410 for turkey?

[oneezreiter]

Hello all, My son will be doing his first hunt this year.  He is nine, turns 10 in October.  I am in a bit of a debate with my step dad,he says he is too small for a 20 guage and should use a 410.  Is a 410 big enough for turkey?  I can not find anyting in the South Dakota regs that would prevent the use of a 410.  What are your opinions?

[yelp]

This was posted below...answers a lot of your questions.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php?topic=89845.0

[oneezreiter]

thanks guys

[carpsniperg2]

Yeah the 410 is not a great choice but can still kill.

[jackelope]

My buddy's boy was a small 11 year old shooting a Mossberg 500 youth 20 gauge. We put a red dot on it and he shot it fine. He didn't ever shoot a turkey load, we patterned it with turkey loads ourselves and loaded them for him when hunting but that was it.

[ghosthunter]

Might be a little pricey but see if you can find a 28 ga.

[oneezreiter]

Thanks for the input guys.  I have a twenty guage That is a little big that he is going to try out this weekend, if that doesn't work i will see if my brother (he's an FFL) can find a good deal on a 28.  I think that the 410 is not the best idea.

[Birdguy]

My son is 9 right now (rather small for his age at 4'3" and 53# on a good day) and this will be his third year turkey hunting. I bought a Remington 870 youth 20 ga for his first year. We, then he shot several standard 2 3/4 #8s through it, then moved up to the 3" turkey loads. He did fine but knew he was only going to get one or two shots all season (it kicks pretty good). Last year I had him and my daughter shooting my 1187 super mag. 12 ga. 3" turkey loads. They both like it better than the 870 20 ga and both carried an 1187 in 12 ga last spring. He has shot the 1187 every time we have been out since. He ALWAYS has a good solid seat and a bipod/tripod for the gun and there has been no issues. If you have a good semi-auto in 12 ga you may want to consider it, like I said both my kids like the recoil better from the 12 than the 20. I was a little nervous about it as he was really small that first year, we talked a lot about it, shot it together a few times, then I made sure he had the best seat and rest possible and let him do his thing, he has loved it ever since. We are a few years away from duck or upland hunting as his arms are short and he cannot carry a gun too far yet but man what a great time! Good luck and let us know how it all turns out.

[turkeydancer]

Hi BG:

You may want to consider a safari sling for Brett and Amanda ($20 at Cabelas).  It makes carrying a weapon easier and can be brought into shooting position faster.
 

My best to you and yours ...

[oneezreiter]

Thank you all for the good input.  I don't have a auto 12, we are going to go out in the next few days and shoot the 20 and see how that goes.  I will keep you posted.

[oneezreiter]

So we got out to the range today and the 20 will work.  he shot it a couple of times and liked it.  After 3 shots he was done though.  But he went on to shoot a 308 and a 25-06 so it was a good day.  The 20 I have is a bit long for him, any recommendations on youth 20's?

[yelp]

So we got out to the range today and the 20 will work.  he shot it a couple of times and liked it.  After 3 shots he was done though.  But he went on to shoot a 308 and a 25-06 so it was a good day.  The 20 I have is a bit long for him, any recommendations on youth 20's?

Mossberg bantam 20 gauge