give her the opportunity to shoot at the end of the day on Sunday if she chose to do so, which she did; SORT OF. After which she said she would like to go again in the future. The future may also include bird hunting, but for the purposes of my current question think of Deer Hunting. Which leads me to my question. She "SORT OF" shot the youth model shotgun that I had along, although even that was to big for her. We hunt in the shotgun only zone in the Southern half of the state. I would like your input on potential shotguns no smaller than 20 Gauge that might fit a smaller shooter. She is 5'2" and under 125 pounds. Thanks.

[farmerj]

mossberg has a youth model that might serve her better. I got one in .410 for my 11 yo to go deer hunting with and my cousin got one for his son to use.

It kills deer dead plenty good. Now his dad and grampa (my uncle) are looking at .410's for themselves as well.

[Norsesmithy]

.410 kills deer just fine, and is light shooting, but if she might end up wanting to hunt for pheasant or ducks etc later, it'll be a lot less beginner friendly than a 20 gauge.

I'd say get a youth 20 gauge with a rifled and ported barrel, then fit a nice thick recoil pad to the stock, once you've got her LOP dialed in and the stock trimmed to suit, if necessary.

Don't forget a cheek pad.

Remington even makes a managed recoil 20 gauge sabot slug.

[rockcreek]

Mossberg makes a 20ga super bantam model, which has a shorter length of pull than the regular youth model, and comes with spacers to increase the length if neccesary. Those light 20's kick like a mule though, definitely start with the reduced recoil slugs if you go that route.

[Norsesmithy]

For the recoil sensitive, I really recommend starting with a wood stock, and a big thick pad, and cutting till the LOP's correct. A limbsaver, KickEEZ, or Pachmyr is going to do a whole lot more than a factory pad and hard rubber spacer.

[gogopher]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. I had considered getting a wood stock for the youth model Benelli that I have so that I could cut it down to size for her. I believe the polymer stock that came with the gun is already as short as it can be. Recoil didn't really bother her, but for safety and accuracy sake she needs to have a shorter length of pull. I am going to look into the Bantam length Mossberg and compare it's stats with the Benelli.

[farmerj]

becareful with the bantam models.

Not sure on the bantam, but the super bantam has a shorter magazine tube on it. There is no slug barrel available for it and I had to install aftermarket tru-glo sights on it for slugs.