thanks for asking.
i never pheasant or duck hunt.
i've never known anyone that used
anything less than a 12 gauge for either one.
as far as i know, there are no steel 410 loads
offered by the manufacturers for manditory
waterfowl use.

410 Steel Shot:

http://www.mackspw.com/Item--i-WEX410S

I just bought my 10 year old daughter a mossberg mini bantam 410 and was a little worried when we went dove hunting on opening day that she would have a hard time hitting any. To my surprise she hit 7 and we found 6 of them. Granted, the ones she got flew pretty close into our decoys, but i was very impressed and she LOVES the pump action.

She will out grow the gun in a couple years, but by then she wont have any problem knocking them down with a 20 or 12

I would recommend a 20. If you go with a pump it will be more versatile as he gets older. One thing said for a single shot is the person shooting it has to make the shot count so it improves their accuracy but is very limited as they grow older.

How old is your son?? do not get a pump 20 ga...it will kick him hard...28 GA is a great idea but finding a 28 GA auto that fit him would be tough....I went through this same thing a couple of years ago. My son first used a 20Ga 1187 (youth). He did just fine with the 1187. This year I found a Beretta 20ga - 390. A guy on the THF cut the stock and added a new pad. My son prefers the 390 or the 1187. The 390 or 1187 will give him less kick. Finding a good used 20ga 390 or 3901 is the hard part.

learning gun safety is the key - start with one shot at a time with the auto...as he gets older move him up to 2 shells and then 3

My first shotgun was a 20ga. 870 Wingmaster. I was 12 years old when my father bought it for me. Still have it today. I began hunting Ducks with it, and still hunt Teal with it. I've even used it when my 12ga. was down to hunt geese and been very successful. I suggest finding a good auto loader instead of a pump, just because the felt recoil is considerably less. The 20a round is probably the most versatile gauge available. Just because you dont hunt ducks or pheasants this year, doesn't mean he won't take an interest in it down the line.

As far as a break action, single shot "imroving accuracy because he'll have to make the shot count", just load one shell in the auto at a time to start. Just cause it holds 3 doesn't mean you have to load 3. You'll get the same results, and then down the line when you take him to a sporting clays course or skeet field, or an other target game other than Trap, he will be able to use HIS gun to shoot report pairs and true pairs.

My boy is 7 years old

Haven't read the whole thread but getting a kid a .410 for their first shotgun is just about the worst thing you can do for them. Period. Do you want them to actually enjoy shooting or become increasingly frustrated trying to hit something while everyone else is killing birds?

.28 or .20 gauge. Preferably single shot or double/OU. Auto is better for recoil but requires a lot of maturity and discipline in a kid if they are to truly use one safely.

Edit: Stupidly didn't think about starting out by loading an auto one shell at a time as the poster above suggested. This is clearly the way to go.

While I applaud your proactivity, I think I would be more interested in finding a good BB gun (maybe you already have), followed by a .22 bolt action at about 10y, and his first shotgun at 12y. I can't say how responsible/mature your boy is, only you can measure that. But I would think I wouldn't be far out on a limb to say he's probably not ready for any shotgun yet.

I basically followed this same timeline. Red Rider @ 6y, .22 @ 10y, 20ga. @ 12y. Im not going to tell you how to raise your boy, but I think most would agree with this kind of progression.

Hes been shooting bb/pellet guns for years. Has been shooting .22 last couple years. I mainly want him to have shotgun to turkey hunt with this Spring. I won't be letting him loose in the dove fields anytime soon. While I do applaud your safety efforts I think a kid can safely manage rifles and shotguns long before 12. I shot my first deet at 10 with a 30-30, open sights. I was dove hunting by myself in the field at age 12. Its all how you teach them!

No disrespect but that's a pretty conservative timeline. My buddies and I were on a little faster one.....

Every kid is different.....can he hold the gun? Holding is not the key. Handling the gun is the key to good shooting and safety. My son was 8 when he started handling a shotgun. When you take him hunting, the Gun does not have to be loaded.....you will know when he is ready...all kids are different. Enjoy the outdoors and teach him to respect it. Everything else will fall into place.

My son has just started shooting Sporting Clays, so I bought him a youth 20 gauge semiauto Weatherby. It is a great gun, reasonably priced, and very reliable with minimal recoil.

Unfortunately, it doesn't fit him very well as an average sized 12 year old. We had to move up to a standard size Beretta A400 Xcel in 12 gauge. That is what most of the juniors (under 14) in the club are shooting, with great success, I might add. The recoil is very manageable, and it really shocked me to see these kids running them so well.

Only downside has been the price...

This is a great shotgun for a youth and they are hard to find now...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=364637995

Very conservative, I was 6 when I started shooting my first centerfire (I am 43 now) which was a .222 Rem. I shot a .410 for a year when I was 8 or 9, but the next year I was in a 20. Was shooting my dad garand off a bench by 12 (tried it off hand once, once!). My oldest daughter shot BB guns from 4, a .22 at 5, a 22-250 at 6, and now that she is 8 shoots a 6.8 SPC. Next year she will get a 28ga single shot. Either your kids are not well disciplined or the liberal media has influenced you, but I grew up around firearms from my earliest remembrances and my kids will too. Of course I feared my dad when it came to fooling around with weapons, and my kids fear me too when it comes to guns.

Get him a youth 20ga pump, and start him on these shells:
http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/winchester-aa-low-recoil-12-gauge-shotshells/pid-860717?N=813859365
(ad says 12ga, but they have the pictured 20ga same price -They're cheaper than a box of 410 shells!)

Get him shooting clays with those

Once he 'outgrows' those, you can put him on standard 7/8oz loads.
After that, he can use full 1oz loads.