Turkey gun for Son (8)

[Fadetoblack188]

looking to get my son a turkey shotgun for christmas, hes 8 and will be his first year turkey hunting.. I am looking at the stevens 301 or the rossi tuffy both in 410. anyone have experience with these?

what i am reading is the rossi is nice because you can adjust stock, but feels cheap.

steven quality feels better but the stock is to long for kids. So i would most likely have to cut the stock down, not a deal breaker for me.

thoughts?

 

[dtrkyman]

If you are not stuck on single shot check out the Mossberg 500 Bantam, adjustable stock and maybe a better bird gun when he's ready to do some wing shooting.

 

[Fatcamp]

Rossi works well but our 20ga kicks like a mule.

 

[huntineveryday]

I got a winchester sxp longbeard last year in 20 gauge. It's a cheap Turkish pump, but for a turkey gun it comes with a lot of features for the $. Pistol grip stock with spacers to adjust length of pull and comb height, drilled and tapped for sight mounts, chrome lined barrel, turkey choke. My 7 year old, my 11 year old, and myself all shot toms with it last season. I did mount a vortex venom on it with a Sumtoy base. (Those sights are $100 off at Cabelas again right now for black Friday sales)

The price and weight of the stevens in .410 is appealing, but I opted for the extra pellets of a 20 gauge to get a little more forgiveness. The recoil hasn't bothered any of my kids yet, but I usually have them practice with trap loads, then only load heavier loads when hunting.

 

[Fadetoblack188]

I use a 20g tss for my self and it kicks like a mule, not sure my 8 year old is ready for that

 

[Fatcamp]

I use a 20g tss for my self and it kicks like a mule, not sure my 8 year old is ready for that

I'm not sure I am. Even with light target loads that Rossi is a beast.

Sure is nice to carry, though.

 

[Agross]

My son used a single shot Rossi the last few years. Got it used but basically new for dirt cheap. The size was great for him This year I bumped him up to a youth 20 that was my first gun when I was a kid. He’s 11 now

 

[Jbxl20]

My 8 year old has little shooting experience and has no problem shooting his Rossi tuffy in .410. I put a cheap red dot on it for him and he asks frequently to shoot it. The 3” tss does kick pretty good for a kid tho.

 

[camelcluch]

The two you are looking at are good. I use the TriStar Viper G2. With my kids. The gas gun helps a bit with the kick. The gun and Bushnell Tr25 sight cost less than $500 and is a turkey slayer with TSS. Good luck

 

[fishdart]

I bought the Rossi Tuffy turkey model for my son (10). I mounted a Primary Arms red dot and removed the stock spacers for him. It's extremely light so with Boss Tom TSS it has a pretty good lick. To that end, I had him practice with standard game loads, except when he shot at his turkey. The adrenaline covered for a lot of the extra oomph.

I took 2 toms with it as well this spring. It's a joy to carry vs. my 12 ga.

 

[Irish Miner]

The Stevens 301 would be a perfect choice in my opinion. No need to cut down the stock unless your son is super small. Great gun for an 8 year old or 52 year old.

 

[TNsavageman]

We have the 301 and it does everything it needs to. My seven year old daughter killed her first turkey with it last spring and my wife killed her first with it as well. I’ve carried it some and one of my hunting partners uses one exclusively as his turkey gun. It will kill them with authority to 40 yards with the shells available today. We put a Burris fastfire on ours.

 

[camelcluch]

He is a small 6 year old here. Viper G2 with #9 TSS. I don’t have one but the Bog Pod Death Grip is very nice for kids too.

 

[mgray]

My 8yo uses a 301. She’s an average size kid and does fine with it. I put a Vortex Venom on it. It’s pretty easy to explain that if the red dot is on the target, you can’t miss.

 

[PNWGATOR]

I know a half dozen local turkey hunters who’ve all switched to the Rossi Tuffy .410s with TSS for ‘running and gunning‘ turkeys. They all speak highly of them.

 

[Fadetoblack188]

301 it is. Thanks guys !

 

[Fadetoblack188]

We have the 301 and it does everything it needs to. My seven year old daughter killed her first turkey with it last spring and my wife killed her first with it as well. I’ve carried it some and one of my hunting partners uses one exclusively as his turkey gun. It will kill them with authority to 40 yards with the shells available today. We put a Burris fastfire on ours.

26 inch barrel right? Reg size not the compact model ?

 

[Rich M]

410 with tss shot.

Why do the recoil of the 20 if you dont have to?

 

[tlbradford]

I went with a Mossberg 835 with the six position stock. When I got it my kids were 8-14 in age and I wanted something anyone could use. I put a red dot sight on it as well. I use the reduced hevi shot loads for the kids.

 

[danwolf]

I have a Mossberg 500 bantam 410 that my son's been able to run well since he was 8 and the stock has fit him well.

He's 11 now and can handle 20 ga, but if I were to get him a 20 ga at that age I'd get a compact semi auto.