Wtb youth/compact single shot in 410 or 20 ga.

[Bearhunter308]

Looking for a compact break action for my son. Hoping to stay under $200. I live in Chehalis, will travel from Lacey to Longview.

[wadu1]

Personally I would go with a 20, because of ammo prices. Finding .410 ammo can be hit and miss. Also note single shot break actions tend to recoil more. I saw a decent Mossberg 500 today in your price range.

[boneaddict]

I got a cheap one for a garage gun.  I think I bought it new at Bi mart for about 100 bucks.   Not a long time ago, but not recent either.   That’s good advice about ammo. .410 has been very hard to find, so I switched  to a 20 gauge as well. 

[cem3434]

I agree with everything that has been said so far. One thing to consider is how old or really how big of a kid your son is. I have a couple of single shot 410's that I bought for my kids due to how small they were when they first started shooting. My daughter is now 10, about 5'1" and over 100 lbs where I have her handling the recoil of a 20 gauge without fear. My 8 year old son is smaller and still shooting a 410 because regardless of the cost or it being harder to find, I don't want him to get recoil shy.

[Bearhunter308]

Thanks for the advice. My son’s going on 11, and is a pretty big kid. I’m thinking break action for simplicity and lighter weight-something he could hunt grouse and rabbits with. I hadn’t considered availability of 410 ammo- I’ve only had 12 gauge for years. I know he can handle the recoil of the break action 410- he shot one at hunter safety course. Would 20 ga recoil quite a bit more? Like I said, he’s not a small kid, but I don’t think he’d like a hard recoil.

[Ridgeratt]

Look for a 28. Recoil is not much more than a 410 and the availability of ammo is nuts. I switched to a 28 for grandma and now its what I use. Have a 20 that I used to use as a truck gun but it's still in the safe.

[cem3434]

This is a buy once, cry once type of thing in my opinion. Buy him a gun he can grow up with and literally hunt everything from small game, to waterfowl and turkeys. With the kickoff system, there is very little felt recoil and this is on sale right now. I just bought one for my daughter. https://palmettostatearmory.com/beretta-a300-ultima-20ga-28-shotgun-max-7-j32ts28.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=daily_deals&utm_campaign=20230910&utm_term=afternoon&utm_content= 

If you're still looking for a cheap single shot 410, I have one that I could offer up and I could also sell you some ammo too as I bought a couple cases when I found it in stock about 6 months ago. Not looking to sell the ammo, but if it helps a kid get into shooting/hunting I'm willing to let some of my stash go.

[Bearhunter308]

I appreciate that cem3434. I think I’ll look into the 28 ga, but I’ll let you know if I decide to go the .410 route. Thanks!

[FeatherFanatic]

I started my kid with a auto 20. He's 11 now shoots a auto 12 ga.  But he's a 5'4 and 150. .. both guns are beretta a300s and are 13" lop

[Kc_Kracker]

Just thought I would share that I saw a couple children's 410 at the Tumwater Walmart recently in the sporting goods section for sale they were very cheap

[Bearhunter308]

I might go check that out, Tumwater is just up the road- thanks!

[Kc_Kracker]

I might go check that out, Tumwater is just up the road- thanks!

Yeah we usually go to the yelm or Lacey store but once in awhile I go over there just for the sporting goods because for some reason that store stays well stocked with guns and everything there is something different about that store

[bmc02]

the 28 ga O/U I bought for my girls (13 and 10) was too much kick for my youngest. So I just picked up a Stevens 301 compact single shot 410 at SW for her, after tax was just over $200. Pretty cheap quality but perfect first shotgun. in my opinion break action single shots can't be beat when hunting with kids, simple = safe. She was hitting pop cans no problem (grouse practice) and had no complaints about the kick (2.5" shells). My girls are both on the short/small side so the youth compact in smaller gauges is a must.

410 shells have been very hard to find, I got a couple boxes of 3" online and found a box of 2.5" at a small town gun store while on the road. That will at least get us through fall season.

regarding availability - while researching 410s online it seems like it has gotten popular to hunt turkeys with single shot 410s recently, so I think 410 is having a bit of a popularity boost at the moment.