RobinB

Very good idea about the 28ga. I forgot about it when I posted. (Isn't ammo difficult to get though in rural areas? I remember about a dozen years ago or so, bringing a case of 28ga. ammo for my Canadian lodge owner's wife at her request. (she hunted ruffed grouse with a 28ga. Since I had trouble dropping ruffs with a 12 gauge, I considered her an annoying woman who just got lucky! I do remember that I had to hunt around for the ammo. Maybe the Internet makes it easier nowadays)

I bought my son a rem 1100 sporting 20 ga semi-auto when he was 12, I wish I would have bought him a 12 ga auto and started him out with some light reloads. If the youth you are buying the gun for can handle a 12 ga auto get it, the prices of the 20 and the 12 are about the same.

sorry the 20 ga I bought was a 1100 LT semi-auto not a sporting.

jrswick:

You mention that your son is 13 "and hardy". When I was early 13 (and I'm 74 today) I was wiry and healthy as a horse -but I also was small for my age and slender.(Puberty kicked in later and I shot up like a weed and gained weight) My father introduced me to the 410. It is a shotgun. It has mild recoil,of course. It worries me to introduce a young boy to a 12 ga - or even a 20 ga. It's not a case of whether he can "handle" it. It's a question of how long will it take him to feel free and easy with the shotgun. A 410 in the hands of a keen eyed teenager with great reflexes will kill quail and even ruffed grouse. I have personally seen a 14 year old breaking 23,24 out of 25 on a trap field using a 410 (and making some of his elders standing there with expensive 12 ga. trap guns feel very incompetent) When he reaches 15 (or even 14 if he fills out)then introduce him to one of the gauges. Just a suggestion. You're his father and will know best how to proceed.

I bought my son a 28g youth size NEF. It worked fine, can be upgraded, and it was not expensive. I figured that if he didn't take to shooting, or if he needed better at a later date, it would not be a big loss.

Robin

Hi all, I bought my wife a Winchester model 1300 20 gauge. Unlike the remington youth pump which was only shortened on the recoil pad end the winchester is scaled down in all diamentions the area between your palm and the trigger reach was critical for my wifes hands and this fit her very well. The pump was also refitted to be an inch closer for an easier reach. It will shoot 2 3/4 or 3" shells and has screw in chokes. This is a really nice shotgun.

I started shooting a single shot 410 that belonged to my grandma. I broke a bunch of clays with it as well as rabbits and quail. My grandma must hold a record somewhere with it. In her youth they had a feed trough for the chickens that the sparrows would feed in. She waited and got lined up just right and killed 21 with one shot. There has never been any dought by me as I have seen her shoot.