Sons first gun

I have the opportunity to buy from a friend a Rossi youth .22lr / 410 combo barrel. its not an over/under its an exchange barrel. He had bought it for his son and the son never shot it much or any and grew out of it very quickly.

my sons are 5yrs old.

anyone have any reviews for this gun? any comments/concerns/input on their experience with their kids?

my boys already enjoy shooting my 22, but the gun is too long, they have to put the stock in their arm-pit to see the sights. so its awkward for them. mostly I just want to get something that I can scope that they can hold correctly on the shoulder and start punching paper. if they did some small game hunting with it that would just be a plus.

I don't seem to see any for sale new anywhere anymore, did they discontinue this combo?

No experience but heard good things, besides, it's a very simple gun and hard for a manufacturer to screw up.
If the .410 is full choke like most, I'd get it bored out to improved...full is very difficult for a youngster to hit anything with and can get them frustrated quickly. Improved will pattern fine and still reach out to 30+ yards.
P_102

Have heard bad things about the Rossi's accuracy from a couple people. Look at the CVA Hunter Compact if you want a single shot. Right now they will run the scope/rifle combo on sale for $199. I bought one for the kids couple years ago in .243. Shoots ok, zero complaints.

We have a Rossi .17HMR / 20 gauge 2 barrel combo gun. It shoots about 10 MOA.

Also, the 410 will kick the snot out of them. That little gun doesn't weigh but about 4 pounds.

If you are looking at it for the shotgun barrel I'd definitely pass.

Have you considered the Ruger American Compact model? Might be worth a look. Very short stock and it can be added on after they grow a bit.

My son has this. He likes shooting the .22. It's accurate enough for what it is. Doesn't care for the .410. It's so lightweight, it kicks the crap out of him.

Agree with the above.. .410 is hard to hang onto for a young one..i personally haven't had much luck with youth model rifles with the exception of a ruger .44 semi auto.. big bullet, low recoil.
I also have them shooting in AR platforms, .22 ruger takedown, .223, and a .300 blkout. Adjustable stocks and low recoil.
I haven't been able to find a scatter gun they'd be comfortable with.

As dads, we're eager to get them into shooting/hunting asap, but sometimes it's best to just wait and let them grow a bit.
I regretted buying a couple youth model rifles the first day at the range..just my 2 pennies..

Bad experience with Rossi.

I agree with the posts above about the .410. You will have better luck out of a youth semi auto 20 ga than this 410. I would also take into account how your sons are built. Are they small or big for their age. Do they have long arms or not? I am in my 30s and I still like to shoot my youth 243 or my youth Mossberg 20 gauge because I am short and stocky. If you have tall and long kids I would consider skipping the youth stage. My 5 year old daughter loves to shoot my S&W M&P 15-22 AR style 22. Very little recoil and adjustable stock.

Its a fairly cheap but decent single shot gun. For a young hunter they are great. It may be the same model that you can get a 223 or 243 barrel for and he be able to use it growing up hunting deer and hogs. Though they are 50-125 yard guns.

Based on personal experience I'd pass on single shot shotguns...they all seem to kick the crap out of the kids. My dad bought my brother and I single shot 20 gauges for safety and they both kicked the snot out of us. They simply weren't fun to shoot. My dads 12 gauge didn't kick any worse than those two 20 gauge single shot shotguns! So if you are going to buy you son a shotgun I'd buy him a semi auto and give him one shell at a time if you're worried about safety issues.

As for Rossi....you get what you pay for...

That's what I started with. It worked just fine.

My kids use a savage 42 22/410. Its short enough for them but the plastic sites are lame. the original model 24 is nice but they are full size and too big for my 8 year old.