ISO youth shotgun ideas

I want to buy my son a new, or new to him, shotgun for his birthday this year. I work in the Ministry so funds are tight and Momma has me on a budget so I have to be be creative. He would like an over/under but I have convinced him that a semi auto is the way to go. What are some good shotguns for youth that are not overly expensive? Do you have one that your son/daughter has grown out of and would like to sell? any help appreciated.

Budget? 12 or 20? Used or new? His size?

Auto's, my pick would be......

Super Vinci on the upper end.

Montefeltro 12 or 20 youth, and Franchi Affinity on the middle end.

Stoeger M3000 or Weatherby SA-08 on the low end. My personal fave would be the M3000. It's an intertia bolt gun that's reliable, durable, low maintenance, shoots anything you feed it, from a company that is the epitome of great customer service. I've seen the camo version for as little as $499.

O/U's would be an older used Ruger Red Label or for a little more money a used Beretta 686.

Whether you buy used or new, if you buy quality from the get go, you won't be stuck with a shotgun with little resale value when your son is ready to move up to a better shotgun.

I started my boys with a single shot h&r pardner 20g, they shot that until they were 10. I remeber paying around $150. It had enough weight to tame the recoil. They moved on to a mossberg youth pump in 20 that also came with a rifled barrel. Cost was $250. My oldest, now 16, moved on to a yildiz 12g o/u from academy $400, and shoots my old stoeger 3000 for waterfowl.

The mossberg 20g is still used by my youngest, who is 12. It's a great shooting shotgun that has taken a beating without any issues.

He has been using My first shotgun which is an 870 express. He is 9 and is about 5'2" 95 pounds. I want to keep him in a 20 ga. just for the ease of shooting. My budget is somewhere in the $700/$800 dollar range.

That's an excellent budget to work with. I'm not much bigger then your son, and absolutely love my Franchi AL-48 in .20 ga

Recoil is barely noticeable, swing's nice and I purchased this used for $375.00.

Good luck!

Good deal on that gun. And a good option. I'd also look at a good Remington 1187 or 1100 LT.

a good h&r single as posted earlier is a good idea.
it'll teach your son to make each shot count instead
of spraying shot. they can be had in a youth configuration,
or a youth stock can be had relatively cheap. they carry
easy, and don't ever go obsolete, and will last forever
plus 3 days with minimum care. I still use 'em on occasion.
he'll be able to use one until it's time to give it to his son.

Stick with the semi-auto. I purchased the 1187 for my 8 year old in 20ga. I just give him 1 shell at a time. Single shots knock the crap out of you for what they are. Give him something enjoyable to shoot.

I think Im going to go with the Stoeger 3020. Its super light and is Inertia Driven so has minimal kick. Thanks for all the suggestions, Im sure he will be over the moon excited when he gets his hands on it.

If it matters, I can tell you from experience that inertia shotguns typically have more felt recoil than a gas shotgun of similar weight. And a lighter shotgun tends to have more recoil than a heavier shotgun.

Keep in mind that every new release of Stoeger auto shotguns has had teething problems. And the 3020 hasn't been out long enough to baseline the reliability of that shotgun. I've shot one and taken it apart and it's basically a slightly scaled down version of the M3000 with the same build quality and plastic furniture.

I've seen examples of used Montefeltro 20s with walnut furniture for significantly less than a grand, around $700 on the low end. It's one of the few auto 20s that can be had with both a youth stock and a full size stock and that you could potentially buy, shoot, and sell for as much or more than what you paid for it. It is a heck of a lot of shotgun for the money with a known level of reliability.

If it were my son, I know which shotgun he'd be getting

As much as you want it to be a surprise, you should really consider visiting a gun shop to see what fits him. You don't need to tell him when you're getting it. Look as a few yourself, and open the door for him to try a few.

I think a better brand shotgun to consider in your budget would be the Weatherby, Franchi Affinity, or Remington.

If you thought he could handle a 12 gauge, I'd recommend the Beretta A300.

Actually you will find the gas operated semi-auto to have the softest recoil. I would try to find an older Remington 1100 and put a youth stock on it. You can find the stocks online or at Cabela's. When he grows you can replace it with the original stock.

Look online for a beretta AL2. They quit making them early 90's I think. Great little upland style guns. My wife shoots one in 12 ga.

Can't comment on the SA 08, but I have a M2000. Had it's first problem after 6 years when the ejector pin/screw fell out. Even with it being 6yo, they replaced it free. The M3000 is supposed to be better than an older M2000.