Kid shotgun recommendations

[sndmn11]

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]

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]

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.

Viper G2 Compact - TriStar Arms

3” gas operated, semi-automatic shotgun that allows you to shoot light target loads to heavy waterfowl loads interchangeably.

www.tristararms.com

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.

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

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]

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]

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

 

[G7777777]

Remington youth 1100 20 gauge

Do not get a 410