youth shotguns

[bowness]

Need some advice. Looking for a shotgun for my son and his future shooting. I would like the gun to be good for upland and waterfowl. Preferably with some low recoil technology. Not sure to look at double barrel or semi auto.

Will be hunting pheasant so .410 is not an option.

My present thoughts are 20 gauge 2 3/4 and 3 " with one of those stocks that you can extend as the youth grows. Anybody have thoughts???

[uplander]

Go for a semi auto because a 3inch pheasant load in an over and under 20gauge will still have enough kick to make it uncomfortable for a young guy. The Remington 1187s are really good barely any recoil and can take 3inch shells Wich I find is useful. and they have a youth model.

[Jamie]

Bowness
I bought willy a rem 20G youth. (pump)
Great little gun, but tough to find.
No issues with recoil and still only one shot at a time.
How old is your kid?
Jamie

[nemo]

870 youth in 20 excellent both of my sons shoot them since they were 65#s never compained ever. 2.75 or 3".

[bowness]

Thanks for all the replies guys. My son is only 7 but my dad is getting an itchy finger to buy him one. Loves to see his grandson out with us, three generations chasing ringnecks!

[ducky_hunter]

the youth mossberg is to light and kicks hard for smaller kid

[huntin]

Originally Posted by ducky_hunter

the youth mossberg is to light and kicks hard for smaller kid

kicks hard as my nova with 3.5mag bbb. They suck

[Thunder Elk Hunter]

Have a rem 870 youth 20 gauge and my son is sheet shooting with it. He is looking forward to his first duck and goose season this year. He handles it very well and he is not a big kid for his age.

I would go with a 410 with your son's age, you don't want him to be gun shy from the recoil.

just my 2 cents

Thunder.

[Bluegrass]

If you want to teach him to be a man make it a high recoil, don't raise a liberal!

[PJT]

browning has a program where you buy a youth shotgun and get a free stock upgrade within 5 years

http://www.browning.com/products/pro...etail.asp?Id=5

[catnthehat]

Has he shot anything before?
I would suggest getting him behind several different guns tom try and find out what works.
I never shot a semi much at all until I was in my 20's, and my son never has - he started with an 870 when he was 12.
That being said, a semi does recoil less than a pump or O/U in the the same weight , and shooting the same ammo if the gun fits.
You can get youth model guns with shorter stocks and add to the length or get a longer stock as the boy grows.

Cat

[AndersonSkiTeam]

I bought my son an rem 870 youth in 20ga. Nice little gun and he can shoot it well. He liked my 12ga semi auto for no kick but it was just to heavy for him to shoulder and aim.

[aulrich]

For myself and my kids I prefered archery to guns when they were small. A couple of gopher/plinking trips sub 10. 10 + was where it was the tipping point where it more and more enjoyable. But I did haul them along and I did try before that with varring success.

I don't think I have gone out gopher or coyote shooting for almost 8 years without at least one kid, I have not deer hunted alone since my oldest turned twelve. I PO one of my shooting partners with the practice, the only advantage to brining him out is someone to split gas with, the boys are better company.

My rule of thumb if the kid can't load and unload the gun themselfs, after instruction and under supervision they are too young. that's why I liked a bow, they are easy to scale to a kids ability.

I can understand the itch to get them going though, haul them along every chance you get. Before you know it they will need bigger boots than you.

[KegRiver]

So nether of these would do ?



I would think it would depend somewhat on the youths experience and body mass.

For a young person unfamiliar with guns I would opt for a 410 or a 28 or 20 gauge single shot. I know you indicated that a 410 is not something you would consider. If you are talking about a older, larger youth, I would agree.
For a smaller lighter person I would disagree.
A 410 is as capable of taking Grouse as any other shotgun. They all have the same range and penetration potential. The only real difference is in the amount of lead each calibre sends downrange.

However, larger volumes of pellets do offer an advantage so if the youth is capable of handling the larger bore shotguns, a larger bore would make sense.

My opinion is that a 16 year old who weighs over 150 lbs is probably quiet capable of handling a 12 gauge.
For a 90lb youth I would recommend nothing bigger then a 20 gauge. And for a 60 lb youth, nothing bigger then a 410.

That's not based on any rule or principal. It's simply the way I do things.
In other words, you know your child better then I do, you can decide whats best far better then I can.