youth shotguns

[BJF33]

Looking for a youth shot gun for my son. He has a 9th B-day coming up and would like to give him a solid year and a half of practice with it before
his first grouse season. Looking at a few 20 gauge models with 13" Length of pull. He has a younger sibling who will use it after he grows out of it so I'm not to concerned about spending a few bucks. What can everyone tell me regarding thier kids experiences ect.

[ezzy333]

I started my kids when they were twelve with an old bolt action 20 guage stevens that didn't have a clip. They carried it in the field for a year before they got to load it and shoot.

I don't like the idea of kids carrying guns when they are not mentally mature even if they appear to be physically mature enough. The kids have a whole life time ahead of them and I think the parents are allowing them start too young. The thrill of any activity is finally getting to do something you have wanted to do for years. Whether it is carring a gun or shooting your first bird, that will probably be the biggest thrill in the field and it should be earned and not rushed into it.

Just my thoughts and many don't agree. But I remember clearly going to an uncles and borrowing a gun when I was 16 and going pheasant hunting all by myself since no one in my family hunted. And my boys still talk about there first experience. And compared to my friend who started his boys at ten and neither one of them even hunt anymore. Just never meant much to them.

Ezzy

[snowman]

I started hunting when I was 9 with my old man. The first gun I used was a 410 single shot. The first ring neck I ever shot was with that gun and I hit 2 with one shot. They were my first kills on my first shot hunting. I will use the same gun to teach my nefews to hunt with. I think a 410 is a really good gun to start with no matter what age you are. If you learn on a 410 and move up to a 20g then a 12g, it seems like hunting gets easier. I think it taught me how to lead a lot better and made me be that much more accurate. If you can take a bird down with a 410 immagine shooting that same bird with a 12g. But thats JMO.

Casey J.

[cancrkkennels]

stoeger makes a youth model over and under
charles daily makes both automatics and pumps
mosseberg and remington make pumps
if your looking for a single shot new england arms and rossi hope this will help

[BJF33]

I should have stated a few things about my son. He has over 100 plus days in the field hunting be it grouse, woodcock, turkey or deer. He has carried a BB gun for the last year in the field unloaded however I have enforced the same rules as I would with any gun. 1. Treat the gun ilike it is always loaded. 2. the gun is never pointed at anything you do not intend to harm.
He has been shooting 22's and BB's at our range since the age of 7. Quite frankly I have hunted with many adults who are not nearly as safety conscious as he is.

Prior to carrying his BB gun he would walk all day with me & the dogs in the grouse woods at the age of 5-6. He has shot at clays with an old 410 that doesn't fit.

Michigan has just changed the hunting age laws to 10 as long as the kid is with a parent. The next step for us regardless of what gun I purchase is carrying the gun unloaded until the dog is on point. Once the dog is on point I will give him 1 shell.

I also grew up with the 410 however my thoughts for the 20 are more longevity and the fact that it is gas powered reduces the recol by 30%. As my wife is only 5'1" it will eventually be her clay gun until its passed on to nephews/grandkids whatever.

[BigShooter]

Gun safety first .. We're in our fifties now but my two brothers and I weren't allowed to carry a gun until we had completed the gun safety course. We were allowed to start hunting birds at age 12, large game at age 14. I went on a number of hunting trips too young to carry a gun but enjoyed them none-the-less. At age 12 my first gun was full sized.

My four sons have all had the same age requirements before hunting. Although at age ten they were allowed to carry a youth .410 break action, open & unloaded. It was a big deal to them just carrying that .410 around unloaded! They got to shoot it at targets like paper wasp's nests once in a while. I bought a youth model 20 ga. pump. At age 12 every one of the boys started with that pump. The smaller dimensions really seemed to help the fit. I'd buy a new full sized shotgun everytime another youth needed the 20ga. After all of my sons out grew the pump I sold it to my sister. It fits her nicely as well.

We've never had a gun accident or incident. For safety reasons, I always recommend a break-action or pump as a first gun, never a semi-auto.

[whitedogone]

I'd skip the .410 and get them into a 28 gauge to start. A 28 gauge pump would be excellent. I would start them out with one shell and teach them that that one shot counts. Remington makes the 870 in 28. If you want to get something a little dressier there is the BPS in 28. WDO

[Gordon Guy]

When my son was 9 I bought him a youth model Rem 1100 LT-20. By the time he was 14 he could out shoot most of the guys I hunted with. At first I just allowed him 1 shell in the gun at a time. then as he learned he graduated up. He was not afraid of the recoil because there really wasn't much to speak of. Sometimes I would take his gun Grouse and Woodcock hunting, what a dream it was to handle. I sold it thinking that that the new Beretta O/U would be an upgrade for him. I was wrong, he had a hardtime hitting with it. I should have just bought a longer stock for his original gun. My vote is for a Rem 1100 LT-20.

[Greg Jennings]

I started my kids on a 28 ga Remington 1100 special sporting. I bought a second stock and had it cut down for them.

The son has moved on to the original full-length stock. My daughter still uses the cut-down one.

I keep getting them to step up to the 20 ga so that I can have that 28, but they love it too much.

The 28 will crush birds like a 20, and in the 1100, kicks like a 410. I reload, so the difference in price of shells doesn't matter. I think it helps the kids to do their own reloading. They appreciate those shells more.

FWIW, Greg J.

[Chaingang]

Looking for a youth shot gun for my son. He has a 9th B-day coming up and would like to give him a solid year and a half of practice with it before
his first grouse season. Looking at a few 20 gauge models with 13" Length of pull. He has a younger sibling who will use it after he grows out of it so I'm not to concerned about spending a few bucks. What can everyone tell me regarding thier kids experiences ect.

Are you looking for any particular type of action? (pump, semi-auto, O/U).

Sometimes good youth models can be hard to find. Another alternative is to find the gauge and action you want in a full length stock and have it cut down by a gunsmith to fit. As they get older and bigger you can add a slip over recoil pad or have the gunsmith add a thicker pad to add the length back on.

IMHO 20 gauges are probably the best size vs felt recoil to start a youth on. A .410 and even a .28 ga are very light recoiling guns, but can be difficult for many rank beginners to hit anything because of the relatively small pattern (pellet wise) to the 20.

The .410 has actually been nicknamed the "experts gauge' and for good reason.

[Greg Jennings]

Looking for a youth shot gun for my son. He has a 9th B-day coming up and would like to give him a solid year and a half of practice with it before
his first grouse season. Looking at a few 20 gauge models with 13" Length of pull. He has a younger sibling who will use it after he grows out of it so I'm not to concerned about spending a few bucks. What can everyone tell me regarding thier kids experiences ect.

Are you looking for any particular type of action? (pump, semi-auto, O/U).

Sometimes good youth models can be hard to find. Another alternative is to find the gauge and action you want in a full length stock and have it cut down by a gunsmith to fit. As they get older and bigger you can add a slip over recoil pad or have the gunsmith add a thicker pad to add the length back on.

IMHO 20 gauges are probably the best size vs felt recoil to start a youth on. A .410 and even a .28 ga are very light recoiling guns, but can be difficult for many rank beginners to hit anything because of the relatively small pattern (pellet wise) to the 20.

The .410 has actually been nicknamed the "experts gauge' and for good reason.

Winchester makes a 1 oz heavy load. That's the same as a normal heavy load 20 ga. And, I'm here to tell you, it STONES pheasants as long as you keep the range reasonable.

Greg J.

[Chaingang]

We'll you said it right there Greg, reasonable range. I still think however that the 20 is more forgiving for the beginner and has more options for hunting. The skinny guns are very short range guns at best. I say that because of the usable pattern that weakens significantly as the yardages get past 25 yards. If one can hold their shots to such then they serve as a very useful field gun. On the other hand if you hunt the wiley ringneck out in my neck of the woods (Dakota's and Mn.) then shots over 25-30 yards can be the norm somedays, especially late in the season. The 20 ga has a nice load in the 1- 1/8oz size that combined with 6's provide very good coverage out to 35 yards. For those long range specialists there is even a 1 -1/4 oz load, although 3 incher, that will wack'em out there with any 12 ga.

[ezzy333]

Something else to think about is cost. 410's are really high. Also don't think you can get them with stell or anything but lead and there are more and more public grounds where they require non-lead and you are out of luck.

Ezzy

[Greg Jennings]

For the big birds, I'll cut you some slack. I shoot a 12 and would recommend that any adult do the same.

For other birds and for kids, I'll stand by the 28. I always carried the same average (around .9875) with the 28 that I did with the 20. Can't say about the 12, because I shot the 20 in the 12 event and in doubles.

I've also seen a roomful of quail killed w/ fiber-wad loaded 28s through an 11-48. The ammo is so much better now.

Greg J.

[gar-dog]

I got my son a Rem 870 Express Youth Model 20 when he was 10. I also get the 3/4oz Fiocchi trainer loads. He has no problems with the gun - granted he is pretty big for his age. It is a great gun, perfect size, and no biggie if dropped in the mud.

[dudley]

i started with a little 20g harington and richardson that my dad won at a ducks unlimited event great little guns and their pretty inexpensive

[tanner]

the winchester model 1300 pump action is a good choice, it was my very first shotgun, got it about 4 years ago when i was 11, and its never gave me a minutes trouble, it comes with modified, improved cyl. and full chokes and its chambered for 2 3/4" and 3" shells so you can hunt anything from quail to turkeys with it, always been a great gun for me and is fairly inexpensive.

[utahmomof4]

My vote is for the Beretta 391 Urika youth model in 20 ga. or the Beretta 3901 RL in 20 ga. I own a 391 in 20 ga. and I can shoot it all day long. I don't know how big your son is, but I'm 5'2" and 120 pounds. I own both of the above guns (except my 3901 is a 12 gauge) and with 7/8 oz. loads, there is hardly any felt recoil. One advantage with the 3901 is that it comes with a LOP of about 12-1/2" and then comes with shims that you can add to go up to about 13-1/2", so the gun will grow with him.