[Wonder Dog]

My wife & I are strongly considering buying a Remington 11-87 Police 12- gauge for protecting our home. My wife stands 5 feet tall and I was concerned if women of her size can be trained to handle this shotgun?

[sgtdeath66]

does a bear s#!t in the woods ithnk she should be able. as long as she isnt built like a twig. its not like shes gunna be shooting 31/2 in slugs. just a little practice starting out with target loads and working your way up to the load desired to protect the homestead she should be ok

[Jamie]

My wife deer hunts with an 11-87 and shoots 3 inch slugs. Not that I recommend this for home protection. She is 5' 5" medium build. I suggest you stick to light loads, at least to start with and increase as she decides to. I use 7-1/2 shot for home protection. It doesn't penetrate through walls like #4 or 00 Buck will. Keep in mind real light loads may not cycle through the semi auto with short barrels. You can still use them to practice with and single load for her at the range. Then she can work her way up to a load that will function properly and can handle efficiently. Shoot safe.

[Ram Rod]

Nothing wrong with a 20ga.....and there are plenty of low recoil loads for the 12ga as well. The autoloader shotgun will have a bit less recoil than a pump anyway, and barrels can also be ported. Then there are also recoil reducing stocks for many different models.

[hunter Joe]

When I think of a shot gun used for home protection I automatically think "point and shoot". Generally you don't aim a shot gun, you point a shot gun. So when you are pointing a shot gun you don't necessarily have to shoulder the firearm. If your don't shoulder the firearm, you should not have to worry about recoil from a improperly placed butt stock. Point the firearm at you target, hang on tight and pull the trigger. As stated earlier, auto-loading firearms generally have less recoil than the other actions. I think a 11-87 loaded with some 00 buckshot would be a fine choice for home protection. Hunter Joe

[hillbilly68]

Hey Wonder, she should have no issues with training. My better half has an 870 as a when Im not home long gun (1911 as the primary). She is of small stature and handles it well. I keep it loaded with the Rem low / reduced recoil loads of 00 buck. Makes a HUGE difference. Nothing over 2 3/4, no magnums, and definitely no bird shot. Not sure how the low recoil will cycle in the 11-87, mine is kinda finicky about that kind of thing. Either way I wouldnt sweat it as long as she is trained.
Good luck!!!

[sgtdeath66]

im not much on the autos, but for a home defense round it would be good for a newbie since you dont have to worry about forgeting to rack the slide, but on the other hand pumps are less likely to jam

[matt g]

Okay, I'll be the one to rain on the parade here. I've dumped 5 or 6 hundred rounds through a shotgun in one sitting before. It hurts. The worst thing you can do is to make your wife gun shy. If it happens, she won't practice. If she doesn't practice, she becomes useless to anyone under pressure. If she is useless under pressure, she is more dangerous to herself and her loved ones than she is to an attacker.

[janikphoto]

Originally Posted by hunter Joe

When I think of a shot gun used for home protection I automatically think "point and shoot". Generally you don't aim a shot gun, you point a shot gun. So when you are pointing a shot gun you don't necessarily have to shoulder the firearm. If your don't shoulder the firearm, you should not have to worry about recoil from a improperly placed butt stock. Point the firearm at you target, hang on tight and pull the trigger. As stated earlier, auto-loading firearms generally have less recoil than the other actions. I think a 11-87 loaded with some 00 buckshot would be a fine choice for home protection. Hunter Joe

not a good idea... she's five foot tall, and probably doesn't have a ton of arm length to really hold the shotgun away. She'll most likely wind up smacking her shoulder and bruising.

My thoughts? The 11-87 is much like the 1100, but can shoot hot and/or light load shells (the 1100 supposedly won't cycle on very light loads). I own an 1100 tac-2, which is a tactical version of the 1100. It has a very nice recoil-reducing stock and pistol grip. It is very easy on the shoulder.

I think you could start her out on light loads, as others have mentioned, and be fine. Let her shoot a box of 25 or target loads and call it a day for the first time. Then regularly take her to practice until she's comfortable with the shotgun.

Either way, she shouldn't have a physical problem with the firearm, only a mental one. If young teens can use a full-size shotgun to hunt, a short adult should be able to as well.

[Hawg]

Perceived recoil is less when the gun is fitted to you. A 20 often kicks harder than it's 12 gauge counterpart because it's lighter. My 16 year old daughter routinely fires both barrels of a 12 gauge SXS shooting clays.