Looking to get my son and daughter into sporting clays and eventually some dove/quail hunting. They are 9 and 7 years old, so smaller framed. Torn on what 410 to start them with. Not wanting to drop a more than $1k on a shotgun for them so looking for something less than that price point. Was looking at the Savage 555 Compact in 410, but curious what others have had success with for kids that age. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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Best Youth Starter 410
- Thread starter KoaTico
- Start date
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iammaxwell
Member
Been looking at a 555 compact in 28 gauge myself for the wife and kids. Haven't sealed the deal yet. Also interested what feedback you all may have.
I don't know how much research you've done, but semi-autos tend to have less felt recoil which can make them better for younger shooters. If you do go that route, you can still just dull out one round at a time until they get a better hang of things so they don't get out of control.
I'll tell my experience, when my son was 10 my dad asked me what I though about him getting my son a 410, I said sure, he'd like that.
So he gets it and is excited to shoot it, we go out and I also take my 12ga, he takes a few shots with his and when I shoot the 12 he decides he wants to try that too, he liked it so much he never shot the 410 again.
He now has his own family and his son is almost ready to try the 410 his grandad got for him, I'll be there and I'm curious to see how it goes.
After what happened I tend to advise something like a 20 or if he's a big kid maybe even a 12.
410's tend to be harder to hit stuff with because of the smaller payload and spread so kids tend to get frustrated pretty quick with them in my opinion.
So he gets it and is excited to shoot it, we go out and I also take my 12ga, he takes a few shots with his and when I shoot the 12 he decides he wants to try that too, he liked it so much he never shot the 410 again.
He now has his own family and his son is almost ready to try the 410 his grandad got for him, I'll be there and I'm curious to see how it goes.
After what happened I tend to advise something like a 20 or if he's a big kid maybe even a 12.
410's tend to be harder to hit stuff with because of the smaller payload and spread so kids tend to get frustrated pretty quick with them in my opinion.
tunnug said:I'll tell my experience, when my son was 10 my dad asked me what I though about him getting my son a 410, I said sure, he'd like that.
So he gets it and is excited to shoot it, we go out and I also take my 12ga, he takes a few shots with his and when I shoot the 12 he decides he wants to try that too, he liked it so much he never shot the 410 again.
He now has his own family and his son is almost ready to try the 410 his grandad got for him, I'll be there and I'm curious to see how it goes.
After what happened I tend to advise something like a 20 or if he's a big kid maybe even a 12.
410's tend to be harder to hit stuff with because of the smaller payload and spread so kids tend to get frustrated pretty quick with them in my opinion.
That's a great observation. Come to think of it, I started shooting a 12ga around 10 or so, although it was just a few rounds here and there at the range. I wasn't lugging it through the wilderness and shouldering it quickly to hit birds or anything. I think I was about 12 when I bought my first shotgun, and that was a 20ga pump. It was easy for me to shoot at that time, and I had great success hunting with that. 20ga would stay relevant longer as they grow too, but I'm not sure if the 7-year-old would realistically be able to shoot even a 410 at the moment. I guess it depends on the size and strength of the kid.
AZ_Five56 said:I don't know how much research you've done, but semi-autos tend to have less felt recoil which can make them better for younger shooters. If you do go that route, you can still just dull out one round at a time until they get a better hang of things so they don't get out of control.
You make a good point about the semi-auto. I had not really considered due to possible weight issues, but looked at a few online and they are showing weight of 5.8lbs vs the 5lbs of the 555 Compact. The ones I found in the price range I am looking for I am not familiar with: Pointer Phenoma 410 and Tristar Viper G2 Youth 410. Anyone familiar with either of these?
KoaTico said:AZ_Five56 said:I don't know how much research you've done, but semi-autos tend to have less felt recoil which can make them better for younger shooters. If you do go that route, you can still just dull out one round at a time until they get a better hang of things so they don't get out of control.
You make a good point about the semi-auto. I had not really considered due to possible weight issues, but looked at a few online and they are showing weight of 5.8lbs vs the 5lbs of the 555 Compact. The ones I found in the price range I am looking for I am not familiar with: Pointer Phenoma 410 and Tristar Viper G2 Youth 410. Anyone familiar with either of these?
Hopefully someone else will chime in on those brands. I know nothing about them. I would watch a ton of Youtube videos on them to see if you can find something that works.
I think it can be tough finding the right gun for smaller shooters. Something that might help is to get something that will grow with them. Consider buying a second buttstock and having it cut down to fit them while they're younger.
tunnug said:I'll tell my experience, when my son was 10 my dad asked me what I though about him getting my son a 410, I said sure, he'd like that.
So he gets it and is excited to shoot it, we go out and I also take my 12ga, he takes a few shots with his and when I shoot the 12 he decides he wants to try that too, he liked it so much he never shot the 410 again.
He now has his own family and his son is almost ready to try the 410 his grandad got for him, I'll be there and I'm curious to see how it goes.
After what happened I tend to advise something like a 20 or if he's a big kid maybe even a 12.
410's tend to be harder to hit stuff with because of the smaller payload and spread so kids tend to get frustrated pretty quick with them in my opinion.
You make a good point about frustrations with not hitting stuff with a 410. Still would be a little concerned with jumping them to a 12 due to weight and recoil, even with lighter loads. Haven’t had too much experience with the 28, but the more I think through this it might be a happy medium between a 20 and 410?
I can tell you this - The Winchester SX3 in 20 gauge shoots VERY softly. I lost the one I had when I got divorced, but I could shoot 100 rounds through that thing and not feel it all afterwards.
I shoot a .410 almost every week. I've shot them at trap, skeet and sporting clays.
It's much harder to hit with one than with any other gauge out there and commonly available, and this can lead to frustration for the kid that's shooting it. I'm speaking from experience as my Dad started me out with a .410 when I was 8 or 9.
And it's going to be especially hard at Sporting Clays as most of the shots seem to be at 40+ yards on the local ranges.
I'd do as others suggested and get a semiauto 20 gauge if it were me.
It's much harder to hit with one than with any other gauge out there and commonly available, and this can lead to frustration for the kid that's shooting it. I'm speaking from experience as my Dad started me out with a .410 when I was 8 or 9.
And it's going to be especially hard at Sporting Clays as most of the shots seem to be at 40+ yards on the local ranges.
I'd do as others suggested and get a semiauto 20 gauge if it were me.
iammaxwell
Member
KoaTico said:Bit the bullet and bought the 410 anyway, if nothing else to get them used to shouldering and easing into recoil. Now if I can only find some 410 ammo!
What part of the valley you in? I stop by the Walmart on Power and Ray once a week, and they have 410 and/or 28 fairly regular. Even had some 12 the other day.
I ended up ordering a Mossberg SA-28 youth model from Guns2Ammo in Mesa. May still get a Stevens 555, but full size for myself...
start'm on a 20 ga, not all that much difference if you put a sissy pad on it for a while till felt recoil is worked out with shooter,
410 is great, for many things, but...........the upper gauges can be somewhat more satisfying than the little guy
good luck, suspect him/her shooting will outweigh the bad side
Rj
410 is great, for many things, but...........the upper gauges can be somewhat more satisfying than the little guy
good luck, suspect him/her shooting will outweigh the bad side
Rj
iammaxwell
Member
KoaTico said:I am up North and stop in to the Walmart on Happy Valley regularly, unfortunately they only seem to have 28 ga in if anything. Will have to make a trip down there sometime, do they still have a 3 box max?
Oh wow. Sorry, wasn't very helpful I guess. Would be one heck of a trip all the way down here.
Anyway, after experiencing exactly what you said about only seeing 28 all the time, it finally clicked one day.
That's why I finally settled on 28. I always planned on a 20, but procrastinated. Now that my boy is finally getting close to being old enough, 20 is absolutely nowhere to be found, but can find 28 fairly easily. Price difference 28 vs 20 is not enough to be an issue.
Yes, they are still doing the 3 box limit. Sometimes you can get someone who doesn't care and buy however many.
iammaxwell
Member
If it's shotgun shells that are out on the shelf, just take them to the self checkout. The attendant will have to authorize it, but then you just type in your birth date on screen and GTG. Never had an issue buying more than 3.