Need some advice, new gun for 14 yr girl

Whomever suggested the A391 or 1100 Youth 20 gauge had great idea. I am only 5'6" 170 lbs with a medium frame and shoot a 20 Gauge 1100 for diver hunting and in areas where I need a small length barrel to swing through brush. The guns are very effective at ranges under 30 yards with shot sizes as high 7 1/2 steel. I shoot a skeet 1 choke with all steel shot sizes. If your taking in your face shots you are diffently getting more bang for your buck. 30 yards is about the extended range of taking shots with 7 1/2 but as you get into the 4 and larger region this range extends a little further. I have luck shot several birds the year with 4s at estimated ranges of 40 yards give or take a few. I have diver hunted for 3 seasons with my gun and can't tell you how I appreciate the small frame and controlability of the gun. I layed down my o/u 300 ideal to shoot the 1100. I seem to target birds better because the way it sits on my shoulder. My hunting partner Steve McCullough just bought a A391 in 20 gauge you might want to send him a line on the gun because I do not know if he has had the chance to use it yet. I do not know the cost differences between the two but either one of the guns would be an investment she'll use for years.
 
thank you Kristan, how long is the [font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]barrel of yours

I was thinking a 26" for her, and having it ported????? I have heard a lot of grate things on the 391
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If you get it ported, make sure everyone around has earplugs AND muffs on. Those two guns don't kick enough to have porting..even with slugs the recoil is soft. Fit will do more to eliminate recoil than porting.
 
I'm not sure why my post didn't show up, it was there when I hit preview. Sorry about that
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[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica] I posted up pretty much the same question last spring.

I was looking to set up my 10 yr old son with a shotgun. I pretty much knew he wouldn't be ready for a 12 and a 28 ga. just didn't seem like the right choice for waterfowl, so I was left with the 20 ga. I knew a pump could cause some recoil problems, and Hank Garvey posted up about his son's beretta 391 but my gosh have you checked the price on that one? Great choice I'm sure, if you can afford it... I couldn't. But it got me to thinking about an older youth model autoloader.

So I found an old Remington 1100 in 20ga. with a 24" barrell and bought it. I had it a week before I realized that no-tox shot is not easy to come by in 20ga. with 2 3/4" chamber! Not a problem if you handload, but I don't handload shotshells.

So I started looking around again and ran into a Berretta AL390 Silver Mallard youth model with 3" chamber and 24" barrell. This shotgun was about 99% new condition, so I bought it. Paid about the same for it as I did for the 1100. I really wasn't looking forward to having my son take it hunting in the marsh and banging it up. But he promptly solved that problem by dropping the gun on its side on a concrete walkway the on our first trip to the trap range, the fall left a not so nice 2" crack in the forend. It still shoots fine though, and recoil hasn't been a problem at all and we have tried trap loads, #3 faststeel, and #6 hevishot.

This past Thanksgiving day while hunting with my son and a good friend, I was proud as a father could be when my son sat upright in his layout blind and shot his first Canada goose on the wing. Call them close and the 20ga. will put their lights out, no need for 3 1/2"magnums

My advice is to go with a gas operated autoloader, recoil will not be an issue. I wouldn't port the barrell

Tim

(I still have the 1100 if you might be interested in it) [/font]
 
Michael,

I have a 17 yo daughter who took up shooting this spring. She started out with a youth model 20 ga 870. The gun was too small for her and beat her up. She then started using my 870 Wingmaster. The gun fits her much better. It has a 28 inch barrel. For trap I reload a 7/8 oz load for her with almost no kick. She can easily shoot 200+ rounds in a short time frame with no pain/bruising if the gun is mounted correctly. She went dove hunting and loved it. Although, they don't fly as predicatable as a clay bird!

We have looked at guns for her. Baretta makes a 391 with a reduced stock. They don't call it a youth, I don't remember the name. If I was going to by my daughter a new gun that one would be at the top of the list.

My daughter is small 5' 5" and maybe 115 lbs. Here is a picture taken back in August at the State Trap shoot. She broke her first 20 targets and thought she had the game all figued out!!

Good luck finding the right gun for your daughter,

Tom

StateShoot073.jpg
 
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Hi Tim,
Can you post or email me some pics of your 1100, along with some idea of what you would like to get for it?
My 10 yr. old is ready to start shooting, and we are working on the hunter's safety program this winter.
I agree with your thinking about starting with a 20ga. auto, and am glad to hear that your son has had success with it in the field!
Dave Quane
 
Sorry it took so long to get back to ya...Going for my master's in engineering...Lot of time in the books...The barrel is 26" as you stated
 
I took Emily to the gun store yesterday and we have narrowed it down to the 391 or the 1100 youth models.

so between these two what do you all think?
 
I started my son at 8 with a .410 pump - and my younger daughter (5) insisted on shooting it too (because if its okay for him, its okay for her). Shortly thereafter, they asked to shoot my Remington 11-87 20 gauge (with dove loads) and both preferred it over the .410 pump. Apparently, felt recoil is lower with the 20 gauge auto, despite the bigger gauge, because of the gas system and higher weight. (The 870 in .410 is very light.) However, the 26" barreled gun was simply too big for them - especially on moving targets, Fortunately, I found a used Remington Youth 1100 in 20 gauge. It is perfect for both of them, now a few years older, because its shortened length of pull (and barrel) fits them and the action and weight attenuate recoil well.

On a related note, my son (now 11) bagged his first deer this fall - a ten-point buck (!!) - with Remington's Managed Recoil loads in a .270 Win. I was somewhat concerned about performance with a lighter bullet and reduced velocity, but we have had excellent results on two bucks shot with this load at 50 and 60 yards.

Just my two cents...

Preston
 
Most of the kids on my daughters trap team are shooting the 391. The guy that runs the thing is a gunsmith. His take is that it's a toss up. He has a couple of drawers full of 1100 parts so repairs are almost free. I'm not sure why everyone is buying the 391. But, I hear no complaints. During the season so of these kids are shooting 3-700 rounds a week.

Tom
 
Let me first say, I am a died in the wool Rem. fan. That being said, if I had the choice between a NEW 1100 or a NEW 391....I'd grab the 391 and not look back.
 
after this morning cleaning my partners gun I am almost an 1187 person. That thing still shot with huge amounts of crud inside it and the magazine tube had to be hit with steel wool to knock off the powder from the gas cylinder. It was so thick you couldn't get the actuater or action off the tube. Kudos to remington for making a gun that withstands that!
 
after this morning cleaning my partners gun I am almost an 1187 person. That thing still shot with huge amounts of crud inside it and the magazine tube had to be hit with steel wool to knock off the powder from the gas cylinder. It was so thick you couldn't get the actuater or action off the tube. Kudos to remington for making a gun that withstands that!
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I would say a maker that can make a gun that DOESN'T foul to the point to being inoperable would bet my vote.

T
 
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