youth gun

[Fletch]

I have an 11 year old who next summer will be 12. He will be able to small game, pheasant and turkey hunt as well as duck I think. He is small for his size and I am trying to decide what to get him to start with. When I was little we shot guns to big for us due to not many alternatives or spare cash to do otherwise.

 

I like the idea of the Rossi pair guns. They have youth sizes and combos of 22 - 410 and 223 - 20 g. So one gun could hold him till he grows bigger.

 

My questions.

 

Is 410 capable of taking a turkey or for that matter efficient with pheasant? I do not want to bust him up with a 20 if I do not have to.

 

Any opinions on the Rossi? 

 

Or should I just get a single shot 22 and a single shot 20 in youth?

 

Thanks

[jjb4900]

both my kids started out shooting a 20 gauge 870, I bought the full size gun and got a youth stock for it until they grew into the full size stock. I started them with light skeet loads and it was fine..........when it was time for turkey, I just slipped a 3" magnum into it, they never even knew it.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Fletch, physically how big is he?

 

I have shot pheasants and squirrels with my .410 and had them run away. Nice little gun but not much wollup. I love it for cottontails but a single bb will take them down. . JJB hit it right on the head. 20 gauge . have him practice with low bass game loads and in the heat of the hunt he won't even notice the difference.

[MACHINIST]

The youth hunter I used to take out(he is 18 now),his father bought him a Mossberg 500 in 410 and insisted he used it for his first year of turkey.I got a monster tom into 20 yards that he shot in the head and it ran away from the shot.He hit the turkey perfect and we know this because his father was videoing the hunt and we watched it play back.The next day we went out with a friends single shot 20 gauge NEF,and bagged his tom.I say the 410 is way to light.Please get a 20 if turkey is involved.

 

 

PS later the next day when we were packing his bird out we found the remains of a turkey and it was in the direction the tom went afte ther sot.I feel the tom died in some thick brush as it was around 100 yards past were we stopped looking for the bird.

Edited December 5, 2013 by MACHINIST

[phade]

I think Mossberg makes a youth or small frame 500 that can add on pads to accompany growth. Might be a perfect fit.

[MACHINIST]

Yup they do I was looking into one for my little girl who just turned 12 this year.I am going to get her the SA-20 autoloader so it soaks up some more recoil also.She is a tiny little kid(not like her mom or dad!!LOL) The price of the auto from the pump is about 120 dollars difference and I have heard the bantam micros kick pretty good because they are very small

[Bowtoons]

My daughter is 12 and will be turkey hunting in the springs also. I was going to get her a 20 ga. for Christmas but she has no interest shooting anything with a gun. She wants to hunt with her bow and that's it. Works for me.

[Early]

While the .410 is capable of killing both turkeys and pheasants, it can be difficult to find a gun/choke/ammo combination to do so.  A better choice would be to look for a Remington 1100 semi-auto in 20 ga.

[Hock3y24]

Mossberg 500 20 gauge youth is a good gun for the money. Maybe try light loads

[boo711]

I have an 11 year old who next summer will be 12. He will be able to small game, pheasant and turkey hunt as well as duck I think. He is small for his size and I am trying to decide what to get him to start with. When I was little we shot guns to big for us due to not many alternatives or spare cash to do otherwise.

I like the idea of the Rossi pair guns. They have youth sizes and combos of 22 - 410 and 223 - 20 g. So one gun could hold him till he grows bigger.

My questions.

Is 410 capable of taking a turkey or for that matter efficient with pheasant? I do not want to bust him up with a 20 if I do not have to.

Any opinions on the Rossi?

Or should I just get a single shot 22 and a single shot 20 in youth?

Thanks

I started my 11 year old shooting trap this summer. He started with my dads 870 20 ga. By the end the end of summer he was shooting the 20 gauge plus a browning A-5 sweet 16 and 12 gauge. My son isnt big for his age. I actually think he is smaller than his friends from what I see. I would go with a 20 ga. Edited December 6, 2013 by boo711

[Culvercreek hunt club]

While the .410 is capable of killing both turkeys and pheasants, it can be difficult to find a gun/choke/ammo combination to do so.  A better choice would be to look for a Remington 1100 semi-auto in 20 ga.

 

If you can swing the cost I would also vote for an autoloader if recoil was a concern. My only hesitation is what I saw growing up with one cousin that started out with one. He thought process was always "more is better" when hunting. He seem to always throw out more lead than taking careful aim with the first shot. That can de avoided with a bit of instruction, training and practice.

[Early]

Good point:  Just because you have three rounds (or 5), doesn't mean you have to shoot them all.

[MACHINIST]

Very true Culver,If I ge tmy daughter the autoloader I planned on one shot at a tme for teaching here

[Fletch]

Thanks for all the replies. I was pretty sure the 20 was the way to go just wanted some input from someone who has gone the route so to speak.

 

Like I said earlier when I was little we just dealt with the big guns. Pop handed me the double barrel 12 and I asked can I pull both, he says sure. Man I landed on my ass! Never did that again!!

 

Still thinking of single shot just for the purpose of teaching the importance of the first shot. But I will need to check into the 500 that could grow with him. I can always just rule 1 shell in the gun for the beginning.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Fletch

[ants]

20ga. all the way. I think a 410 is a decent little squirrel and rabbit gun but it is way too light for big birds like turkey.

Mossberg 500 youth gun is a good choice. They also make a youth model that comes with pieces that can be added to the stock to adjust the length. I think its the 500 "Bantam."

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I may be wrong but I think the 500 youth model is actually the same gun as the adult version with the modified stock and I think the short barrels. This is good because you can just pick up a full sized stock if he out grows the youth stock. And 500 barrels are pretty easy to come by used at the gun shows.

Just found this. They actually give you a certificate for 50% off a full sized stock when you need it.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Mossberg-Youth-Series-Bantam-and-Super-Bantam-Shotguns/709965.uts

[steve863]

I'm not very big on the single-shot gun idea for youth hunters.  Yes, they should try to learn that the first shot should count, but since they are youngsters, we can't exactly expect them to be perfect.  Having that quick second shot available can mean a successful hunt in comparison to an unsuccessful one.  A lot depends on the time one will spend hunting and the game population of an area, too.  If the hunting time is limited and you hunt an area where you don't exactly see game every time out, having only one shot available can mean a LONG wait for a youngster to bag his first animal.  Waiting until next year is a LONG time for a young person.  Make them wait too long, and they will probably start losing interest.  That's my take on this anyway.

 

 

[Fletch]

Good points for sure.

 

I saw that Cabelas section too with the 50% voucher for the full size stock.

[Jennifer]

I was, and still am, a twiggy thing. When I turned 12 and could hunt, my dad got me a 20ga. 870 youth model which just has a shorter stock and, I think a slightly shorter barrel. As I grew we just put a full sized stock on it. It remains my favorite gun to this day, though I also use a 12ga. during deer season most years.

[shawnhu]

I think it was savage that offers a youth model that can be upgraded free to a full size model(stock exchange). I'm not sure if this applies to shotguns. Perhaps worth looking into. They have the Stevens combos as well.

The .410 is a great little caliber, but I view it more of an adult caliber, with some practice under the belt and knowing when to take a shot and when not to, for the sake of the game animal. I feel it's more of a disciplinary round.

As a youngster, I recall getting hurt all the time, but that never stopped us from having fun. Make it fun, and the 20 gauge won't be an issue.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TeeBugg]

Im thinking of getting my 10 year old the rossi paired. Probably the 20gauge/223. I like the idea of a single shot because it makes it so that first shot counts. Yes a quick second shot is nice but he should learn one shot one kill. JMO. Heck i have an 870 and i still only load one shot in it even if im deer or turkey hunting. Small game i use a single shot 20ga h&r. He may learn on that first before he gets his own. Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Woodjr55]

Im thinking of getting my 10 year old the rossi paired. Probably the 20gauge/223. I like the idea of a single shot because it makes it so that first shot counts. Yes a quick second shot is nice but he should learn one shot one kill. JMO. Heck i have an 870 and i still only load one shot in it even if im deer or turkey hunting. Small game i use a single shot 20ga h&r. He may learn on that first before he gets his own. Good luck with whatever you decide!

my brother has 2 single shot 20 ga one smooth one rifled he shot a deer this year the shots where so close together I thought he used his pistol

[TeeBugg]

my brother has 2 single shot 20 ga one smooth one rifled he shot a deer this year the shots where so close together I thought he used his pistol

I dont doubt it. I can reload the single pretty quickly. Great guns IMO

[Woodjr55]

I dont doubt it. I can reload the single pretty quickly. Great guns IMO

we went pigeon shoot last winter watching my brother shot was quiet impressive

[Elmo]

What's the felt recoil of a 20 gauge?  Does it compare to that of a 308 or 30-06?