Kid shotgun recommendations

sndmn11

"DADDY"
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
Messages
10,460
Location
Morrison, Colorado
Some of you guys are heck on your kid's with cherishing being cheap over setting them up for success! It's odd to me that I see some of you guys spending thousands on yourself for luxuries that you'd use a handful of days a season, but your "this is best for kids" is based solely on what is cheapest.

I started looking at this for my kid and I think 28ga is a good route in whatever platform fits best and can be adjusted to fit as he gets to be my age.
 

Mtaylor

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 6, 2014
Messages
209
I am in the same situation, my boy is the same age and weight. He’s doing his hunters safety right now. I will get him on a deer this fall and maybe try a turkey. But I have decided to have him wait before he walks around with a shotgun. First of all most of the guns are too big for him to reliably carry and mount when walking. Instead I will give him a BB gun and stop every now and then to shoot sticks ect. My 6 yr old daughter isn’t going to want to be left behind so she will be tagging along too. Just trying to make it fun for them.
 

Muddler

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 5, 2019
Messages
253
Picked one of these up for 8 yr. old nephew. Well under the $1k and comes with the full sized stock to grow into. These G2s seem to be fairly reliable as a couple of guys I hunt with shoot them in 28 gauge.


I bought the same thing for my 8 yr old boy for Christmas this year. Color me impressed, it's a nice little gun.

He hasn't shot it yet. LOP is a touch too long for him, especially with a slip on recoil pad. I'm gonna cut an inch off the back of the stock, epoxy in a piece of steel to add weight and help with balance. Then I can make shims to screw into it as he grows.

I wrestled with the 28 vs 20 myself. Decided the 20 would be a bit more versatile when he's bigger. I got a flat of trainer loads that are pretty mild. They won't open the bolt but I'm ok with him running it as a single shot until he's more proficient.

I like this gun so much, I might end up with a 28 ga for myself.
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2021
Messages
608
Location
Larkspur, CO
I strongly recommend a break action (single or o/u) for kids because any pump or auto adds a bunch of length between the stock and barrel/fore stock making fit very difficult for a small person to use effectively. It also puts the weight of the barrels much further in front of them.

As a kid I got a Montgomery Ward/ Western Field .410 pump action that, because of the length cost of the pump action doesn’t fit anybody below about 6’.
 

Gman12

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 27, 2020
Messages
225
I bought my son a 20 gauge Franchi Affinity youth model. Awesome little gun and performed flawlessly. He killed multiple deer, turkeys and ducks with it before he was big enough to move to a 12 gauge. The best part about this model is that you can buy a full size stock for the gun and use it forever. It has a 24" barrel and it is now my lightweight turkey gun. It weighs about 5 pounds.
 

oake

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 28, 2014
Messages
258
Location
Maryland
I have a couple daughters that I’ve introduced to pheasant hunting and I bought a Franchi Instinct L O/U and they seem to like it

No complaints from dad either they’re learning

Edit: I forgot to add the Franchi is a 20 ga
 
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