best youth shotgun

[kutoja]

I have a 9 yr old son who just loves to shoot. Hes shot tons of praire dogs and rabbits. I want to start him into shotgunning. We borrowed several guns to shoot. He shot the youth berretta pump 20g, the rem 870 youth 20g with decelerator pad, a browing gold 20g. auto and finally a single 410. Of the 20 gauges he liked the rem. 870 best and even hit a couple of clays with it. He shot the 410 last but deffinately liked it best because of recoil. He wants to start with the 410 and work into the 20g.

2 questions: Is the 410 good for anything but practice and small birds, or can it actually handle a pheasant? Looking at youth 20gs i ve narrowed it to 3 guns the rem 870, the rem 1187, and the franchi 48 al.

By the way he would mostly hunt pheasants, huns and grouse and shoot traps.
Thanks all !

[mtnboomer]

.410 shotguns are not for birds or practice - they are for highly-skilled clay target shooters. They are the worst type of shotgun for a beginner as they are VERY hard to hit with due to their small payloads.

Start him with a gas-operated semi-auto 20-gauge in a youth/ladies configuration. You can always add a standard length stock as he grows.

Many upland birds are hard to bring down, much less hit, so the larger number of shot in the payload of a 20-gauge will make worlds of difference in his ability to hit his target and, ultimately, his confidence level.

[sm]

Nine years old.

Not sure of his stature, weight, stamina ...etc.

I am a huge believer in the 28 ga for new shooters.
Especially our younger folks.

The payload to bore, less felt recoil, will allow more practice of correct basic fundamentals, he will hit with as much authority as a 20ga, and exponentially better than with a .410.

He will have an "adult gun" - not the "puny .410 kids gun". After a few 'oohs' and 'aah's" about the 28 ga - his esteem will be so high.

Yes I know these are more expensive to feed. One cannot put a price on our youth learning to shoot , correctly, safely, and staying interested.

Get a reloader, make this even more of a quality time.

1100 28 ga are so soft to shoot. I would be worth having to buy an extra stock and getting one to fit him, saving one for him to grow into.

870 28 ga guns - be great if he could learn to shoot a pump.

Never had a problem with a single shot 28 ga H&R/ NEF either, these you can get an extra bbl for say a .22 lr as well.

Going to depend on his size, strength and the "finance committee" I realize.

Still for a repeater, 1100, or 870 be my suggetion.

[kutoja]

thanks for the input. i shoot a berretta 390 and was leaning towards an auto 20 for him also. The 11-87 goes for 463.00 at my local impact arms. I intially liked the franchi but found out it has an older browning recoiling system where the barrel moves back during recoil. anyone shot one? any problems. I am leaning towards the youth 11-87.

[Shane916]

They have several 20 ga Remington 870 youth shotguns on sale. About 3/4th of the way down the page. Hope this helps.

[kutoja]

my son is avg height and weighs 65 lbs. loves to shoot. has shot thousands of 22 rounds. seems to be falling right into shotgunning. the 28g might be the perfect in between gun.

thanks for reply and threads all.

[phatspeed7x]

Depending on what the gun is going to be used for... I would recommend a 20GA pump or semi auto. They can be used for almost anything from hunting birds, to powdering clays. Plus the 20GA shells cost alot less than any .410 round.

My first shotgun didn't come to me until late in my childhood (well early adulthood I guess you could call it). It's a single shot NEF pardner 12GA. Great for single trap, and pest control. I have also owned a couple of pump action 12GA shotguns too, but wheeled, and dealed them. I'm saving up some money for another pump action (Remington 870, or Winchester 1300).

[sm]

I'm just...
...well I am just one that really believes in our youth being attracted to responsible firearm ownership and use.

I just hate to think a new shooter got turned off at a young age, misses out, and who knows how in the future they will feel about firearms and freedoms.

There is that quality time with family, memories and all that sentimental stuff too.

See the guy that sired me, never did any of this with me. Twice, only twice did we ever go out into the woods together - and that was because 1) the other men invited me, 2) shamed into doing so.

I was hell bent in learning stuff, and I bugged the fire out of other men to teach me.

I started many kids with 28 ga single shots. I bought these for this specific purpose. I was going to pass forward as my mentors and elders had passed onto me. I was determined to be there for kids with no dads, or male role model of their own.

A kid has rights too. A kid is a human being, just not as tall as some, or weigh as much as others.

Huge suggestions I cannot stress enough -

-Get a reloader so loads can be made up to fit the shooter. I have loaded really super mild loads with popcorn kernals for shot so 4 year old could shoot ,
I Have started many a lady with the same to get over concerns and fears of the shotgun, the noise, and total experience.
The abilty to tailor loads is very important. Additonal benefits are the quality times and learning more about responsible firearm ownership.

-Pachmyer Decellarator. Gun fit to shooter I will never stop harping about, this recoil pad is part of that total gun fit to shooter package.

-Double up on hearing protection - lessens felt recoil.

-Keep it fun, and stop before they get tired.

I have tossed out moon pies with a thrower, and if they hit it, they got the rest of the box...don't tell me a 7 y/o will not use safety, proper form and nail that pie with a 28 ga shotgun. Seen this happen w-a-y too many times with boys/ girls of all ages, and who knows how many pies I have bought.

-I would get the kids started doing 5 proper mounting gun to face each day , and work up to dry firing with adult supervision of course. Ingrains basics, builds up stamina.

Now here is what happens [ confirms I am getting old - and I am only 50] The kid starts with a 28 ga. Transitions to a 20ga. This allows slugs for deer.
He never forgets the 28 ga, he passes / loans the one he learned on to younger sib, cousin, nephew, or their own kid.

They usually end up 1) very sentimentally attached to that first 28ga reapeater, 2) use 28 ga to teach with as well, 3) buy more 28 ga for themselves. 4) that 28 ga reloader is very special to them as well.

I really wish Winchester would bring back the 1300 in 28ga, to give us another choice in repeaters.

Beretta should come up with a youth model / youth priced alternative as well.


Me sentimental, and old fashioned? No...not me.

[hIPSHOT33]

I think the best way to go is a 20 gage . the 410 is a hard gun to hit with because of the small shot colum ,it will take any bird any of the others will but its hard to shot well . you might try barrowing a 20 gage semi auto and let him try that ,a lot of the recoil is taken up by the action., My grandson is 11 and likes to shoot my 12 ga 1187.

[Star54]

sm is 100% correct about the 28 ga.....let me say this again...SM IS 100% CORRECT ABOUT THE 28 GA!

Your son has already chosen the .410 due to recoil, the 28 ga. will have much less recoil than the 20 yet shoot almost as well as far as patterns go.

Get a loader! You will save anywhere from $2 to $4 a box and, MOST IMPORTANT, you will get the quality time with your son that sm mentioned.

I prefer pumps to autos for new shooters, it's too easy for a new shooter to get carried away pulling the trigger (taking too many shots,etc), especially in a hunting situation.

Star54