Gun Dog Forum

I am looking for a youth over and under for my 9 year old son. The 20g over and unders I have looked at have been heavy. Are there any over and unders that are light but are still at a reasonable price?

daddyfid wrote:I am looking for a youth over and under for my 9 year old son. The 20g over and unders I have looked at have been heavy. Are there any over and unders that are light but are still at a reasonable price?

Would you consider a single shot to start with? 20-28 or 410 by NEF.
(New England Firearms/ H&R) Pardner Compact 5-5.5 lbs. Wal-Mart should be able to get you one if interested, and they are very affordable.

http://www.hr1871.com/Firearms/Shotguns ... Youth.aspx

Charlie

He currently has a 20g single shot and a pump. He has been earning and saving money for an O/U. He has plans to sell his 2 guns and save for his new gun. So far he has about $150.00 saved and his mom and I will match. He is dead set on an O/U.

Thanks

I think I would let him grow up a little. Any gun he gets now won't fit in a couple of years and then what will he go to. He has lots of years to earn a better gun. I hate to see a kid that age given everything and then he has nothing to look forward to. If it takes ten years to get the gun he really likes it will just mean that much more to him the rest of his life. Do him a favor and tell him to wait a few years till he is big enough both mentally and physically to handle the gun better and then get one that will last.

Ezzy

I see two problems with a double gun and a 9 year old:
1) The weight of the barrels makes the gun nose heavy, and kids this age typically don't have the upper body strength strength to handle much shooting. The center of gravity is farther out on an o/u. The farther away from the body the weight is, the more tiring it is. A lot of women shooters have this problem too.
2) The quality level of an "inexpensive" o/u is an issue too.

While it may be too expensive, you could get a "grouse" gun with 24 inch barrels and have the cut stock down - but that kind of ruins the gun.

I have done a fair amount with youth shooting, and in my honest opinion it is just not a good idea.

A youth 20 pump or auto-loader with Fiocchi Trainer loads is the way to go.
G

If you don't mind going cheap:

http://www.stoegerindustries.com/firear ... condor.php
(youth models at bottom of the page- 5.5 lbs)

Able's has a 410 for $350.
http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product ... s_id=31441

Charlie

Abel's also has a Stoger 20 O/U Youth for 350.
http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product ... s_id=31442

and a 20 Youth SXS for $329
http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product ... s_id=31472

If you want to upgrade.
http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product ... s_id=90755

Charlie

I dont like seeing young kids using pumps.

Im parshal to the Rugers so I would go with a nice little 20ga o/u or you could go with a 410 first and he will have it for the rest of his life.There light and shoot nice.

I guess we'd have to know what you consider "light" and "reasonable" to be. As you know, prices from low to high are generally: single shot, pump, semi-auto, OU and SxS. In an OU the lighter guns are usually higher priced as they require special alloys and good wood with careful hollowing out. A light semi-auto is generally less expensive than a light OU and the action absorbs some of the recoil as well. You can plug most 20 ga. magazines so they accept 0,1,2,3 or possibly a max. of 4 shells. The Benelli ultralight 20 ga. is less expensive than most light OUs.

i agree i started with a single shot h&r 20 g their good and affordable guns

Thanks for all your info!

It needs to be 5 1/2lbs or lighter and we would like the price to be $500.00 or less.

The condor looks pretty good for the money. Are these decent guns?

You might check out this thread on another board: http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtop ... 11&start=0

It's not unusual to find more variation in quality with a less expensive gun. Apparently they have a hand swell that doesn't work well for left-handed shooters ... if that's even an issue for you.

Mark

Several months ago I bought my 100 lb 5' 0: tall wife a Franchi 720 Youth model. It's a gas operated auto and she can handle it well.





ML

I started my kids on a Remington 1100 28 ga special sporting. It was a great choice.

Greg J.

Mntngoat wrote:Several months ago I bought my 100 lb 5' 0: tall wife a Franchi 720 Youth model. It's a gas operated auto and she can handle it well.

[ML

I bought my wife the same gun, she's the same height as your wife, but at the moment has a little more ballast. Her LOP is a bit shorter than the 12.5" of the short stock 720, so I cut it down a bit. Still too long, I cut it down again, and then a third time, and then oops - took off a bit too much. I think I'm going to buy a new stock, but the gun doesn't fit my wife that great anyway, so I'm looking for a custom stock maker to fit the gun for her.

http://www.mossberg-shotguns.com/item/6 ... 6_CT5.aspx

This look pretty sweet!