How to Buy Child First Shotgun

Western Shooting Journal ^ | 12/5/2014 | Larry Case

[w1n1]

I hope that you have not forgotten what it was like to be a 10-year-old kid on Christmas morning.
Now add to that you are a kid in a hunting and shooting family. You have been wishing, hoping,
and praying that you will see that new gun under the tree. Can you remember this?
Think of Ralphie in A Christmas Story. A lot of our hunting traditions are going by the wayside;
I hope that this one has not. I think it does a kid good to hope for the present he or she desires
with all their little heart. Hopefully Mom and Dad are on the same wave length, and agree that they
are ready for this firearm, and so that long, slender package will be there on Christmas morn.
This now leaves Dad and/or Mom to make the right choice and buy our little guy or girl the right shotgun.
Read the rest of the fine choices here.

[Resolute Conservative]

Remington 870 in 20 gauge.

[Gaffer]

I’m guessing if I had a mind to give one of my grand daughters a shotgun, it would be some sort of 410.

I’d prefer for them to cut their teeth on a 6” revolver with a 22 starting out ending with a .30 or better caliber myself.

[Pollster1]

Ralphie approves, but no one else in his life does.

[Dr. Thorne]

The writer suggests 20 gauge and says don't get a 410, but never says why.

I disagree. The 410 is a terrific load for a kid. My sister used to successfully hunt deer with one in West Virginia. Good for birds and squirrels as well.

[Lurker]

Can’t go wrong with one of those.

[stranger and pilgrim]

The .410 is the worst of all shotgun options. They do OK for squirrels because you’re shooting at a stationary target generally. For anything flying they’re clearly inferior due to the long shot string inherent in the .410 bore. A MUCH better choice would be 28 gauge. The 28 offers shot delivery comparable to the 20 gauge without the long stringing. Shell cost isn’t much higher than .410 (if at all). The main advantage of the 20 is lower shell cost and greater availability. But for low recoil with great shot performance, the 28 gauge is ideal.

BTW, if you want to see somebody really slam the .410, read Michael McIntosh’s writings.

[no-to-illegals]

yes, Americans are teaching their children ... May the time never come but if does, Hades will receive those foolish enough to be something less than the People! I’ll take any bets!

[Rinnwald]

I agree. My immigrant parents didn’t have a hunting tradition, so I didn’t become a gun nut until adulthood. However, my best friend Billy got a .410 when he was 10. Billy was a child of divorce, and it was a great bonding experience with his estranged father, going hunting and camping. He never complained that it wasn’t enough gun.

[CGASMIA68]

http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Daisy_Red_Ryder_75th_Anniversary_BB_Gun/3415

[Renegade]

MY FIRST WAS A WINCHESTER SINGLE SHOT 16 GA.-FULL CHOKE in 1958.Still have it!

[showme_the_Glory]

The single shot .410 can be a challenge for smaller hands to de-cock.

[CrazyIvan]

There is a Mossberg Plinkster .22 rifle under the tree this year that will be the first safety / marksmanship trainer for all of my grand kids.

[dirtboy]

My first shotgun was a single-shot .410 when I was nine. Within two years I was up to a double-barrel 12 gauge.

[MrB]

My first shotgun was a 12 gauge single shot breach load ithaca. Hurt like a bastid. My brother was one sadistic individual for making me hunt with that gun. Made me a good shot, though.

I would recommend a 20 gauge.

[eartrumpet]

I used a Stevens bolt action 410 until I was 8 and complained that I couldn’t kill ducks. My dad let me use his dad’s 1908 LC Smith double 12 and I still haul it out when I absolutely positively need to hit something flying. I had a permanent bruise on my arm from that long stock until I finally grew into it in high school.

I still use the 410 for snowshoe hares and forest grouse. My wife has a tiny double barrel from South Africa that she loves. My boy has a 12 ga Greener on a Martini action.

To make a 410 a better killer, use 4 or 5 shot. You aren’t going to hit something with a lot of pellets so each pellet better have higher energy and the larger shot gives that.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Franchi AL48 in 28 gauge, both youth and adult stocks available. Light, minimal recoil, and versatile.

I have had good results with my .410’s but I shoot about 10K rounds a year in sporting.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Those Greener GP’s are a hoot. Annoys trapshooters (that doesn’t take much), but if the Zulus attack they’ll be glad I’m there.

[LachlanMinnesota]

If you are going to play with that shotgun, Johnny, take it outside!

Mine was a Remington Model 870 pump 12 gauge and it is still my favorite, after 40 years, it works like butter.

[niteowl77]

Based on my own experiences while hunting and "woods walking" with my friends and neighbors, the .410 was an unforgiving round compared to the 20 gauge. Game would be missed - or would end up needlessly wounded - far more often than when someone had a 20 gauge using light, low-brass loads. Most of those .410s were shunted aside as we got older/larger, ending up languishing in some closet or hanging in a barn or machine shed (as often as not next to an old, half-empty used box of shells for the occasional pot shot or coup de grace.

Most .410s of yore were cheap and light, and didn't kick much in spite of the low weight, and those qualities recommended them more than their ballistic effectiveness. There were a lot of bolt-action .410 shotguns floating around along with the breakopen single-shots, but pump action .410s were few and far between… and were fairly expensive guns that actually belonged to someone's dad or grandfather.

Mr. niteowl77