What shotgun to start son with?

[rclark1]

That’s great, I’m sure he will love it.

Still looking and trying to decide what to start him out with. I started with a single barrel 20ga. When I was 10 but like me he will quickly outgrow it. Haven’t ruled out the Montefeltro but not sure if I won’t to spend that much on his first gun.
The 1100 Remington would be a great gun if I could find one.

I bought one last year off of gunbroker.com

[PATRO]

I bought one last year off of gunbroker.com

Good deal. I will look for one there.

[Matt D]

I think the best two options out there are the 1187($550) or the Benelli($1100). Just depends on what you want to spend. Can’t go wrong with either and both will grow with him as he grows. I went with the 1187 for my daughter and if she scratches it and dings it not out much and plan to transposition her to an O/U when she’s a little older and less likely to beat it up. Good luck in your search.

[Chief Paduke]

That’s great, I’m sure he will love it.

Still looking and trying to decide what to start him out with. I started with a single barrel 20ga. When I was 10 but like me he will quickly outgrow it. Haven’t ruled out the Montefeltro but not sure if I won’t to spend that much on his first gun.
The 1100 Remington would be a great gun if I could find one.

http://uplandjournal.ipbhost.com/top...rice-for-kids/

[bass-o-maticjm]

Don't overthink it. At that age, go with the 870 Youth pump. Easy to handle, not going to break the bank, and you won't get pissed when he's dragging it through the brush and scratching the crap out of it. About the time he turns 13, he'll be able to handle and will need a 12 gauge. At that point he's got more experience in the field and will appreciate a new, more expensive gun.

[berudd]

At first, we had a Rossi 20 ga single shot. Don’t do that. It’s kicks like a mule. My kid was tough at that age it it beat the hell out of him.

So, I went with the 870 Express. He shot it all day long and loved it. But, I did not. I rusted way to easily. As in by the time we got home from the field and was a bear to reassemble. A note, I have have an 870 Wingmaster since I was about 12 so I do know how to assemble it but the Express was finicky. And it has some other issues that caused use to trade it on on a Mossberg SA-20. At the time, it was the same gun as Tristar posted above and Weatherby’s 20 ga auto. They were all made in the same Turkish factory then but I think Weatherby has since changed. The Mossberg was excellent. It never failed us in any way over several seasons and lots of clay shooting. It is lighter than the 1100 but still a gas auto so recoil was manageable. At least my son never noticed it. I intended to get the youth version with the short stock and 24” but the handed me the wrong box and I didn't noticed until much later. That turned out to be just perfect. I bought a youth stock from Weatherby (Mossberg didn’t sell them at the time, maybe they do now) and after he grew a bit I put the bigger stock back on. I can not recommend this gun enough for a youth. It recommend the Tristar as well but I don’t like that barrel extension thingy. My buddy got one with the 26” barrel on it for his son and has had no issues.

If your son is small, make sure he can physically handle whatever you get him. If he is not strong enough to hold it properly, it is not only unsafe but he’ll pick up bad habits not to mention not have any fun.

[bigmess]

Both my boys started with a 20ga 870. Didn't take em long to move up to a 12. One still shoots an 870 and the other a Benelli. I started with a Charles Daly 12ga OU...damned near killed me. Moved on to the 870 and shot them for years before I was given a Beretta by my boys. Can't beat an 870 for price and durability for a starter.

[jc1992]

I started out with my dads old 870, and the first shotgun I bought was a mossberg maverick model 88. Spent less that 200 out the door and have used it for everything with zero issues. I have put thousands of rounds through that pump and it’s ready for thousands more. If you can’t find a youth, could also buy a normal size and order a youth stock which isn’t much and keep the full stock for when he has grown into it.

[mean_dean]

If he is smaller sized I'd stick with a 20ga gas gun due to the lighter recoil of gas guns, get a main brand such as Remington or Mossberg so you can find parts. Then I would also get a second composite stock that can be fitted to him. Then when/as he grows you can replace the composite stock for less money and eventually put the original stock back on when he has grown into it.

Getting fitted properly is the main thing, since I had a professional fitter help me properly setup my guns I can shoot hundreds of rounds a day with no issues (ATA trap shooter that can shoot 300 - 500 rounds in one day through my 12ga Caesar Guerini O/U), felt recoil is very minimal. Plus the gun will shoot where you are looking versus where you think it should shoot. It made a huge difference in my trap shooting, before fitting I was breaking clays into pieces versus after fitting where now I create a cloud of dust because the shot is going where I am looking.

[bass-o-maticjm]

Berudd, that's really weird. I own 2 870 Express 12 gauge, one 2-3/4" and one 3-1/2". I've had the "smaller" one for 30 years and the Super Magnum for 15 years now and haven't had any issues what you were describing. I wonder if they use a different process for the youth models or you just happened to get a lemon?