YOUTH 410 OR 28

[encorejames]

I HAVE A 10 YEAR OLD ABOUT 100 LBS. IM LOOKING FOR LIGHT WEIGHT AND IS 28 THAT MUCH MORE RECOIL OVER 410?

[hellacatcher]

I stared out with the 410 but if I was getting one for a 10yr old with what I know now it would be the 28. The only draw back to the 28 is finding shells. :grin:

[DaveH]

I agree with encorejames I'd start him out with the .28 ga.  I did with my daughter when she first starting shooting.

[ScatterGunner]

i started out both my boys, my neighbors' grandson, and my niece on 410 handi's. they all shoot 410's with me still with the exception of my oldest boy who is busy getting involved with his girl !

learning to shoot a 410 takes patience to become a proficient shooter. what are you planning to shoot ?



sg

[BAGTIC]

Neither. Nothing smaller than a 20 gauge.  
The recoil problem can be handled by the choice of loads.
20 & 12 gauge ammo is much cheaper and more available.
The larger gun will give him something to grow into.

My wife is 4' 11'' and 104 pounds. She handles to 20 fine but the 12's are a bit bulky and heavy for her to carry and mount.

[Cookiemann]

The problem, I have heard, with the 410 is the tight pattern.  For young shooters, if it isn't fun, they won't want to continue shooting.  The 410 throws such a tight pattern that the MISSES usually out-number the HITS.  Every time they see that Clay explode in mid-air it builds their confidence and makes it exciting and enjoyable for them.  If the youngster is big enough to handle the 20 ga then I would go that route.  If not, maybe starting them with a Modified 410 barrel would be the answer.  By Modified, I mean,  take a 26" (adult length) 410 barrel to your Smithy and have him take it down 2" to a 24".  This will open it to cylinder bore so the pattern is bigger to get'em more hits than misses.  Once the confidence is there and the proper form has been developed graduating to the fully choked 410 or a 20ga will be an easy transition.  Just my 2 cents.

[totallycustom]

Well I am an avid shotgunner and club shooter, I am in a similar situation for a first gun for my young cousin (I am oldest he's youngest and I teach him shooting and fishing that our grandfather would if he was still alive, his dad doesn't do either). My  discussion with my shooting friends and from many articles I have read is don't start younger shooters with 410 for wing shooting, full choke is too tight even for experts with 410 and the shot sizes are too large, 8 or 9 is a good size for wing shooting. My thoughts currently are leaning towards the 28 for smaller shooters but if they can manage 20 with reduced recoil loads and good pads do it.

The following may be useful articles in your choices:
http://www.billhanusbirdguns.com/archive04.html
http://www.billhanusbirdguns.com/archive15.html
http://www.billhanusbirdguns.com/archive17.html
http://www.billhanusbirdguns.com/archive05.html
http://www.billhanusbirdguns.com/archive30.html
http://www.4-10.freeuk.com/index.html

The best of luck to you in your choice - TC

[Markus]

I was a bigger kid at that age but I started out with a 20ga topper deluxe model 192. It had a recoil pad and a 28"barrel. I know I'm an insesitive old fart but recoil is part of it. I don't even remember it ever being an issue. It might have had something to do with the recoil pad and the wieght added by the slightly longer barrel. The 20ga was considered what boys started out with in the slighly countyfied to hard core redneck circle of hunters that I grew up with.

[ONE HOLE 4570]

Just went  dove hunting with my 81/2 year old 70lbs or so. He shot a 20ga with a limbsaver recoil pad cut down stock & 7/8 oz loads, snuck some 1oz in & he did not notice the recoil. When he would shoot at stationary targets he said it kicked. I asked him if the gun kicked he said NO because he was concentrating on the game. He got 5 & is hooked. Was the best hunt of my life so far our 1st together with him hunting!! :grin:

[Paul Mohr]

I weighed about 80 lbs when I got my first H&R 20 guage. I shot 3 inch magnums out of it with no problems. It kicked pretty good, but nothing I couldn't handle even being that small.

A good recoil pad, maybe add some weight in the stock and the right loads and it should not be any problem.

I agree with the others, the 410 and 28 guage are not worth the extra expense on ammo. And the 20 will be more effective any way.

Paul

[ScatterGunner]

after they fire their first shot, recoil is the last thing they think about !

sg

[Brett]

 My vote goes toward the 20ga. with light loads also for all the above reasons...

Difficulty scoring hits on moving targets with tight chokes and the added cost of ammo.

Something else to think about when shopping for a youth sized gun... Less weight means more recoil.
I picked up a Stainless, Rossi 'youth' .410/.22 combo that I will teach my 6 year old daughter to shoot with and hunt squirrel with soon.  Because the gun only weighs about 4# it smacks you harder than you you might expect from a .410. The first time I shot the .410 barrel, to pattern it, my first thought was "Dang... this little sucker has a bite!  I better have my daughter stick to the .22 barrel for a while."   I'm no wuss when it comes to recoil either. I regularly shoot a .280 Rem. Handi-Rifle and a 12ga. Mossberg with a 20" slug barrel and a 28" shot barrel using heavy field loads.  Now I'm not saying the little .410's kick was anything near that of the afore mentioned guns, I just didn't expect a .410 to kick nearly as much as it did.  I also own an adult sized Topper in .410 which weighs conciderably more than the Rossi youth model and it doesn't seem to have near the 'bite' of the fly-weight Rossi.

[Couger]

I suppose it's already been said, but start the new shooter with a 20 gauge.  If the standard 7/8 ounce skeet loads are too snappy with recoil, then visit the Hodgdon Powder site and use the data for reduced 3/4 ounce loads.

My dad started me with a singleshot .410 37 years ago, and that was a tremendous handicap, since i regularly begged my dad to use his 12 gauge pump for hunting only 3-4-5 years later.

The 28 gauge is a great little "balanced" shell, but still not as powerful as a 20 gauge and not readily available in most stores.  Plus a youngster CAN GROW with a 20 gauge.  FWIW.  

[slug shooter]

i am 14 and started out when i was 9 on a H&R topper 58 20 gauge. i used turkey loads slugs light loads and buskhot, recoil aint to bad. i would say 20 gauge. ammo is cheap i pay $14.22 for 100 rounds at wally world and u can grow with a 20 gague and 28 ammo is more expensive and 20 gague is easier to find.

[phatspeed7x]

I just bought a NEF pardner 20ga today, and with sporting clay shot it doesn't kick at all. Plus ammo is alot less for the 20ga.

box of 25 20ga hunting load $4.99
box of 25 410ga hunting load $8.99

box of 25 20ga target load $2.99
box of 25 410ga target load $7.99

[Ambushhunter]

I bought a used pardner 20 for my 11 y.o. son, an older model with the hard butt plate.  Man, kicked worse than my 12 ga. gas operated semi-auto!!  I ordered a nice rubber ventilated pad from H&R and put it on.  Really tamed the recoil.  He can actually skeet shoot for an afternoon with it now.  Go with the 20 and a good recoil pad.  P.S. I re-did the wood a nice black enamel, looks better than a lot of my guns!!