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jmr40 · January 7, 2012, 03:46 PM

The gun she has is about perfect, just select the lightest loads, and make sure the stock fits her. When my son was 10 I set out to find a good begnner gun for him. I considered 20 ga, but a pump or single shot in that would kick too much. I started looking at 20 ga gas autos, and that would have been a good choice.

But I stumbled on to a steal on a 24" 9200 in 12 ga. The forend was split and I got it for next to nothing. Called Mossberg and they shipped me a new forend at no cost, had a gunsmith shorten the stock to fit my son and started him out on the lightest recoiling loads I could find. As he got older he moved on up to some heavier loads.

The only real option that would have had less recoil would have been a 20 ga 1100, but not by much. The 12 ended up being a great choice because he got good patterns and was able to be succssful quickly. Much better than a 410, and probably a bit better than a 20.

January 7, 2012, 03:46 PM	#13
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,809	The gun she has is about perfect, just select the lightest loads, and make sure the stock fits her. When my son was 10 I set out to find a good begnner gun for him. I considered 20 ga, but a pump or single shot in that would kick too much. I started looking at 20 ga gas autos, and that would have been a good choice. But I stumbled on to a steal on a 24" 9200 in 12 ga. The forend was split and I got it for next to nothing. Called Mossberg and they shipped me a new forend at no cost, had a gunsmith shorten the stock to fit my son and started him out on the lightest recoiling loads I could find. As he got older he moved on up to some heavier loads. The only real option that would have had less recoil would have been a 20 ga 1100, but not by much. The 12 ended up being a great choice because he got good patterns and was able to be succssful quickly. Much better than a 410, and probably a bit better than a 20.