Ideal kids' grouse gun

prosper

prosper

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I'm thinking about taking my kiddos out hunting grouse, maybe next season (my older one is just turning 8). Mostly I shoot grouse as targets of opportunity when big game hunting, or just around base camp. A 22 serves me well for this purpose, short range headshots at maybe 25 yards on a ground target; I pack my lil badger around, as its small enough to carry as an 'auxiliary' gun to my big game rifle. I especially don't want to deal with birdshot in edible meat. But with kids there, I think a shotgun might be a more 'intuitive' gun to use, and something that provides a higher success probability even on ground targets. A small bore shotgun choked right down to maybe a 2"-3" pattern at 25 yards, with a follow up shot ready for any nearby grouse that take off or end up in a nearby tree.

I expect that most of my hunting will be along old logging and oil service roads, if you're familiar with Alberta, I'm thinking the Lodgepole area.

With that in mind, I'm wondering what you all use. In my mind, an ideal gun would be:
  • small, lightweight, handy (short-ish barrel(s))
  • low recoil for kids (.410 ok? or 20ga?)
  • tight patterns
  • rifle-style open sights, or maybe an aperture sight (no front-bead-only sights). Or maybe a red dot/reflex/holosight?
  • possibly a combination gun, 22 for the first shot, shotgun for any followup/subsequent shots?
 
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.22 is very tough to shoot birds at ~30 yards unless they are on the road and refuse to move... I grouse hunt a ton in northern BC and would suggest a .410. You will get way more birds and when they scoot off the road into the brush you can still shoot. Nothing gets beginners hooked on hunting faster than success (especially kids). Have fun!
 
My girls first experience hunting squirrels and grouse was with a .410 double badger .22lr over .410. They were deadly with the .410. The progressed through some 20 and 12 gauge action (aguila mini shells are your friend big time), but once they got hands on theirCZ 452/455 scouts with leupold 2-7x33s they lost interest in everything else. As university students now, they still want to shoot their CZ 457 22s.
 
For short barrels, stay away from 410. I had a really hard time landing any ethical shots with a 14inch barrel.
It sounds like you might want an M6 22/20 combo.

Keep in mind if you go too light weight, your kids may not like the extra recoil.

Mossberg makes a Bantam series pump. If you get the vent rib one, you can always add some dead ringers to it.

If you already have a little Badger, you can start training your kids on that. Once they learn it, they will be able to bag a grouse at 25yds no problem.
 
Keep in mind that if you're giving them a double barrel they'll still have a live round in the chamber after pulling the trigger, and the excitement of killing a bird might make them forget about that fact. I like a single shot to get em started for this reason, once they pull that trigger the gun is safe.

And 20ga in a light gun is NOT light recoil for most 8 year olds, unless they make 20ga mini shells?
 
The lightest 12g single shot they can carry... and a few boxes of mini-shell.
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prosper said:
How do they pattern? I don't want to mangle a grouse, ideally, just take the head off while he's snacking on gravel
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My focus would be on killing the grouse to start, and after he bags a few birds you can start concerning yourself with things like lead in the meat. They're certainly not shooting 2-3" patterns at 25yds in my experience, but then again not much is?
 
I think I'd need to know the approx age/size of the kid(s) to make a good suggestion...so you'll get this input instead. haha

If the kid can't manage the size/weight of the gun (no matter what it is) they won't want to shoot or carry it the distances req. here in ON where I did most of my grouse hunting. Here, the youngest someone can hunt (apprentice license) is 12, so when one of my kids was super eager they could call on their 20ga trap shooting experience. Back then, I bought an 870 "youth" 20ga, 21" VR barrel, laminate stock, shorter LOP on the buttstock etc. Kids shot it well, my most eager hunter carried it about 4-5kms before dad took over the job. lol

In 9/10 places I've hunted, you wouldn't get into grouse range with a .22. You're more likely to step on one (thick bush) than to spot one in the distance. And boy do the Ruffed blend in. I couldn't see them @ distance as a young man, and I'm no youngster now. lol

So, if the kids are old enough/strong enough....and considering you have those kinda grouse that might be inclined to just look at you while you line them up...my suggestion would be a Mossberg .410 pump. I'm an 870 guy, but no question which pump is lighter to carry through the woods=Mossberg. I've carried 870 12ga's so long that on my last hunt, I told my buddy; "I'd rather carry this Lakefield/Mossberg 410 and shoot nothing than carry an 870 all day and pop 2". lol Pretty old gun too.

Not a big fan of the Badgers but good for the use as described. A RD on that gun (As pointed out) could be a lot of fun if you have cooperative birds.
 
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