My son has been shooting his rascal 22 pretty decent here lately and shown he can handle the responsibility (he doesn’t go unsupervised). He’s 6 but he’s the height of a 7-8 year old. He’s been wanting to shoot my shotguns and he’s no where near ready. I’ve looked and read a lot of material online bout this but still doesn’t leave me with a definitive answer. I’m leaning towards a semiauto 20-28ga for one the gas system will help with recoil and he can use it for some time down the road and hand it down to little brother. I was started with a single shot break over .410 but quickly went to a 20ga. What are some good options that fit the bill? Primarily the LOP and barrel length are my biggest factors and there’s not a big selection especially in stock for him to shoulder them. Thanks for all the input ahead of time

I wasa kinda surprised at these, for the $ not bad

https://www.budsgunshop.com/product...nodized+black+synthetic+stock+right+hand

Beretta 400 with the short stock and spacers so it can grow with.

Gas action semiauto cuts down a lot on recoil

I’ve been looking at that one but haven’t really found too many reviews on it but I’ll keep digging but that one has interested me for the price for sure

I started mine off with a 20ga H&R single shot. The same kind I started out with, not the same gun, I wore mine out. A break open single shot is much safer than the auto. Young kids and automatic shotguns make me nervous.

On a friends kids semiauto we did a plug to where it was a single shot. Long plug so none would load in the mag then load through the ejection port and close the bolt until he was deemed safe with a semi by his Dad.

old remington 1100 patent. good action just keep spare orings.

the tristar has better machining. Its based off the beretta A303 action

410 with #8 TSS is nasty meds on turkey, ducks, geese and pheasants, but $$$$ to shoot in volume if you dont reload

He’s not going to get it fully loaded going to treat it as a single shot like stated earlier, use a long plug where one sell goes in mag so he can get the mechanics down of loading. Will check into the tristar

The Weatherby SA 20 youth/compact and the Mossburg SA 28, same basic gun, different importer, are both supposed to be surprisingly good at reasonable cost. The 20 probably makes more sense, but I’ve also heard good things about the 28.

I really like my 28 but with the shell cost and lack of selection of shot size choices the 20 makes n=more sense for a one shotgun person to me

I bought my boy the Weatherby SA-08 when he was about that age and it worked out great. We spent a lot of time shooting skeet at the 4H range with a few other kids his age who were starting out. They all had single shots or pumps but didn't like the recoil and all ended up with the Weatherby before it was over.

You can buy low recoil shells in 20GA. They won't cycle, so it effectively makes the gun a single shot, which as mentioned above is not a bad thing for that age. But he got off the low recoil shells really fast, the gun really soaks up recoil well.

Other thing I like about the 20 is it's much easier to hit what you're aiming at. You may get less recoil with a 410 or 28, but I consider those expert guns when shooting skeet, and it's pretty easy for a new shooter to get discouraged when he's never hitting the target.

On the recoil 20ga gas shotgun is no more and I believe less recoil than my Browning pump 28ga

I bought a Legacy Escort 20 ga auto for my girls about 10 years ago. They never really got into hunting but I have shot it quite a bit. Its a good little gun. Soft recoil and magazine cutoff so you can use it as a single shot.

My least favorite guns to shoot are single shot H&R type break open shotguns. There is no benefit to them as far as I can see other than just being cheap to buy.

I did the same for my son, then moved him up to Remington 870 youth sized pump. If they want to shoot they need to get used to recoil.

I also started my son out with a cut down h&r single shot 410. When he got a little bigger he shot a double barrel savage 311 20 gauge. He only pulled both triggers at the same time once. A used synthetic youth model 1100 20 gauge would be a good one to start a kid with.

20 gauge GAS operated semi, NOT Inertia driven action.

Some great ones listed above.

I didn't see what your budget was. I like the idea of a hand me down or adjustable LOP. If the gun doesn't fit, he won't hit chit.

Not sure where ERA Texas is (wish people would list their correct living area) !!!!

Whatever you do, Take him to SOMEONE else for a lesson or two on the skeet field.. If he doesn't learn properly and doesn't hit jack, you will lose him back to the rascal.

shoot light 7/8 ounce ,8's or 9's, stay away from the 1oz loads for now. These gas guns still kick and this will run him back to the Rascal too.

as KMON says
just my ,02

Era is just west of Valley View.

I started with a mossberg pump 410 after GW took our 22LR. I also had to learn to actually call ducks and block pheasants that year too. Then I graduated up to the 20ga Bolt action savage w/full choke. Miss those days

Winchester makes some low-recoil 20ga rounds - you can start him off with these, if you can find them.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2900611517?pid=611517

Oh yes, I remember, it's near Nunya, TX

Might not cycle a semi but this would be a GREAT starting load.

I have a single shot that I will donate, it’s a Springfield, it’s a great starter

410

What is LOP on this? Can't find much info? Seen Tristar at WM has 12.5". Mossberg pump 18.5" has 11" which is about what my son needs. Is there anything else that goes down to 11?

Spent some time looking and found one Tristar youth that has a 13 inch, seems long for youth.

Mossberg 510 is the shortest I saw.

Give Tristar a call, I bet they could answer.

I started both my kids off with a 20 gauge, Mossberg 510. Both shot it when they were 7. It does have a kick, but it isn't excessive and didn't seem to effect my daughter or my son. Both kids shot their first dove with it and my daughter shot at a turkey....but missed lol.

I think you are on the right path with semi auto but I have no problem letting you take this one and seeing if it is what you want, as both of my kids have out grown it. I go through your area on occasion and don't have a problem dropping it off.