First shotgun for a youngster

It won't be long and we will be investing in a shotgun for my son. He is 10 and a fairly small framed kid. Any suggestions or thoughts from any of you that have been through this process. We are kind of leaning towards the Mossberg 500 platform because of the abundance of options already available. Any insights?

Long ago, I would have suggested a single shot 20ga.

Then I watched one of my daughters let her thumb slip as she was pulling the hammer back and fire the shotgun.

Whatever you get, see that it has a safety switch, and not a hammer under tension to be pulled.


Should be fun for both of you.

Mossberg 500 is a good gun and economical. I suggest 20 gauge, good enough to hunt with or shoot trap and sporting clays with. 20 gauge is also much less expensive than 16 or 28 or 410. Small framed kid would probably appreciate the lighter weight and less kick of a 20 gauge too. Get him a shooting jacket right away too so he is not afraid of the kick.
Tim

be careful cause I have a 20 gauge pump that kicks like a mule! My semi 12 gauge has probably less than half the recoil. A 20 gauge 870 would probably be a good one.

All good advice! Thanks a bunch. Should be a fun experience!

Some years back I went into my LGD to buy a youth shot gun for my son for hunting. The owner gave me advice on something else and why, so I started my son at 9 with a NEF youth muzzle loader, this way I was able to start off small with the grain load for my son.

started off with 50grns, let him get accurate with that and worked him up to 70grns, he did good. Killed his first doe that year with it!

Great advice from my LGD! Of course now 5 years later he handles a 12 gauge When needed.

Get a 20 gauge semi-auto like the Remington 1100 or 1187. My brother has the 1187 20 ga upland special it has a 21" barrel he put a youth butt-stock on it for my nephew.

Youth Model 870 20GA. My brother has had his for almost 20 years now. Killed his first deer with it as a kid and still takes it rabbit hunting today....even killed a spring gobbler with it this year for fun.

X2 on the mossberg 500 in 20ga with a butt pad

Loggerhead Mike said:

X2 on the mossberg 500 in 20ga with a butt pad

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x3. If he can't handle it, he may still be too young for a shot gun.

Well we settled on a Remington 870 20ga youth. He tried mossbergs, benelli's etc and the Remington just fit. Thanks for all the replies. All good advice! =D>

The H&R pardner 20 ga pump in you is a good gun my 11yr old son handles it well. It might be a little heavier but that helps kill the kick . He has handled multiple heavy turkey loads and duck loads in it . He broke 17 out of 25 clays with it his first time shooting them .

ohhhh wellll...
was gonna putt in a plugg for the rem LT 1100 20ga....
softest shooting shotgun in the world.
totally love mine...
peabody

RiverBottomOutdoors said:

Youth Model 870 20GA. My brother has had his for almost 20 years now. Killed his first deer with it as a kid and still takes it rabbit hunting today....even killed a spring gobbler with it this year for fun.

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thats what i was given as a kid. still have it too. loved that gun. it has a pistol grip now though

You can purchase the adult size stock for that youth model 870 and he can continue to enjoy it as he grows older and bigger. Although the adult stock is not necessary. A friend of mine loves to take his squirrel hunting because it's so short and light.

i start with a single shot 20 ga. from what i have seen the newer ones that have a hammer on them have a safety built into the hammer where if the hammer isnt completely cocked it will not fire. depending on the regulations where you hunt they also have a combo kit, its single shot frame that comes with 3 barrels, 20ga, .22lr and .243. i also feel that starting with a single shot you learn how important it is to make the first shot count.