A lady at my wife's work is looking at a pump 20 for her son. I'll prob end up taking him duck hunting this season.

Looking for some suggestions. He has saved up $400 by himself.

I have an old 870 but have heard they changed something that caused the new ones to jam.

Thoughts on Benelli vs Winchester vs Browning?

Browning!!

Bps

Remington 11-87 youth. I bought my son one in December and he loves it. It handles 7/8-1 ounce loads like nothing. Great gun for the price.

11~87

BPS for sure. 11-87 is not a pump, which is what she is looking for.

My son has a 20ga youth 870. It is about 5 years old now. It has the butt stock spacers that lets the gun grow with him. It is light and short. He has never had a problem with it. I would recommend it to anyone.

I have seen kids with guns that are too long overall and too long to the forearm. Both of these problems make it difficult for the kid to use it properly. Make sure she gets one that fits the kid.

I vote for

Remington 20 ga 870 youth
Benelli Nova 20 ga youth

some good info if you search on either

Depending on the size of the kid, for smaller framed people or girls I prefer a semi-auto. Fear of getting kicked becomes a hard habit to break. The youth 870 type of gun can be a scourge for some young people. I remember my daughter's shotgun instructor thinking it was the worst gun to be inflicted on young people.

Bought the 870 for my 11 year old grandson and it has been a perfect fit. He is slight of build and has never shown any concern for recoil.

Bought the 870 for my 11 year old grandson and it has been a perfect fit. He is slight of build and has never shown any concern for recoil.

I would think about a semi auto in youth size. My kids used a 20 gauge weatherby sa-08 and it was great- low recoil and even took 3" shells when we got to late duck season.

I would agree with the semiauto route for sure if the kid is small. My youngest daughter was ruined by the 870 youth pump when she was 9-10 years old, took me a while to figure out she was scared of the gun but once I did and got her a youth semiauto and she is not afraid to shoot anymore.
Actually she loves shooting now.
I have also seen a few other kids have issues with the 870, that gun is light and kicks like a mule.

I know you said pump but bear in mind that a fixed breech gun has considerably more kick than a semi-auto loader.

That can put some kids off on shooting.

Good advice on this thread about going with a semi. I too bought my son a youth 1187. Great decision for us. Single shots and pumps pack a punch. My boy was shooting at 7 years old not 11. So age and size will play a huge role in the decision.

870's are not what they used to be but they still shoot fine, just not as smooth or nice looking. Most problems people have is when using those cheap, tin based shells...they expand and get stuck in the chamber.

My son went through an 870jr and an 11-87 youth. He wasn't excited about shooting until we got him a yildiz youth ou.

Caveat: I load 13/16oz at 1200fps for him. For skeet I think I personally only drop one clay per round over shooting 1oz out of my 12ga. But it shore is easier on the body.

P.S. Both the 870 and 11-87 are for sale
Very low mileage, but lefty safety

another vote for a semi-auto. the weatherby Sa-08 is a great gun


Pumps kick too hard for kids, not to mention short arms can make pumping difficult

The heck with pumps. Go single shot 20 ga if kid does not have the strength to hold 12 ga gun correctly, which is typical 9 or 10 yrs old, or jump to an auto 12 ga, maybe a 12 ga over/under for a gale.

Look at what 4H kids shoot, they all shoot 12 ga autos, or 12 ga over/unders for the gales.

I can find the 20GA youth semi's online but can't find one in a store to handle and see if it fits my boy.

Gumbeaux, I have a Beretta 20 that came with a short stock, it has an adult butt stock on it now. You can come south and try both. It will only take a few minutes and a half dozen cuss words to change it

I agree on semi auto versus pump but I believe the budget was $400. If you can afford to pay more I would look at the Beretta 390's or 391.

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/weatherb...h-p-117544.html
Haven't heard a bad thing about these

Searched high and low for my 5'2 petite wife who is not strong at all. She settled on the mossberg sa-20 youth, and she loves it and can shoot 125+ clays without soreness or complaining. In fact im 6ft tall and i usually take it with me as a back up to my o/u's. Its light and very soft recoiling with the slip on pad and never had a hiccup. I got it used from a forum member and it was $300. Its my favorite shotgun right behind my ou's and im not a fan of semi's.