20 Ga. or 410?

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My 10 year old son want's to go and shoot shotguns with me. I'd like to get him his own since I'm not going to make the same mistake with him as I once did with my wife and let her shoot one of the 12 Gauges, 3" and have it knock her on her ass. He already likes shooting the .22 rifles and the handgun at the range.

I doubt right now my boy wants to hunt anything and I have to admit I have no experience with either a 20 Ga. or 410.

Cabella's has both Remington's and Mossberg's in reduced size shottys which would be the perfect size for him. I do like the Mossberg's adjustable stock and I own a Mossberg already, but I hear that the Rem. 870 is a superior gun. It's also more money, especially for a gun he'll eventually grow out of.

Any recommendations.
 
.410 will be difficult to make hits with for a beginner due to its light shot charge. 20 gauge is a much better choice.
 
My personal experience is that, for hunting, there is no comparison between a .410 and a 20 guage in terms of killing power.

You're right that the 870 is probably the better gun.

The other thing you need to consider is ammunition prices. In my experience .410 is actually the most expensive shotgun to shoot as it seems nobody makes cheap .410 shells. Cheap 20 guage is not at all easy to come by either. In terms of price, a 12 guage is actually the cheapest thing to shoot.

Have you considered actually getting a 12 guage 870 and shooting lightest loaded 2 3/4 shells in it? While the gun is heavier than a .410 (may be a handling issue for a 10 year old), you'd be surprised how comparable the felt recoil would be between light 12 guage loads (in a heavier gun), and full power .410 loads (in a lighter gun).
 
20ga has a much better pattern as the shotstring is not near as long. Its half the price in factory shells. Also if he does want to hunt he can do more ten just tickle the critters. I love muy 410s I have 3 a sxs a o/u and a combo 22lr over 410 all great guns for youth but the 20 is the better choice. Personaly I'd go with the mossy over them remmy anyday.
 
tjhaile said:
.410 will be difficult to make hits with for a beginner due to its light shot charge. 20 gauge is a much better choice.
Click to expand...

It's hard to hit with a .410, with a 20 ga, there are a few more pellets there. And if he moves up to hunting with it, there's nothing wrong with a 20 ga! I have shot hundreds of geese ducks with one.

I see Cabelas has a 870 youth model listed, with an adjustable stock.
 
20 gauge for sure. Plenty of power and enough pellets to get the job done. Its available in a smaller, lighter package than a 12. Adequate for turkey, deer, geese over decoys.

There is an 870 youth for sale on the EE for not too bad a price. I was thinking about picking it up for the short barrel and then selling the receiver/stock. I never got around to checking if it was built on the 20ga receiver or not, you may want to look into it.


http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=513208


You can always pick up a longer barrel and stockset down the road once he grows out of it.
 
I had purchased the .410 Mossberg Youth model for my 10yr old and eventually sold it. The gun is compact and light but I found it to be very cheaply built with a sticky pump action which made any follow up shot difficult for the boy. Shooting trap with the .410 proved very hard also although he did manage to smash a couple. I just bought him the Remington 20ga Youth but he doesn't know it yet (his birthday is tomorrow) but I can tell you it is a far superior Shotgun for a small price difference. Smoother action and a better overall youth shotgun which also has the stock inserts to adjust LOP as he grows. Not a big surprise the Remington is of better quality I just had to see it for myself.
 
Northman999 said:
Have you considered actually getting a 12 guage 870 and shooting lightest loaded 2 3/4 shells in it? While the gun is heavier than a .410 (may be a handling issue for a 10 year old), you'd be surprised how comparable the felt recoil would be between light 12 guage loads (in a heavier gun), and full power .410 loads (in a lighter gun).
Click to expand...

This +1
 
Thanks! I appreciate all the advice so far.

I sort of suspected that 410 would be a more costly round than 20 Ga., just as I suspected 20 Ga. would be more than 12 Ga. due to the sheer volume of 12 Ga. being produced and consumed.

I want to stick with a lighter gauge shotgun verses a low power 12 Ga. mostly since the youth guns themselves are smaller.

20 Ga. sounds like the way to go and now to decide on which gun. I personally haven't had any issues with my low end Mossberg but the Remington is probably a better gun. I guess I'll have to go look at them myself in person.
 
If this helps, I bought our 12yr old a single shot 410 (that's what he wanted) for Christmas and he already wants a 20ga. Funny thing is I argued up and down that a 20 would be more suitable and that he would grow out of the 410 quickly, but he was equally determined that a 410 was what he wanted. I guess Dad was right this time.
 
I got my 11 y/o daughter a youth 20g to start; it still had quite a bit of recoil though and the light weight of the youth size stock, etc. accentuates it. Were I doing it today, I would seriously look at a 12g with a cut down or youth stock and use lightly loaded shells. Best of both worlds--lighter recoil to practice with but could be used very effectively for hunting (heavier loads) and will grow with the child. Just my .02...
 
20g
1. As mentioned the cost of shells
2. You can buy "Reduced Loads" in 20g till your young fella gets used to it. Used to buy the 100 pack for the neighbors son. Don't remember the $$, but it seemed normal

Clint
 
Ten year old son would appreciate a single shot .410.
My daughter shoots one and doesn't complain.
She mentions the 2 1/2" shells are nicer to shoot. Less recoil than the 3" mags.
I would suggest a $100 break open single.
Easy to crack it open and look down the barrel, you know, mud, snow, etc.
Don't know how long your kid's legs are.
Every time my kid breaks hers open, I make her look down the barrel before putting a
shell in there.
If you're just shooting grouse on the ground, .410 is plenty.
Most of us got a 22 to start with, .410 would be the logical next step.
They always seem to hold their $100 bucks worth.
Start light and move up.
Shells are worth a bit more, how many can you shoot in a hunting season not including
clays?
 
A 20 ga is more versatile and he will keep it even as an adult. This is my grouse gun, a double 20 ga. As an adult, he will find practical to be able to have some slugs in the pocket as a bear/anything stoppers. For me, a 12 ga is too powerful for grouse and 410 is not versatile. A double would be nice for him but more costly in general unless you find one used.
My 2 cents...
 
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