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Combat Shotgun for Women
More
and more shooters today are drawn to the sport of "action shooting".
Shotguns have begun to play a very large role in this type of shooting.
Action shooting is also sometimes referred to as tactical, combat and
speed shooting. It is fast,
exciting, fluid and fun!
Action
shooting comes in a number of forms: tactical,
IPSC, IDPA, pins and plate shooting, just to name a few.
The one dim spot in this growing pastime is the lack of women
participants. This is distressing
to me since the number of women shooters continues to grow daily and it makes me
want to share my own enthusiasm and encourage others to join me.
There
are many reasons that women give for missing out on the "action
shooting" experience. Some
have expressed thoughts that they are not strong enough or big enough, while
others have had a bad experience of some sort. Another reason for this is the
lack of good, cost effective training readily available, specifically for women.
During the years that I instructed I found that once a student has the right equipment, becomes familiar with it and learns the right technique, then the shotgun becomes fun.
Ammunition:
Two
of the differences between skeet and combat shotgun include equipment and type
of ammunition. In skeet, you are
doing more precise shooting, at longer distances, generally with equipment like
chokes, long barrels, and light bird loads.
In this environment and with this type of ammunition, recoil is minimal.
Most
combat or action shooting is very fast and generally done at distances of
between 25 - 75 feet. Shooters are
using shotguns with open chokes, shorter barrels and extended magazines.
Much of the ammunition is generally 00 or 000 buck and some slug for
longer distance shots, IDPA and IPSC use 06 to 08 bird shot.
Recoil can be more intense, but the right equipment and the correct
technique can help to alleviate most of it.
For women, in particular, the right technique is very important.
Type
of gun:
Competitors
use various semi-autos or pumps with high capacity magazines that shoot up to 9
or 10 rounds. They are shooting
very fast, at varying distances (depending on the scenario or competition) and
every shot counts.
Some
of the more popular shotguns used are Benelli's Super 90 M1 (a recoil operated
semi auto shotgun), dressed up Remington 1100's and 1187’s (gas operated semi
autos) or Remington 870 pumps. The
biggest difference between these shotguns is generally the "out of the
box" cost and the recoil. However,
the Remington's, for the most part, will need to have some extra's added for the
purpose of competition. These can include extended magazine's, pistol grips,
various customizations, etc. However,
this can increase their cost bringing it closer to some of the other more
expensive shotguns.
The
Right Equipment - Modifications:
While
doing some research for this article, I had the opportunity to talk with Mike
Larocca of Larocca Gunworks, Inc. of Worcester, Massachusetts.
Mike has been a gunsmith for about 15 years and is highly regarded in his
field. He was one of the first
gunsmiths to customize a shotgun specifically for speed shooting in the early
1980's. He was also a national
competitor for eight years. Mike
says that few women come into his shop for shotguns, but when they do, they are
usually looking for a 20-gauge semi auto because they want something with less
recoil and more control.
Many
people make the assumption that a shotgun for a woman needs to be specifically
modified for a woman. That is not
true. Shotgun modifications are
made according to one's size NOT one's gender.
The most common modification for women is to have the stock shortened,
but there are quite a few women who are as tall as some men and this is not an
issue.
As
for any other modifications, they are generic and based on the shooter's
personal specifications. Since
I am not much more than five (5) feet tall myself and have short arms, the first
modification that I have done to all of my long guns is to have the stock
shortened. The rest of the
modifications made to my shotguns are personal preferences.
I have chosen to add a pistol grip for a more secure, isometric pull back
on my stock. This helps me to
securely hold the butt of the gun in the pocket of the shoulder. It also enables me to take the weight off of the forend
(front) of the shotgun and allows for much more freedom of movement, as well as
the ability to quickly get on target. I've
also had the barrels shortened for less weight and more maneuverability.
Remember
it is very important for a shotgun to fit the shooter well.
It is not hard to adjust to using a stock that is too short, but one that
is too long causes the shooter to lean back and away from the recoil.
This, in turn, causes the shooter to lose control of the shotgun. Mike Larocca personally believes in the principal of
"...shorter and tighter to the body gives much more control of the
gun...".
The
general rule used to determine a good stock fit is based on the following
formula: "length of pull + forearm length = stock length".
This means that you must measure from the crock of the arm, inside the
bend of elbow, to the trigger finger resting correctly on the trigger.
There are exceptions to this rule for different body shapes, sizes, arm
lengths, application of the shotgun and type of shotgun (i.e., pump vs. semi
auto, etc.)
When
I asked Mike Larocca what kind of shotgun he would suggest for women, he told me
that he would first need to know, "What
are you going to use it for?". He states that “
a shotgun should be purchased based on application, and it should be the best
equipment for the job”.
Body
Language:
The
biggest factor for women is how to use "body language" behind the
shotgun to make it painless and fun to shoot.
Make note that aggressive body postures aid in absorbing much of the
recoil.
The
stance should begin with the upper body aggressively forward.
The non-dominant leg should be forward and sharply flexed to take the
weight with its toe pointed toward the target to align the body's support
structure. In this position, the
rear and stronger leg should be flexed slightly, enough to create isometric
pressure and make it a "drive leg" that pushes the body weight into
the shotgun. One of my former instructors describes it as follows:
“When looking at this position from the side of the body it should look
like an italicized, lower case letter h".
The
butt of the shotgun MUST be pulled tightly into the shoulder pocket and as
always; both hands grasp the shotgun very firmly.
General
feelings about shotguns:
A
number of years ago I was scared to death to use a shotgun. I became very nervous and upset when I knew my turn on the
line was next. Then I took Lethal
Force Institute's advanced training (LFI, II, III and IV) and Massad Ayoob
taught us about technique, body language and control.
I found out about an aggressive stance and its importance and about
controlling the shotgun NOT the shotgun controlling me.
After about a year of practicing (because I didn't want to let anybody
know that I was afraid
of something:) I went from a 20-gauge to a 12-gauge shotgun.
Three years later I took First Place in the Individual Shotgun category
at the NH State Pin Shoot with my 12 gauge Remington 1100 taking 8 pins in 4.19
seconds. And now, after all
of this, my favorite
piece of equipment is my Remington shotgun.
Leah
Garlichs, a sign language interpreter, who has been shooting for a few years,
now, uses a modified Remington 1100 12-gauge shotgun. This shotgun is used mostly for pin shooting but also doubles
for home protection.
Her
first experiences with a shotgun were not unlike those of many other women.
When I asked her if she always liked her shotgun as much as she does
today, her answer was: "Absolutely not! I
hated it at first. Hated it so much
that it was the only thing I cried about having to do in a class....".
The shotgun she used was a Remington 1100 Youth model 20 gauge and she
felt that it was too heavy. She
didn't hold it right on the first shot and the recoil hurt; she pulled the
trigger again and it hurt more and she did NOT want to continue.
But she did. All in all, it
was not a very positive experience. Later
on in that year she decided not to let that one experience get the best of her
and she came out shooting with me. She
wanted to know why I liked shooting shotgun so much.
She wanted to know what she was doing wrong. We spent a casual day of shooting reactionary targets, mostly
pins, with my modified Remington 1100 12 gauge. Once she realized that trying to hold the butt of the gun
away from her was only going to cause more pain she corrected it and really
started to enjoy the experience. Not
only did she enjoy the time spent shooting with no pressure, but she was able to
hit the target consistently. Her
diagnosis? "...Better training with positioning the gun, the aggressive
stance, understanding the site picture and then getting a gun that fit
me..."
In
Summary
The
value of any additions and modifications that aid you in safely and comfortably
using your shotgun with full power ammo should be seriously discussed with a
reputable gunsmith. There are many
methods of reducing your shotguns recoil such as: Sorbothane and other high tech
recoil pads, liquid mercury in the stock, the Edwards recoil reducer, and
gas-jet vents to reduce muzzle rise like MagnaPort or VangComp.
There are also many "nifty" additions that don't do anything at
all but add weight to the shotgun. So
think carefully before putting on too many attachments especially if you are
going to be shooting for speed and maneuverability.
But most importantly safe use of the right equipment, proper techniques and frequent training will allow for a very enjoyable experience in combat shotgun, especially for women.
Sources for this article are: Mike Larocca of Larocca Gunworks, Worcester, MA and Massad Ayoob, LFI, Concord, NH. For more information, go to my link page.