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Youth Shot Gun

S

Stump

Ass Regulator
192
75
Hooterville, Ohio
Looking to get my grandson a shot gun. Looking at the Remington 870 Express compact Jr as well as the Mossburg Super Bantam. The Mossburg has a combo field/deer and I'm sure I can get a slug barrel for the Remington.
Any one have either of these? Pros, Cons?
 
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I’d buy used and try and find something older. Seems the makers don’t make them like they used to. A lot of cycle problems with both those models in the newer ones. Not wanting to deal with that at all, I decided to spend the extra coin and go with the 11-87. No problems yet, hasn’t seen much service though either.
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I started with a Youth Mossberg 500 myself. For youngins, the safety design is awesome. Push it forward to send it. Pull it back for safe, no need to keep looking for the red circle or any of that.
Spent a whole lot of time in the woods with that gun. When I moved up to using my dad's 12 gauge it was eventually lent to my older sister who used it quite a bit as well. This last turkey season I used the same model gun to take both my turkeys, was a friend's gun but same youth model 500. 35 yard shots on a stock set up.
My go to shotgun as an adult is my 870.
 
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How old is your grandson? IMO a pump shotgun is not a great gun to start a kid out with. They kick too damn much and the kid can form bad habits or become intimidated by it. Do him a favor and buy a gas driven semi-auto. 11-87 with a youth stock is an excellent shotgun for a youngin. Remington slug barrels are also very affordable.
 
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Mason started off with the Mossburg bantam. It's a satisfactory gun. He killed a lot of critters with it but never a deer. For deer hunting when he was a little fella, loaded up a muzzle loader a little lighter than normal for him. He was able to shoot it more accurately than he could the shotgun. Turkeys, squirrels, rabbits and doves suffered under that little shotgun.
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jagermeister said:
How old is your grandson? IMO a pump shotgun is not a great gun to start a kid out with. They kick too damn much and the kid can form bad habits or become intimidated by it. Do him a favor and buy a gas driven semi-auto. 11-87 with a youth stock is an excellent shotgun for a youngin. Remington slug barrels are also very affordable.
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He's a 3rd grader going to be 9 soon. Pretty big kid for his age, but he's still a kid.
 
brock ratcliff said:
Mason started off with the Mossburg bantam. It's a satisfactory gun. He killed a lot of critters with it but never a deer. For deer hunting when he was a little fella, loaded up a muzzle loader a little lighter than normal for him. He was able to shoot it more accurately than he could the shotgun. Turkeys, squirrels, rabbits and doves suffered under that little shotgun.View attachment 63419
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Haha, that made me laugh. Probably kick your butt if he knows you posted that pic. 😂
 
Guess it depends on how multi purpose you want it to be. If strictly for deer hunting, I'd second the Savage 220. My son used it last year. He was 13 but 90-95lbs. Forgiving enough recoil for him to use. He was never the biggest kid in his grade. We tried lightened loads on a muzzle loader which worked, but it was a bit of a pain. Me and muzzle loaders seem to mix like oil and water. If you want to squirrel, rabbit, small game hunt as well then I would say the 870 youth would be my choice. Not had good luck with Mossturds but admit that is sort of a Ford/Chevy/Dodge debate. 870 vs 500 is a debate which may never end. Personal preference.
 
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When I got my 20 gauge pump I was 4' 7" and 74 pounds. Was one of the smaller kids in my class. No issue with recoil, don't forget if recoil does happen to become an issue you can get absorbers which are pretty nice. I'd choose that over giving a new hunter an auto loader.
 
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He's a fair size kid at 85#, not Mason size but big for his age. I was really wanting something we could put a slug barrel on and still have a small game gun as well. I'd agree with holding off on the auto loader for a first gun. My personal preference is a Remington over a Mossburg but trying to stay open minded.
 
I don't think you will have an upset kid either way you go. Both are good guns and will last a lifetime. My 870 is my go to deer gun, I still use a smooth bore barrel and send XX ounces out of it.
 
What’s so scary about an auto loader? Take no offense, but if I didn’t trust my kid with one, I wouldn’t trust them with any gun. They shoot softer and I’d rather them concentrate on the target then working the action. If I was worried about them wasting shots, they’d have a single shot or one shell in the gun at a time. Not sure what the thought process here is, do share.
 
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giles said:
What’s so scary about an auto loader? Take no offense, but if I didn’t trust my kid with one, I wouldn’t trust them with any gun. They shoot softer and I’d rather them concentrate on the target then working the action. If I was worried about them wasting shots, they’d have a single shot or one shell in the gun at a time. Not sure what the thought process here is, do share.
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I guess I'm not really scared and it's not a matter of trust. To be honest I started with a pump so that's the way I was leaning. Can't disagree with using 1 shell at a time if you're trying to concentrate on the shot at hand, pump or auto loader. I appreciate the conversation, I take no offense, I'm conservative and can accept differing opinions with out peeing on myself :eek:
 
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First and foremost an auto-loader is going to be a completely different price point unless your going el cheapo unreliable. Putting that in a kids hands for a first gun, she's gonna get abused. So personally I wouldn't do that myself.
Onto the safety aspect, if I were to give any new hunter/shooter an auto-loader or even a pump. It's prolly smartest to start with only one round in it just to limit risk. No matter how much time spent talking about safety and range time, there's really nothing to get them ready for the adrenaline rush to come. And that's when you're going to have an accident. Once they learn how to deal with the adrenaline rush and still keep safety on their mind as #1 focus. Load er up.
 
Chass said:
First and foremost an auto-loader is going to be a completely different price point unless your going el cheapo unreliable. Putting that in a kids hands for a first gun, she's gonna get abused. So personally I wouldn't do that myself.
Onto the safety aspect, if I were to give any new hunter/shooter an auto-loader or even a pump. It's prolly smartest to start with only one round in it just to limit risk. No matter how much time spent talking about safety and range time, there's really nothing to get them ready for the adrenaline rush to come. And that's when you're going to have an accident. Once they learn how to deal with the adrenaline rush and still keep safety on their mind as #1 focus. Load er up.
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I’m gonna agree to disagree with you on this and not side track this thread.
 
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Thanks for the comments. I'm still figger'n it out at this point. Not gonna break the bank and I wanna get a slug barrel as well as the field barrel. I kinda want to go with a camo finish as well just cause he'll think it looks cool...hell I think it looks cool ;)
 
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Sounds like I'm alone here, but I have two sons that are now 16 and 18 and neither owned their own youth gun. During bird/rabbit season they used a 20 gauge 1100 semi and a 20 gauge pump or single shot. They used those from the time they could go with me (around 9 or 10) until now. Knowing they shot smooth I never had to worry about scaring them with something lighter that may kick too bad.
For deer, they always used a muzzy because they shoot so smooth with zero kick. By the age of 12, they also used a 12 gauge 1100 for deer.

If you have a gun that your grandson can handle well enough, I'd let him use that and someday pass it down to him. Just my opinion. If he shows enough interest that he will actually walk around alot hunting bunnies or birds, then maybe I'd get him something he can call his own that is lighter to carry.

Nothing will drive more crazy than if you buy him a gun and then he never wants to get out and use it. Have you tested the waters with him yet?
 
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