870 20 Gauge for my Lady?

[spencer44]

I have been thinking about picking up a (or 2) 870 20 gauge wood stock for the wife.

Has anyone had any issues with this make/model, or any good/bad reviews as a female defense weapon?

Remington 870 Express Youth, 20 Gauge, 21" Vent Rib Barrel, Modified Rem Choke, Hardwood Stock.

Like my 12 gauge 500's, I love the 870's I've just never owned any 20 gauge. Shotguns are critical and seem to be the most effective grab in our AO, my 12's just seem to kick too much for her being just over 100lbs. She's good and trained w/ other small arms, just need to get her a good shotgun fit. Oh and I'm not rich in these dollar things, so I don't plan on buy'n the "get this $900 outfit, it's the best...". I have to be practical and don't plan on spending more thank 4 bills per unit. My runner up was the Moss500 Super Bantam, but the 870 won me over in person. Thanks for a great site and any info folks. God Bless.

[Klayton]

A little lighter (which equals a little more kick) but I would go with a synthetic, not the cheapest plastic stock, but a quality synthetic. Will outlast most wood stocks in the PAW. Just my humble opinion. And yes, I do recommend 20gauges for light framed people (women and children) over 12gauges. I have even seen some serious damage from a .410, in my less than honorable youth days I found out a .410 slug can penetrate one end of a trailer home, go through both sides of a refrigerator and still pass through every wall and exit the end of the trailer house. Needless to say, the .410 earned alot of respect from me that day. But you have to use slugs, the .410, IMHO, does not have enough umph to throw 00 buck.

[spencer44]

Thanks Klayton - You make a good point around the durability, especially if the BI plan don't pan out and a BO is required. I've never shot one of these 20's, It sounds like the kick is quite less than a 12, so the synthetic durability sounds like more of a positive than the little bit more kick negative. My old man just started me on a 12 in the 5th grade. In those days, I wasn't looking forward to jumping quail etc. knowing what was coming when I pulled that trigger. But thank god for the traditional things he put me through, (that I didn't like at the time being a punk) but I am very thankful now. Interesting about the .410 story, I don't doubt it at all. As you know, anyone that underestimates ANY load, be it .17,.22, 22 short, or .410 because it's termed "small, light" is just asking for trouble or worse. Speaking of that, I actually had some neighbor kids (well young men 17-18) down the road that were trying to tell me how their 10/22's are can only be used for target and it couldn't kill anything other than small tweety birds. I was shocked and scared, especially when I noticed they were actually serious (the questioning went on to make sure they weren't just being MTV pranksters or what's ever "cool" now). Needless to say I gave them an 30 minute instruction session and talked to their old man as well the next time I ran into him. Ended up seeing where they got their saftey skills and overall logic. Don't see that o'l cycle break too often.

[dad56]

I agree with your concerns on her being comfortable when using this weapon but I would like to add that having another size of ammunition you not only have to stock up on but take if you have to move . I have a 870 but in 12 ga Tactical great shotgun. Good luck with your decision.

[trapper]

A 870 20 Ga. will make a very good gun for her, and there are many things you can buy to make it even better for different situations (different barrels ,stock configurations ,etc.) the only thing to be careful of is having both 12 and 20 ga. ammo together because a 20ga. shell will fit in a 12ga. chamber and you can put a 12 ga. behind it making a very bad situation, so just make sure everyone is aware of that.

[slingshot]

A 20 gauge slug is a potent round. Our son shot a black bear out of a tree with one. It rolled out dead as a door nail. (BTW, that meat battered and fried is down right tasty!) I used to carry 00 buck and slugs alternated in my duty 870. That way she would be pretty well covered for any situation. Just wanted to throw in my comments about the potency of the 20 gauge. Just how dead can you kill something? There's something scary about a woman wielding a "little" 20 gauge, that knows what she doing with it.

[Davar]

Good idea to stick with the same saftey set up. If you shoot your 12g a lot, and need to use the Moss in a pinch, you'll find the safety isn't where your muscle memory thinks it is, thus precsious time is lost.