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Have at it - busting clays is just fun - and addictive. No matter whether it is skeet, trap, five stand, sporting, or bubba billy hand pichin clay birds out in the cow pasture. If you are near me - be glad to take you out for a couple rounds of skeet (uh - regulation skeet...).

A lot depends on what you are calling 'skeet'. If you are talking regular field with high and low houses and 8 stations then...IMHO - the 12ga O/U is best although a low recoil Beretta 3901 or Winchester SX3 semi will be excellent - needs to be choked skeet/skeet fixed (skeet only gun) or have removeable chokes - a 26" or longer barrel is also preferable but weight comes into play for smaller shooters (occasionally). Pick a shotgun that has some weight if it is only to be used for skeet / trap (I have both skeet guns and field guns - shooting a straight 100 shells (four rounds of skeet) with a light field gun will wear you down a bit). Make sure the gun fits well - if adjustable comb, great. You need the gun to have the right amount of drop, cant, etc., so that your cheek rests comfortably on the stock and your eye is looking right down the rib at the bead without having to raise your head, tilt way over, or squeeze down (you don't aim, you 'look'). LOP needs to be right and the type of forearm (beavertail, schnabel, splinter on some like SxSs) will impact someone with small hands. Shoot the normal target load of #9 shot (#8 will work as well) from a 2-3/4" round 1oz or less and 3 dram equiv or less (preferably less for your wife). If recoil is still an issue - a good skeet / trap vest or PAST shield will help a lot. Pull the gun in tight. Now - if you are going to pursue regulation skeet in competition matches - remember, it is shot with four different bores - 12ga, 20ga, 28ga, and a .410 bore - 100 shell (four rounds) in each gun. You can shoot a smaller bore in larger bore contests (i.e. a .410 could be used during the 12ga rounds) but it would be a big disadvantage. Side by sides are romantic, and still are super field guns - but the last world competition win of a SxS at skeet was in 1936. Skeet/trap can be frustrating if you don't have some help when you start out - getting the leads right and where to hold the gun and look, etc. Great fun when you are hitting stuff though so stick with it.