Youth skeet

[Stape]

  Hey all, I'm searching for a youth skeet gun for my kid.  I've been taking him out shooting skeet, nothing fancy, just a wal-mart clay thrower mounted to a tire.  He wanted to go with me one day, hes never shot a shotgun before, though hes great with a pistol and rifle, we shoot one to two times a week.  Anyways, the only gun I had that might fit him was an old old Remmy 787 aouto-loader with the poly-choke.  It was my grandfathers, and as much as I can remember, he was a small man and liked his shotguns with a ridiculously short LOP, so, I dug it out of the back of the safe and the LOP fit him pretty good but was very front heavy, but at least it somewhat fit, and I figured, it being an auto, it wouldn't recoil as bad, well, its all I had for him.  So we go out, and I have him shoot a pop bottle at 25 or so just to feel it so there werent any suprises, and he was comfortable.  I had a box or two of low-base AA's, loaded him up and loaded the pigeon thrower....BOOM, smoked that thing like a champ...no way, beginers luck, guess not, he went at least 75-80 % on everything that was launched.  Took him out again and he was shooting doubles, and the ones he missed, he at least got one of them.  So, I think hes on to something, at worse we waste ammo and spend some more time together in another shooting sport, at best, we waste ammo and spend time together right?  So, I'm looking for a shotgun thats his.  Was thinking an autoloader for the reduced recoil, but he likes O/U's like I shoot.  can't go wrong with a pump, but I think hed be really slow with it and have trouble reaching the forearm.  Hes a small boy, 12 years old and maybe 65lbs or so, just a really small framed skinny kid, so I don't want anything that'll beat him up, but also, that he can hunt with.  He goes duck hunting with me but always sits there and practices calling as he didn't have a shotgun.  What would be a good shotgun that I could later add a full-size stock to, or at least a replacement to have fit for him as he gets bigger?  Maybe a 20ga as thats a little lighter but good enough for duck loads on decoying birds, plenty of ammor selection ect...... I think a double, while lighter, would be a bit rough on him, but the autos are heavier, but less recoil with the action and weight....not like hes going to be carrying this around a feild all day.  But the doubles can be had with shorter barrels and seem to balance easier and point better......I'm not a fan of cheap, but not looking at a Perrazi or anything (see I didn't even spell that right!)  I'm an avid bird hunter, and shoot informal clays for recreation and to kill time, laugh and have a fun time, nothing serious, and the kid really likes it too.  Sorry for the long-winded post, just wanted to paint a clear picture.   Any ideas from the avid shotgunners out there.

[Graybeard]

Back when my oldest son was around 9 or 10 years old give or take a bit I purchased half interest in a skeet range. It had two skeet and one trap field plus the club house. Naturally I spent a LOT of time there. Bob our oldest took an interest in skeet so I started him off there.

I bought him a light weight Remington 870 with short barrel and cut the stock to fit him. I started him out standing on the roof of the trap house shooting the targets from it which naturally were all going away targets. When he got pretty good at that I took him to the skeet field and first let him shoot at stations one and seven and then with his confidence up on that I let him go a full round shooting singles only. I think that first round he broke 10 or 12 or something like that.

We kept at it until he got pretty good and when he was big and strong enough I bought him an SKB 900 semiauto 20 gauge and let him start shooting doubles as well. He went on to become the sub junior state champion two years in a row and made the All State Team as a sub junior one year.

Don't move him to a semiauto too quickly as they tend to be real front end heavy and cutting the stock short to fit just makes them more front end heavy and hard for a youth to hold up and swing until they get enough muscle development for the job.

Today if I were starting over with a youth I'd buy a Remington 870 Youth 20 gauge and in fact I did just that for Bob's step son Robby several years back when he was about the age Bob was when I started him out. Keep the choke wide open and use light skeet loads and let him shoot as much as he feels comfortable with but don't let him shoot until the recoil develops flinches. When he's big and strong enough you can then move him to a semiauto or O/U depending on your budget and his shooting interest.

[Stape]

   Thats excellent insight Graybeard.  I appreciate it and think I'll do just that.  870's are everywhere and I can cut the stock to fit without having to worry about getting a replacement in the future.  Great shotgun that is well within my budget.