Mossberg Super Bantam 20ga

[Badger Arms]

I've already bought it, I just wanted to see if anybody else had experience with this gun. Was in the Sportsman's Warehouse looking for a good 20ga HD gun for my children to train with. I asked the salesman and he handed me a Mossberg Super Bantam 20ga. Skeptical, I handled the gun. It has a 22" barrel, vent rib with mid-barrel bead, interchangeable choke, extended fore-end so small shooters can reach it better, and... best of all... it's got an adjustable length of pull. It can be 1" or 2" shorter than the standard 14" length of pull for Mossberg shotguns. In addition, it has a choke tube wrench and sling swivels.

Sure, it sounds like an ad for Mossberg, but this is the first retail firearm I've bought in around 12 years. It has everything I need. Now for the questions:

What should I feed it? I'm in Alaska and it's hard to get some loads. I cannot, for the life of me, locate a light load for the 20ga. I guess some consider that, hey, it's a 20ga -- it's already light! But I want my kids to be as comfortable as possible with it.

Why don't more manufacturers produce guns targeted at growing kids? I'd love to see a Ruger 10/22 with an adjustable length-of-pull stock. I'm considering the Evolution stock with a CAR-15 buttstock.

This is basically what I've got in all blue/black. Model #54210

 

[scout26]

Badger,

I've been looking aroudn here for one of those (Put it in the back of the gun safe until my 4yo son is a little bigger/older). Whadda pay for it ???

As far as light ammo, goes you won't really find any "light" loads off the shelf. IIRC, I thought I once saw AA "light" target loads in 20ga. Remington has a Premier STS Low recoil load for 20ga. But most off-the shelf Target stuff is not too hard kicking.

My daughter shoots the "old" bantam 500 in 20 ga and I/she loads her own. There are some really soft loads out there using Alliant's Unique powder and Hodgdon even has some recipes for "Youth" loads using International. A new Lee Load-All is about $30 or less (I got my daughter's, for $15, NIB, at a Gunshow). 1 lb of Powder, 1000 wads, 1000 Primers and 25lbs of Shot will run roughly $75. You can either start off with a flat of your own hulls or scrounge around the range and get the freebie's off the ground. YMMV...

 

[Dave McCracken]

Good gun. The Mossies are a bit more kid-friendly with the 'justable stock and longer forearm.

20 gauge loads with less kick than the usual 7/8 oz 2 3/4" loads can be hard to find. Fiocchi makes one, but it's not widely available unless through mail order from B/S, etc.

I suggest reloading your own light loads. That Lee setup is cost effective and one can roll out some 3/4 oz creampuffs that bust birds nicely.

 

[sjamman]

What is the weight of the super bantam in synthetic? I can't get a reply from Mossberg & haven't run across anything on their web site.
Thanks,
Scott

 

[sjamman]

After about a week, finally got an answer from Mossberg on the weight. FYI for anyone else, they list the synthetic at 5-1/4 lbs.