.410 Youth shotgun question??

[JustinB]

Can a average/slightly above average size 8 year old shoot a regular .410? Or will it need to be a youth model?

I want to take him dove hunting and all his grandparents have is a .20 gauge. Last time he shot it, it was too much kick for him.

I was going to buy a .410 for myself and let him use it.

Thanks!

jB

[Free2Hunt]

only if he has long arms. Get a youth or buy a full size and a youth stock and switch it out. It would be easier for you to shoot the youth than for him to shoot the full size.

[skeeter]

Had to get my son the youth model when he was 8. Pull was just too long for him.

[stinkbelly]

The full size will be too long. Remember a 410 is for experts. There is very little shot in there to hit a bird.

[Todd-ty729]

There is a single shot breakover shotgun made by H&R that is a great youth shotgun.

The advantage to a single shot 410 is:

made to fit a short length of pull for kids
very slight recoil
will save you a ton of money on 410 shells which are expensive (no emptying the gun of all 3 rounds)
can be used to hunt other critters
Mainly it is a relatively safe firearm
will make them feel they are hunting like the grown ups


The odds of an 8 year old being able to connect on a dove are slim regardless of the shotgun they are shooting.

[JustinB]

Thanks fellas.

Sounds unanimous.

[Ouch]

Everything ty729 said.

I'd bet you can find a nice little single shot for less than $150... cheaper if you check the pawn shops. It's what I started with at 6 or 7.

[skeeter]

Pawn shops for sure.

[Triple 7]

My son was 8 last year and I let him shoot a pump 20 gauge and it was to much for him. He used a single shot 410 for the first few weeks of duck season and got used to it. The guy that I hunt with had a youth 20 gauge semi auto that he let my son shoot and it didnt have near the kick that the pump did and he had much more success than he was having with the 410. Just a thought. There are several good youth semi autos out there, (Weatherby, Remington, Tri-star, Escourt)

[30-30]

You can keep a slip-on rubber butt pad for times you want to shoot. It won't lengthen the stock much, but it would help.

[Shane]

Good way to judge LOP fit is to put the butt of the gun inside the elbow where bicep and forearm meet. If he can comfortably reach the trigger from there, you're good. If he can't reach the trigger, then it's probably too long.

I started Zach on a youth model .410 when he was 5. By the time he was 8, he was shooting a 28 gauge double barrel. Little more recoil than a .410, but not much. A lot less recoil than a 20ga. Easier to hit flying targets with a 28 compared to a .410.

[Winman]

There is a single shot breakover shotgun made by H&R that is a great youth shotgun.

The advantage to a single shot 410 is:

made to fit a short length of pull for kids
very slight recoil
will save you a ton of money on 410 shells which are expensive (no emptying the gun of all 3 rounds)
can be used to hunt other critters
Mainly it is a relatively safe firearm
will make them feel they are hunting like the grown ups


The odds of an 8 year old being able to connect on a dove are slim regardless of the shotgun they are shooting.

the 410 shells are almost 3 times what you can buy 20 ga shells for....and the 20 is much easier to hit something with...my girls and her brothers all learned on a winchester youth 20 ga.

[tex4k]

My 8 year old grandson has been using a yildiz? .410 until this year, this season he's shooting a Rem. 870 youth and so far is loving it, but he hasn't shot more than 10 shots in one outing yet. He shot his dads old 12 ga 1100 a couple a days ago but it was just to heavy.

[SaltwaterSlick]

The full size will be too long. Remember a 410 is for experts. There is very little shot in there to hit a bird.

This!!

And contrary to what some would have you believe, an 8 year old CAN hit targets on the wing with proper instruction and gun fit. Though not as "safe" as a single barrel or pump, a youth semi-auto in 20 gauge is a much better choice, with a pump youth being a close second with respect to recoil. The one thing a single barrel might have over the semi-auto or pump is weight, but the single barrel will have a lot more recoil. I've been teaching kids for years to hit targets on the fly and nothing is more frustrating to a young kid than to shoot and shoot and never hit anything. Squirrels or rabbits that can be stationary with a .410 bore is OK, but wing shooting with a .410 bore gun is for accomplished shooters. My son at 8 years of age, got 9 whitewing doves on the wing on his first day's hunt with his youth 870 20 gauge, but he had practiced on clays and had a base of confidence before he went to the field to hunt birds.

[Shortbow]

Starting a kid off is not about handing them a gun that will kill something but more about handing the kid a gun that will allow them to get comfortable with what a shotgun is capable off. I .410 will kill a dove, squirrel or rabbit and yes it is harder to hit something with them but it is a better fit to make a child comfortable with shooting. Once they understand how to shoulder a gun and are not worried about the kick, then you can move them up to a 20 or 12 gauge.