Shotgun for a young kid

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kbheiner7

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Utah changed its upland hunting age this year, meaning my 9 year old boy cab hunt birds this year.

He's stick skinny, so he has a problem holding the front end up with a full size gun.

What have you guys started kids on at this age?

I put money down on a youth 870 Express in 3" 20 ga. but I'm not thrilled with the Express. I bought one to use and abuse and didn't last 2 years. I love my Wingmaster, but the Express seems a far cry from its more polished cousin.

I also looked at a Bakail(??) SxS with 22" barrels. That might work well for a kid, but it was a 12 ga and choked C/C. Seemed kinda rough, but a good deal @ $200.

TIA
 
This one, in 28 gauge:

photo_pardner_youth.jpg

Model Pardner® Youth
Ammo 20 Gauge (SB1-250)
28 Gauge (SB1-850)
.410 Bore (SB1-450)
Stock American hardwood, walnut finish, straight grip, recoil pad.
20 and 28 Ga.-recoil pad. .410 bore-butt plate
Barrel 22"
Chamber Up to 3" (20 Gauge, .410 Bore)
2 3/4"(28 Gauge)
Sights Bead front
Choke Modified (20 Gauge, 28 Gauge)
Full (.410 Bore)
Length 36"
Length of Pull 12-1/2"
Drop at Comb 1-1/2"
Drop at Heel 2"
Weight 5-5 1/2" lbs.

Several threads here on the forum list the virtues of starting a youngster off with a single shot shotgun. And the 28 gauge is far and away the most efficient load among those listed for the NEF youth guns.

lpl/nc
 
870 Express youth should work just fine - Mossberg also makes a youth model 20 ga. in their 500 series.

If wanting to spend a bit more than perhaps a Remington 1100 youth in 20ga. ?

Nothing the matter with the NEF single shots either if you want to go that way and perhaps the 28 ga. would be a good choice in that light of a package.
 
Be sure the buttstock fits him and isn't too long...

Otherwise the recoil will twist and rack his spine. If he is leaning backwards to shoot and his backbone is curved the stock is probably too long. Also, if the stock fits he can likely handle a longer barrel. The single shot has an advantage of being lighter. Do not go over 20 ga.
 
Went on a quest for a good fitting 20ga for my son last spring.
Sounds easy right? you would think. He is a bit tall for his age and like me has long arms, belive it or not the youth models just wouldn't agree. He is 15 btw. Settled on a reg 500 feild in 20, good gun - shoots great.
 
Lee - We went through an interesting experiment this weekend. I had picked up a NEF Pardner Youth 12ga and also a couple of Little Skeeter 12-28ga adapters. The adapters worked well and I was able to consistently break clays on a skeet course. The recoil wasn't bad at all.

I did shoot some 1oz 12ga target loads, which were OK, but definitely kicked. And, I shot some 28ga 1oz hunting loads, which were actually downright unpleasant.

However, a friend of mine had some 12ga 3/4oz reloads that he uses for teaching new shooters. We shot quite a few of those, and the felt recoil was considerably less than the 28ga target loads. Everyone who shot them concurred that they felt softer by a wide margin, and they still broke targets just as well.

I've got the recipe, and fortunately already have all the components, so I'm going to load up a few hundred and keep them on hand for when I work with newbies.
 
I BOUGHT MY SON A STOEGER CONDOR OVER UNDER 20GA AT DICKS FOR 299.

SHOOTS GREAT AND IS NICE AND LIGHT IN THE FIELD. YOU COULD CUT DOWN THE STOCK IF NEED BE.

MY OLDER SON HAD A REMINGTON LT20 WHICH HAD A YOUTH STOCK.

BOUGHT A LONGER STOCK ON EBAY WHEN HE NEEDED IT FOR 40 BUCKS.

A LITTLE FRONT HEAVY WITH THE 26 IN BARREL BUT THERE ARE SHORTER
FIELD BARRELS FOR THET GUN WIDELY AVAILABLE. HE ALSO BOUGHT A SLUG BARREL FOR IT AND A SET OF CHAPS AND USES IT FOR DEER. VERY VERSATILE GUN.
 
Baikal is a HEAVY gun. The 870 express is completely adequate for bird hunting--it's what most of my hunting is done with, and provided you don't use bad rounds (i.e. Winchester Super Speeds), or load it with gloves on, you won't have any problems.
 
This one, in 28 gauge:



Model Pardner® Youth
Ammo 20 Gauge (SB1-250)
28 Gauge (SB1-850)
Click to expand...

Best buy and safest for a beginner. He will hit with this as it shoots as easy as a 410.
 
I agree with Lee, et al about the 28 ga NEF Pardner. You can get one NIB for around $100, granted you local FFL/gunshop will have to order you one. But it will hold it's value.

When the kid's a little bigger/older, then it'll time to look into getting him a a 20 ga pump, O/U, SxS or autoloader, just let him find what fits him and what he wants.
 
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