Need Advice for Young Girls Gun

Looking for some advice on the best gun for a young girl to learn trap shooting.
The girl is maybe 13, short, short neck and short arms, a little over weight and perhaps a small amount of learning disability (not unsafe). She lives with her grandmother and they come to the club once a week for her to shoot two rounds. I’d heard about her but last week was the first time I’ve seen her shoot. She shot her best round ever, a seven, most often she hits 2-3. After the seven you would have thought she was the new world champion. It embarrassed me to think about how mad I've been after a 24. She’s using a 11-87 20 gauge with the stock cut to 13 ½” and no pad, just the cut off wood to get it short enough.
I want very much to help this girl, just watching her beings me to tears. She accepted my offer for some coaching (with joy) But, I really don’t know what kind of a used gun to try to find for her. Not as a gift as I don’t want to insult her or her grandmother but as a club loaner.
Sorry to be so long winded. Thanks for your help and advice.

 

Get her a Beretta 391, 12 ga plenty of used stocks out there to play with--20 ga guns are so lite, IMHO they actually have a harder recoil than most 12 ga

 

This is a long shot and a shot in the dark, we had a kid that used to come out to the club with his Grand Dad and shoot up his allowance ... We used to give him free rounds for picking up empty hulls ... I looked high and low until one day I found an (Google) 1100 that was cut off and made short for a kid, needless to say when they came out to the club I asked if he wanted to have his own gun ..? He was elated, dumbfounded, shocked, all of the above and more ... I gave him one of my cases and told him it was his and he had to take care of it ... I saw him with his Grand Dad all the time, one day found out the Grand Dad died, never saw the kid again ... Tried to locate him but didn't have any luck ... Long story short try Google, it might work for you also ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

Bt 99 micro 1oz of #8 shot in light target.

 

I would look for a used semi auto loader 12 Ga. Like a Remington 1100 or berretta. The gas auto will absorb a lot of the recoil. Of course the gun will have to be cut to fit her. A local stock fitter could really help. The gun with no pad will kick pretty good.

 

Hardy, You're thinking like I am. I have the components that I don't use to load 12ga. light loads, now where do I find a decent condition BT 99 Micro at a fair price?

 

I bet some of the shooters on this site have a gun that would work sitting in the safe. A good old used standard BT could work if cut to fit with the 32 inch bl, but the shorter bl micro is nice. Quite a few good choices in guns out there. My wife shoots a 1 oz. Load I make for her and smashes targets, and shoots it all day. She says " what recoil " when asked about it. I load it at about 1150 fps and she uses a BT 100.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I know the Beretta and 1100 are light shooters but I really like the simplicity of a BT 99 for a young person. I've decided I'll spend $700-800 to help this girl but I don't want to spend $1400-1500 for a new one.

 

I understand. A friend sold his older BT99 here about 6 months ago for $700. The simplicity of the BT is one reason I like it so much also. My wife can clean her BT if she has to, but she does not like to clean her semi-auto so much. Takes too long she says. Of course I clean the guns 99.9 percent of the time. There are loads of older BTs out there but most shooters have a hard time deciding to sell them.

 

james, what can done to the gun shes currently using to improve it? an 11-87 aint so bad.

 

I have had 1187/1100s and liked the guns.
Only problem was they would go about 10 boxes like clock work and then quit feeding. I kept them clean and lubed (dry) and replaced parts when needed. My only complaint about the 1100/1187 is they won't run as long between cleanings as my Beretta or SX3. And of course compared to the BT are harder to clean. I usually don't let my guns go longer than 10 boxes anyway, but if I have to my Beretta or SX3 will just keep on a shootin. And yes each gun is different. As Forest said " they are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're goin to get ".

 

my idea james is this. if you got a matching 11-87 like the girls, you could do the mods to it you think would help her... wood and bbl etc. then hand it to her. if it works, do a swap of stuff off of it, take your 1187 with her stuff on it and either keep it for others or sell it off.

 

Thanks for the input. A lot of ideas to consider. I've owned all of these guns at one time or the other. Still think the BT 99 micro would be the best in this situation with some light loads to start with.

 

Would be nice to take her somewhere with lots of guns to try, I think recoil should be 1st on the list 2nd cost , 3rd she is the one that has to like it !

 

I see quite a few Beretta semi-autos in the hands of young shooters at the SCTP Nationals.

 

I check our daily paper all the time, if I find anything I will let you know ... For what ever reason lately there are not many guns listed for sale in that paper, people are getting smart ... I have actually bought 7 guns out of that little rag news paper ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

So many good ideas and advice, I thank all of you for giving me much to consider. I especially like plaw's number 3. "she is the one that has to like it" Easy to overlook.

 

Citori CX Micro with adjustable Pad can be had for a reasonable budget.

 

she most likely will like something she already knows and has?