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

[Holg3107]

If you are looking for a pump / multi shell gun the 870 youth is tough to beat. I will say that I started out with a single shot 20ga when I was 11 and I believe that it made me a much better water fowl hunter. It forced me to focus on one good shot and make it count instead of knowing that I had two more shells in the gun to miss with. Personally I am a huge advocate of single shot guns as starter guns  . I also still use my trusty old single shot 20 ga for grouse and plan on passing it down when I have kids.

[Special T]

I saw a single 12 ga advertised at Big 5 a NEF i believe for $115   

[boneaddict]

If you are looking for a pump / multi shell gun the 870 youth is tough to beat. I will say that I started out with a single shot 20ga when I was 11 and I believe that it made me a much better water fowl hunter. It forced me to focus on one good shot and make it count instead of knowing that I had two more shells in the gun to miss with. Personally I am a huge advocate of single shot guns as starter guns   . I also still use my trusty old single shot 20 ga for grouse and plan on passing it down when I have kids.

I honestly think this builds a better hunter.....takes away from the MORE FIREPOWER theory.     I assume this was in the day of lead.  How would this work now?

[Holg3107]

Actually Bone this was right when steel was comming into play in Colorado (around 1995). I am still a firm believer in the single shot shot gun for the beginner especially with upland birds, It really makes you focus on your shot and tracking the bird a it goes down. The safety system on a single shot is also extremely easy for a novice having an exposed hammer system. Sometimes simple is better. 

[Special T]

 
I agree sometimes finding the bird is a lot easier when your not focused on the next shot.

[Curly]

My dad gave me a youth model Rem 1100 20 ga when I was a kid.  Still one of my favorite shotguns and it is about 32 years old now. 

You can't go wrong with a 870.......he can use it the rest of his life.

[KillBilly]

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

I have a perfectly good Winchester 12ga. Model 1200, 2 3/4" couple of chokes that I will give to him if it is okay with you. There is a condition however. If it does not work for him, bring it back to this forum so we can pass it on to some youth that can use it. If you can trade it for a better fit for him, good enough.....post pictures of him and his new gun so we can all see a happy new hunter.   Are you interested? 

[Ridgeratt]

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

I have a perfectly good Winchester 12ga. Model 1200, 2 3/4" couple of chokes that I will give to him if it is okay with you. There is a condition however. If it does not work for him, bring it back to this forum so we can pass it on to some youth that can use it. If you can trade it for a better fit for him, good enough.....post pictures of him and his new gun so we can all see a happy new hunter.   Are you interested? 

Bravo!!!   

[ANDERWAGON]

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

I have a perfectly good Winchester 12ga. Model 1200, 2 3/4" couple of chokes that I will give to him if it is okay with you. There is a condition however. If it does not work for him, bring it back to this forum so we can pass it on to some youth that can use it. If you can trade it for a better fit for him, good enough.....post pictures of him and his new gun so we can all see a happy new hunter.   Are you interested?

WOW!    Killbilly that is an incredible offer I'm floored and don’t know how to respond. I've got to tell you all I'm a fairly new member to forum and sometime I cant believe the generosity of the folks on here. It says a lot about your character when you offer something like this up.

Please don’t take this the wrong way but there has to be someone less fortunate that you could help get started. I'm not rich and It's not at all that I don’t appreciate the offer but that I would feel guilty excepting something like this. If 12ga pump is the route we go I would be happy to purchase it from you. Asking for suggestions has opened my eyes to many issues in the field. Right now I'm kind of leaning towards a break action single shot.

Thank you again, Gary.

[Miles]

Without reading through all the posts, here's my thoughts.  I started off with a single shot .410 and I think it helped make me a better shot.  There's no relying on the second shot as a sort of "insurance" for taking a crappy first shot.  Make the first shot count or no bird.  For a first time hunter I think it helps on the safety end of things too.  There's no shooting and then jacking another round in while excited, only to forget putting the safety back on.  You shoot and the gun is empty.

[Curly]

While I agree with all that has been said about the single shot shotguns, not everyone can buy a gun one season and another the next season. It's real easy to make a pump into a single shot. Just hand out one shell at a time.

[LincolnTWilliams]

This thread is like the mans version of a halmark movie. Killbilly, you sir, are one of the good ones!

[KFhunter]

I'm just a couple years ahead of you as my boy is almost 13 now.
 
couple things I read in this thread I gotta address, first the 28ga shotgun...As much as I like the idea of a 28 ga for fast swinging upland/dove gun he mentioned hunting waterfowl.  Ducks are tough to kill, and prohibit lead shot.  good luck finding 28ga in steel shot when you really need it.
 
stick to 20ga and 12ga
 
at 85 lbs he's a smaller dude, like my boy. 
grandpa picked up and another grandson a couple of charles dalys (20 ga) out of walmart, for the price point on these guns I'm not displeased with them.  They are very light, but with that light weight they really got a pop to them and will make a sore shoulder pretty quick - even on me!
 
For single shot, I'd stay away from those too for shotguns (rifles yes I like single shot)- I don't care how good of a shot you are the very nature of a shotgun you will get wounded birds that need a follow up shot to stop them running away.  You'll loose wounded birds with a single shot I guarantee it.  I didn't realize HOW MANY wounded birds there were until I started running a dog. 
 
last time at the pheasant release site I limited out and did not fire a single shot, my dog rounded up my limit of already shot birds - all were still alive.
 
As far as brands go, I stay away from anything mossberg - 1st gun shame on them, 2nd gun SHAME ON ME
Ya I've gotten two of them both are unusable - one won't eject as the shells wedge in the barrel and the other the slide release sucks bad - poor design.
 
I'm not expecting much from the walmart charles daly either, but heck kids grow so fast it'll get them thru to their 1st nice adult gun.
 
   

[Special T]

KF if you have a couple of MB 500 you wanna sell cheap you should PM me... I love em... 

[KillBilly]

While I agree with all that has been said about the single shot shotguns, not everyone can buy a gun one season and another the next season. It's real easy to make a pump into a single shot. Just hand out one shell at a time.

Or make a longer plug for it... easy to do.