Jon Ramsey

There really is no right or wrong answer to that question. It's all about fit, feel, and function. The perfect gun for my wife might be horrible for you. (I currently am doing a custom assembly of various gun parts to make a shotgun for my wife. This will be her 3rd shotgun; she didn't like the first 2) On average, women tend to be of smaller stature and have shorter arms than men. Such is the case with my wife. So we looked for a youth model, but most of those are 20ga. very few come in 12ga. To add to the problem she is also a lefty. It's been almost a year since we started on our quest for a left hand semi auto 12 gauge with a youth stock. Never did find one, thus began the custom build project. Many women think that they should shoot a smaller gauge such as a 20 gauge, for more manageable recoil. But a better answer might be a semi auto which will absorb much of the felt recoil, or lighter loads such as Winchester feather lights. Remember a 20 gauge = less pellets = less broken targets. I can also tell you from experience, that I feel less recoil from my gas operated 12 gauge using a hot 8 shot loads than I can feel from a 20 gauge pump with standard 8 shot loads. Bottom line; beg, barrow, or rent, as many different guns as you can first. Don't buy till you know what you need and want in a gun, in order to break targets and be comfortable while doing it. Nobody can tell you what would be a good gun for you, only you can determine that through experience. TIP: When trying out different guns, take a small tape measure with you. Use it to measure the pull length of the gun. (The distance from the butt of the stock to the trigger) This tends to be a major determining factor for many women, especially those with shorter arms. [ 03-28-2005, 01:58 PM: Message edited by: Jon Ramsey ]

Some times it's hard to aim in the dark. I prefer a 12 gauge with a short barrel and some 3" 00 buck shot. It gives a nice spread. All I have to do is point it down the hall way, if someone's there, they'll wish they weren't.

In a pinch any shotgun will due for home defense but given a choice, or in my case 12 choices, I'm not going to grab my Franchi 712 Raptor w/30" barrel when I hear something go bump in the night. I'm going to reach for either my Rem. 870 with an 18" barrel, or my Win. 1300 with a 22" barrel, 8 round extended Mag tube, and duel pistol grips. But like I said, in a pinch any shotgun will do.

One Pass.... Not even close. I can't think of any cleaning situation where 1 pass is sufficient. That might get the lose unburnt powder out of the barrel but that's about it. The solvent needs to sit in there for a few minutes to soak into the fowling, and soften it. Then it requires some scrubbing with a bore brush, followed by patches. Snakes are really meant for field cleaning. They are great for that 3 day hunting trip when you want something to run through it at the end of the day. Or between rounds when competition shooting. But at the end of the trip or match, it's time for a good scrubbing. Also, I've always been skeptical of 1 step miracle products that claim to clean, prevent rust, and oil all at the same time. Think about it... Oil traps dirt. If you cleaner is also laden with oil how do you get the old oil (which is holding all of the fowling) out of the action of the gun? It's like taking a bucket of dirty water and pouring a bucket of clean water into it. You don't get a bucket of clean water, you bet a bucket of not quite so dirty water, but I wouldn't drink it. [ 03-16-2005, 01:38 PM: Message edited by: Jon Ramsey ]

Norm_66: Sounds pretty good. But I'll give you a couple tips. You may be doing this already but it's not clear in your post. #1. When cleaning your barrel, use a couple of solvent soaked (and I mean dripping wet) patches first. Then let it set for a few minutes (5 min. should do). This will allow the solvent to soak into the fowling in the barrel, and soften it up. Then go to work with your barrel brush. Next come the dry patches till they come out clean. Lastly, and maybe most important of all use a wool mop sprayed with a light oil (your REM oil will work fine) and make severial passes to ensure that entire surface of the barrel has a nice coat of oil to protect it while being stored. If you'll be storing for a long time (end of season) use a heavier oil. #2 Reciever, triger group, bolt & carrier. Wiping and oiling is good, but what about cleaning??? Oil will actualy hold dirt, powder and any type of fowling. Have you ever bought a K&N air filter for a car??? They are just cotton gause soaked with oil. The dust and dirt sticks to the oil and is trapped, same thing happens in your gun. Rinsing the parts in some sort of cleaner degreaser first, will remove the old oil taking the dirt and fowling with it. Then oil and wipe as you have been doing and your gun will last a very long time. To clean and degrease you can use many products: Gun Scrubber, Break Free. I often use a coffee filled about half full of paint thinner.

I'm with Firefly! If it comes out of the safe it gets cleaned. If I shoot 1 round through it, it gets cleaned. If I sit in a deer stand all morning and don't see $H!T, but the morning air is damp, and filled with dew; it at least gets reoiled and and wiped down with a silacone reel cloth.

Adam, Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I too have a 12ga Pardoner. It's been sitting unused for years. It was my first shotgun, but now I have 5 shotguns, and the Pardoner has been neglected for too long. Now I think it's time to breath some new life into the old girl. I'm thinking about sending it in and getting on of those .50cal Muzzel loader barrels put on it. For those not familuar with New England Firearms, they make good quality single barrel breech loaders, with no bells or whistles. They are simplicty it's self. And unless you get a round with a bad primer, you'll never have to worry about hearing a click when you wanted to hear a bang. [ 01-05-2005, 08:19 PM: Message edited by: Jon Ramsey ]

If you've only tried Skeet and Trap, make it a point to shoot a few rounds of Sporting Clays and Five Stand before you buy a gun. You may like these games as well and that might make a difference as to what gun you should buy. As for me I like skeet a Sporting clay best but I like to shoot all four from time to time. For years I was on a tight budget, so I shot with a pump. A Winchester 1300 with a 28" barrel, that bought at Wal-Mart for around $220. I just recently was able to purchase a semi auto, a Franchi 712 Raptor. What ever you get, make sure it has changable choke tubes. If you can afford it, buy a gun with extended choke tubes that you can change quickly without any tools. Ported barrels are also a nice feature. Take a look at this page, both of these guns are designed just for clays. http://www.franchiusa.com/firearms/alcione-sl.tpl Much like you, I too am on a budget. The O/U is very nice, it cost almost twice what the Raptor cost. They list the Raptor for $900 but if you shop around they can be found for $750 - $799. I felt that the raptor gave me the most features I wanted for the best price. Looks nice too.