first shotgun

steamer · Post by **steamer** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 7:39 am

looking for my 9 yr old sons first shot gun . im looking at the h n r sb1850. its a youth model single shot 28 ga. it only has a 22" barrel. just wondering if this might be to short. at this point probably just hunting sguirrels and hitting the range . what have other people started there youngsters on? he has fired other guns with my help. but this will be his gun and i want to start him right. i dont want him to get discouraged . any help would be great

mcbosco · Post by **mcbosco** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 8:09 am

I like a single shot for a kid. That might be the only one on the market. CZ had one.

Ryman Gun Dog · Post by **Ryman Gun Dog** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:49 am

Steamer,
I started when I was about 9 with an old miniture 22 rifle my Grandfather taught me how to shoot, then at age 10 my father got me a Model 24 Savage 22Mag/20Guage O/U, my father purchased an additional stock and modified it to fit me as a boy. I was given very light 20 guage shells, and I had a ball hunting with that gun as a young boy. The hammer type gun was safe for me at 10 years old, I still own that weapon even today. When I got bigger the original stock was put back on the gun.
Learned to hunt Squirrels, Bunnies, Grouse, Pheasants, Turkey, Fox and Coyote before I was given my 1st good L.C. Smith double gun. To this day hammer guns are some of my favorite weapons.
You might consider doing something like this if your son is both big enough and mature enough at 9 or 10.
Pine Creek

Post by **ezzy333** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 12:25 pm

My boys all carried an old Stevens 20 guage bolt action with out the magazine. Carried it with out shells for a year or so and when they were about 11 or 12 they were showing enough maturity to make good decisions when the unepected happened, which always does, to be safe they were given shells. Three out of the eour boys are avid hunters and fishermen while the other one loves the outdoors but doesn't hunt. I am a firm believer in not pushing or letting them to start too young as I have seen too many that get bored by the time they are teenagers since they have already experienced everything in their mind at least. It's kind of like training a pup, always keep them wanting more.

Ezzy

mcbosco · Post by **mcbosco** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 1:05 pm

ezzy333 wrote:My boys all carried an old Stevens 20 guage bolt action with out the magazine. Carried it with out shells for a year or so and when they were about 11 or 12 they were showing enough maturity to make good decisions when the unepected happened, which always does, to be safe they were given shells. Three out of the eour boys are avid hunters and fishermen while the other one loves the outdoors but doesn't hunt. I am a firm believer in not pushing or letting them to start too young as I have seen too many that get bored by the time they are teenagers since they have already experienced everything in their mind at least. It's kind of like training a pup, always keep them wanting more.

Ezzy

do you still have that gun?

Post by **ezzy333** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 1:08 pm

mcbosco wrote:
ezzy333 wrote:My boys all carried an old Stevens 20 guage bolt action with out the magazine. Carried it with out shells for a year or so and when they were about 11 or 12 they were showing enough maturity to make good decisions when the unepected happened, which always does, to be safe they were given shells. Three out of the eour boys are avid hunters and fishermen while the other one loves the outdoors but doesn't hunt. I am a firm believer in not pushing or letting them to start too young as I have seen too many that get bored by the time they are teenagers since they have already experienced everything in their mind at least. It's kind of like training a pup, always keep them wanting more.

Ezzy
do you still have that gun?

Traded it to a guy with kids for a beagle. Nice little dog that we shot some rabbits over.

Ezzy

steamer · Post by **steamer** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 3:41 pm

thanks so far for the replies. ezzy i hear you on being safe. i like the idea of not giving him shells until he has some time in the field . i havent shot a 28 ga but my thinking is that they would have less recoil than a 20 ga . i have a nef 20 ga and it kicks pretty hard put the 12 ga barrel on and load up a 3.5 mag turkey shell and it just about knocks your shoulder off . any one who has shot both 28 and 20 ga i would like your input on the amount of recoil. i would also like some input on the 22" barrel just wondering if this is to short . im thinking to much spread not a tight enough pattern . im thinking of taking him to the skeet range and shooting some stationary clays im thinking of putting them on some type of stand maybe fixing them to a piece of cardboard and letting him get this sight picture. has anyone ever done this ? thanks for any input

nikegundog · Post by **nikegundog** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 5:24 pm

Recoil is also determined by the weight of the gun. I bought my son a Rossi 410 because it is light weight and he could handle it better than an 870 20ga, now he switched to the 20 ga. and the recoil is significantly better with the 20 gauge. The 410 I believed weighed about 3.5 lbs and the 870 a little over 6lbs.

terrym · Post by **terrym** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 6:27 pm

A lightweight single shot in 28 or even .410 is a good start. Make sure it fits well and don't be afraid to shorten the stock if needed. Fit is very important in recoil absorbtion. My first was a CIL .410 single at 10 yrs of age.

Post by **ezzy333** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:51 pm

I don't like a 410 to start a kid obn. Those are professionals guns as far as hitting what you are aiming at. I do think if the child can't handle a 20 he is too small. Anything less than a 20 is too much of a handicap for a novice shooter. Easy to discourage them with a gun too small to be effective.

Ezzy

birddogger · Post by **birddogger** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 5:26 am

ezzy333 wrote:I don't like a 410 to start a kid obn. Those are professionals guns as far as hitting what you are aiming at. I do think if the child can't handle a 20 he is too small. Anything less than a 20 is too much of a handicap for a novice shooter. Easy to discourage them with a gun too small to be effective.

Ezzy

I couldn't agree more with this!! My dad started me out with a junior model .410 single shot. If I had not had such a passion for hunting and the outdoors, I could have been easily discouraged with that little gun.

As far as the barrel length and pattern, the short barrel should have no effect on the pattern or range. It would have to be short to the extreme for that to happen and then it wouldn't be legal anyway.

Charlie

MTR · Post by **MTR** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:29 am

20 gauge with 3/4 oz light loads will have less felt recoil than the 28 IMHO due to the mass of the gun. That 20 will be much more versatile for the future as well.

I love my 28, but wouldn't buy one for a new shooter. Unless you reload, you will be spending double on the shells.

Post by **Greg Jennings** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 4:50 pm

I started my kids on a cut down Remington 1100 in 28 ga. I reload so the cost wasn't a factor. The 28 will hit like a 20 and kick like a 410.

postoakshorthairs · Post by **postoakshorthairs** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 8:27 pm

I bought my son a little Rossi 410 with interchangeable barrels to be a 22. It's short and light but the 410 had much more recoil than my 20g 1100. He ended up using the 20g and the Rossi sat.

gotpointers · Post by **gotpointers** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 2:23 am

I started my 11 year old with a franchi al48 20 guage. I really didn't want him with a semi-auto but i wanted the recoil reduction a semi auto provides. He did go through hunter safety courses prior to this and shows excellent safety habits.
He never complains about a sore shoulder when he shoots at geese with my sbe even with 3 1/2 shells. But had i started him with a hard kicker i don't think he would have stuck with it especially if he wasn't hitting.
The big factor is the load. i don't think there would be a felt diffrence that would be noticable at the shoulder on a 3/4 ounce load if the gun weighs the same on a 12,20,or 28. The 28 is a square load which patterns as long as it is wide. The twelve could be thought of as a flying pancake. Twenty and 16 somewhere inbetween.the 410 long and narrow pattern.
I just.bought my son a beretta extrema 2 with a 26 inch barrel and the kick off recoil reduction system for waterfowl since there is not a lot of shot capacity on a 20. We shoot lots of geese and i would rather have a clean kill with the increased payload of a 3 1/2

DonF · Post by **DonF** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:36 am

I started out my son with a 20ga and light target loads. Got him a Mossberg pump. I suspect you would not be very happy with a 28gr, plain light target loads are something over $11 a box. Field loads were something like $16 to $18 a box. If you could fine one, a Stevens 311 in 20gr would be a good started gun. It's a SxS. Pretty heavy for a 20ga but would be pleasant to shoot. Two shots rather than one but you'll probably find he's ready sooner than you think.

Ryman Gun Dog · Post by **Ryman Gun Dog** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:37 am

Don F,
Got to admit the little Mosberg pump 20 gauge with light shells is a good way to start a boy, the gun even has the thumb safe, I would limit the amount of shells to 2 max however when he is learning. One of the other guns I was alllowed to use as a boy was my Grandfathers light 20 Gauge M12 pump gun, it was special ordered with a thumb safe and until lately, I thought all M12's had thumb safes, which most do not.
RGD/Dave

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