Need to buy my son his first shot gun. Any suggestion?

[ANDERWAGON]

I'm looking for something compact. Perferably a 20GA. Anyone outfitted there youth with the perfect all around shot gun?

[Bob33]

Remington 870 Express, 20 gauge all the way.

[lokidog]

Mossberg 500 youth combo includes a rifled slug barrel and a shotgun barrel with choke tubes.  We got the 20 as I think it makes a better deer round than the 12 but just my opinion.  One set has a really nice rifled barrel with a cantilevered scope mount.

[Heredoggydoggy]

Remington 870 Express, 20 gauge all the way.

   You can get the Youth model with the shorter stock, and when he grows, just get an adult length-of-pull stock.  There's no more versatile shotgun made than an 870.

[carpsniperg2]

870 20g I also have a older mossy that was better quality then now days and it has been a great gun.

[seth30]

Remington 870 Express, 20 gauge all the way.

That was my first shotgun and I still have it.  Everytime I look at that gun I get a rush of old memories   I highly recommend it!

[idahewes]

I agree 100% with the youth 870 express in 20 guage and fit it with a good recoil pad.  I got my son one last year (just turned 9 at the time).  He loves it and shoots trap loads comfortably practicing and can handle it well.  No problems shooting 3" rounds while hunting out of the blind etc.  The only complaint I had was the stock recoil pad was pretty poor for a youth gun.  I believe I ended up putting a grind to fit limbsaver on it and problem solved.

[cwuwildcat]

Remington's got a $30 rebate till the end of this year on the 870 express.

[seaduckhunter]

Youth  Benelli Nova.    870 express was my first shotgun but I dont like the matte finish  it gets surface rust to easy especially if you are hunting salt.

[Sportfury]

Remington 870 Express, 20 gauge all the way.

   You can get the Youth model with the shorter stock, and when he grows, just get an adult length-of-pull stock.  There's no more versatile shotgun made than an 870.

[Bigshooter]

Hard to beat a 870 in 20ga.

[ICEMAN]

Mossberg youth 20. Has the removeable section at the butt which allows the gun to be truly short enough for the young hunters grasp. Lightweight. Makes an excellent grouse gun even for adults later.

[Wacenturion]

You might want to consider a 28 gauge.  As an example a Franchi AL-48 auto weighs 5 1/2 lbs.  They also make a youth model...shorter stock.  Also an Remington 870 comes in 28 gauge.  Generally speaking, 28's weigh less depending on gun, and are extremely efficient pattern wise.  More so than people realize.

Also 20's are heavier as well as the shells one packs around weigh more.  Ammo is a little harder to find in the countryside, but generally any major outlet like Wholesale or Cabelas carry 28 gauge ammo. 

[Maverick]

You might want to consider a 28 gauge.  As an example a Franchi AL-48 auto weighs 5 1/2 lbs.  They also make a youth model...shorter stock.  Also an Remington 870 comes in 28 gauge.  Generally speaking, 28's weigh less depending on gun, and are extremely efficient pattern wise.  More so than people realize.

Also 20's are heavier as well as the shells one packs around weigh more.  Ammo is a little harder to find in the countryside, but generally any major outlet like Wholesale or Cabelas carry 28 gauge ammo.

28 gauge shells are usually way harder to find and can cost more. I myself don't like the express because of the matte finish. But i have one and they are perfect for youth. They can also take a beating and they drop the birds.

[wildweeds]

Perhaps a bit more info please................How old a kid,how big is he,smaller or larger stature?I'm really on board with the other posters here on the 870.Fact is My buddy has two boys that outgrew their youth models and have graduated to that new remington in 12 ga. with the composite barrell and the steel liner I can't remember the model # but they appear to be a pretty nice weapon.If waterfowling is your game weight won't be an issue,upland trudging will be a different story.

I've got a 28 and learned to shoot with a .410,I've got every guage in the collection but a 16.The weight/ recoil savings in the 28 is perhaps not near the advantage as compared to pellet count and accuracy needed to solidly anchor a target for a new to the game shooter.....................it's pretty disappointing to miss all the time when your a kid.