My wife wants to start shooting trap with me. My 1100 12 gauge is a little too much gun for her both weight and kickwise. I explained the whole more weight less kick and semi auto versus O/U versus pump gun. She finally decided that she wants a 20 gauge. I've never had one so could you guys point me in the right direction. Lets say under $1,000.

While shooting trap with a 20 can be done, it will require more concentration and being on target more to break more birds, At 16 yards it will do pretty well, but at longer yardage will prove to be a challenge.  I know trap shooters who practice with 20 to smooth out their swing.  I would have to say you are not reloading your own shells at this point, otherwise I would recommend a lite load for her.  So, here's an option that may just work for her for now.  Get a Stoeger Condor Competition in 20 gauge with ported barrels.  Model 31046 takes 2 3/4 only shells and the comb is adjustable.  Has the longer 30" barrels and weighs 7.3 lbs.  Not bad for starters with a list of $679.

T Bill hit the nail on the head.

But think about this. Trap is an addictive game it leads to all the other games. You will be putting her at A disadvantage right from the begining with A 20 ga. That wont be good!

A lot of people will spew all over the Stoeger that T mentioned. But from experience i will tell you to ignor them!

I have A Stoeger O/U Dicks special that 6 years old and it has thousands of rounds through it. I have 2 Condor competitions in 12 ga. 1 for sporting clays and 1 for trap. Again many many rounds thru both.

 

But in December I bought A Remington 1100 Competition Synthetic. That is the gun you should look at for her. Great trap gun. and good all around gun. Yes it is heavy 9 LBs. but it is balanced great. It comes standard with A adjustable comb, recoil reduction stock,

and adjustable butt pad. Yes its 12 ga only but with the med recoil springs it has so little recoil, you wont believe shes shooting A 12 ga.  right in your price range if you buy it at the right place.

PM me if you have questions.

Have you considered a slip-on cushion? It increases the LOP about 3/4" but eliminated about 75% of the felt recoil on my Ithaca 37.

 

I also picked up an older 1100 LT-20 recently for this same reason. My dad is 80 and he can shoot an afternoon of trap without fatigue if he uses this gun. Since you already have an 1100, it would be a nice transition if either of you wanted to swap between gauges.

As an alternative to the 20, I'd suggest considering a single shot 16GA.  They are out there and can be had pretty cheap, less than $300.  The only issue is ammo availability and cost. A 25rd box will run about a buck more but If you reload it's pretty cheap.  Reloading for shotgun is stupid easy.

Have you considered a slip-on cushion? It increases the LOP about 3/4" but eliminated about 75% of the felt recoil on my Ithaca 37.

 

I also picked up an older 1100 LT-20 recently for this same reason. My dad is 80 and he can shoot an afternoon of trap without fatigue if he uses this gun. Since you already have an 1100, it would be a nice transition if either of you wanted to swap between gauges.

 

I have the Remington Supercell recoil pad on my 11-87 12ga.  It's such a soft shooter...  Maybe look for a 20ga 11-87 or 1100...

 

If you want a lighter one, or adjustable in terms of length, maybe a 11-87 Sportsman Youth?

http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Remington-11-87-Sportsman-Youth-Compact-Shotgun&i=730653

T Bill hit the nail on the head.

But think about this. Trap is an addictive game it leads to all the other games. You will be putting her at A disadvantage right from the begining with A 20 ga. That wont be good!

A lot of people will spew all over the Stoeger that T mentioned. But from experience i will tell you to ignor them!

I have A Stoeger O/U Dicks special that 6 years old and it has thousands of rounds through it. I have 2 Condor competitions in 12 ga. 1 for sporting clays and 1 for trap. Again many many rounds thru both.

 

But in December I bought A Remington 1100 Competition Synthetic. That is the gun you should look at for her. Great trap gun. and good all around gun. Yes it is heavy 9 LBs. but it is balanced great. It comes standard with A adjustable comb, recoil reduction stock,

and adjustable butt pad. Yes its 12 ga only but with the med recoil springs it has so little recoil, you wont believe shes shooting A 12 ga. right in your price range if you buy it at the right place.

PM me if you have questions.

there just happens to be an 1100 for sale in the marketplace right now.

I believe Thunder Mountain in Ringwood and the Lehigh Valley sporting clays facility rent shotguns, if you want to try before you buy.

Porting and backboring with soften recoil tremendously. The reason I picked Stoeger is my BIL bought one for his wife for the same reasons. However she still felt the recoil a little much. After a little discussion between us, he sent it out to MagnaPort for a porting and forcing  cone (backboring)  job.  It was a different gun after that.  Everybody liked shooting it.  

I would try to stay with a 12 ga. just for versatility reasons, but you can use a 20 ga. for trap at 16 yds. 

 

If you like Remington's, an older used Remington 1100 Sporting Clays is a bit lighter than the standard 1100, and would handle well with 1 oz. loads if you can find one. Remington's current Competition line offers backbored barrels and custom choke tubes for many sporting applications. Their older line of trap guns offered backbored barrels with fixed chokes. All very comfortable to shoot. Factory light loads can launch at a velocity of 1145 fps, while heavier Handicap loads run around 1300fps. Push 1 1/8 oz. of shot and some of these loads can kick pretty good. 

 

I shoot 7/8 oz. handloads (#8's) in my older doubles and have no problems at 16 yds. and they feel like puffs of air against the shoulder. A couple months ago I put a case of 1 oz. trap loads through my old 11-87 over at Fairfield Trap without a hiccup and recoil was negligible in such a heavy gun. 

 

You can buy light loads if you don't reload: 

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2900197404/winchester-aa-low-recoil-target-ammunition-12-gauge-2-3-4-7-8-oz-8-shot

 

A good read on a shotgun for a woman: 

http://www.shootingsportsman.com/a-gun-for-the-lady/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=insider&spMailingID=14508707&spUserID=NzY4Njc2NTk4NzES1&spJobID=781242196&spReportId=NzgxMjQyMTk2S0

 

I'm far from an expert on shotguns but the Beretta Kick Off system seems to work well.  I have an 12ga  A400 with a KO installed and my wife has no problem shooting it.  This is the woman who complains about shooting an M1A or .308 AR because there's too much recoil.  A friend of mine, his fiancee is probably under 100 soaking wet and she can shoot 300 12ga shells in one day through her A400 with KO without issue.

I think Parker is correct, stick with a 12ga and go to low dram loads. With an 1100 or 11-87 you can drill out the gas ports until it runs on mouse sneezes. You can have a spare barrel drilled out for light loads and another left stock for standard loads.

I shoot home made 7/8 oz 12g and they are like a .22 recoil. High velocity and they smoke birds. Much more fun to shoot a 12g and hit than a 20 g and miss. Yes, trappers, I know 7/8 oz is the same from 12g or 20 g but it is a different pattern.

Have her wear a shoulder pad like a Caldwell Field Shield. Makes 3" shells recoil lighter than an AR.

Have her wear a shoulder pad like a Caldwell Field Shield. Makes 3" shells recoil lighter than an AR.

 

PAST Field Shield - have one of these.  Helps suck up the recoil from my O/U.  Semi autos are like nothing.

 

The only problem is that it pushes the gun's LOP out about an inch.

T Bill hit the nail on the head.

But think about this. Trap is an addictive game it leads to all the other games. You will be putting her at A disadvantage right from the begining with A 20 ga. That wont be good!

A lot of people will spew all over the Stoeger that T mentioned. But from experience i will tell you to ignor them!

I have A Stoeger O/U Dicks special that 6 years old and it has thousands of rounds through it. I have 2 Condor competitions in 12 ga. 1 for sporting clays and 1 for trap. Again many many rounds thru both.

 

I just shot a morning of trap with a new-to-me Stoeger. I think it's the same Dick's special 12ga O/U you're mentioning. Anyway, I put the slip-on recoil pad and it was a breeze to shoot.

 

Here's a link to the pad

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/231848884158