11 year old hunters!

id. painter · 03-13-2003, 08:57 AM

Just rescently (last two years) Idaho has been offering a youth hunting liscense.
After completion of a hunter Ed. course this age group can hunt all but big game and turkey, (i think)?while being in the presence of a liscensed adult.
My son found this out and is now obsessed about getting a new shot gun.
My son is short for his age and finding a gun to fit is going to be tough. We have looked at several . I know he will grow and any small stocked gun will be out dated in very few years.
Another delema is the gauge . We live in a fantastic waterfoul area, Goose hunting is tops and i feel like he may as well start with a 12ga. 3inch. But weight and length become an issue.
There must be others who have gone thru similar delema,,,, what is your advise. stumped ,,, id. p.

Drakeblake · 03-13-2003, 09:18 AM

I was 11 years old when I got my hunters ed. card. My fist shotgun was an 870 20 ga. Youth model It was a little big but worked fine. Boy did I have a burse after shooting that thing but i loved it. Only got 3 ducks and 1 pheasant that year and I was hooked. I say go for it and get him a gun. You can even make a smaller stock for the gun to start out with then as he grows put the factory one back on. And be sure to take advantage of youth hunts offered in your area. Good luck

-blake

willametteriveroutlaw · 03-13-2003, 09:31 AM

20's kick as hard as 12's alot of the time, you can always get him a full size gun whack the stock and then get him a replacement stock when he gets a little older. Also get him shooting hevi shot or somthing along those lines for geese and ducks, because then you can use 2.75 in shells, which should't hit as hard.

id. painter · 03-13-2003, 09:45 AM

Thanks for the replys ,, i agree with what you have said.
Another delema, is that he has a tough time extending his arm far enough to reach the forarm on a pump.... But i worry about a semi-auto. It is too easy to forget that the gun is already loaded and cocked.... would you give an 11 year old a semi-outo???? id. p.

id. painter · 03-13-2003, 09:51 AM

By the way this started last X-mas.... He wrote a letter to santa,, "Dear Santa, I want a 12ga. 3inch, Rem. Semi -auto shot gun for X-mas,,,, and just in case you dont give guns for X-mas, ill take 350 $" I think he may have been testing his belief in Santa as well as testing his parents... hi,ho. id. p.

Gary Miller · 03-13-2003, 09:57 AM

WRO,
My son passed his hunter safety class when he was
8 years old and has hunted waterfowl for the past
two years with me. He is now 10 years old and loves to hunt ducks and geese just as much as I do. He shot about 100 ducks and geese this year with his 20 Gauge Mossberg youth model. The last
couple trips of the year he tried shooting a 12
gauge but he didn't shoot as well as does with his 20 gauge. One thing to consider is that the youth model shotguns hold their value, so if you
do buy one for him I bet you will get most of your money back when it comes time to move to a 12
gauge. Oregon has a state wide youth waterfowl season in September. You need to try this hunt as
you will have the whole marsh to yourself and have
some great shooting.

Good Luck
Gary

Day Late · 03-13-2003, 10:14 AM

When my son was 15 years old I bought him a Mossberg 500, 12g pump, 3" at Bi-Mart for $199. Although not a youth model, the stock was shorter than on any of my other 12's and fit him perfectly. He still out shoots me today using the darn thing and he's 22 now. Try one and see how it fits. :smile:

Day Late

ICHTHYDEMON · 03-13-2003, 12:09 PM

You don't have to have more than one shell in a semi-auto. Give him a shell at a time,and he'll have a single shot. A semi will be heavier than other styles. Being heavier will make it harder to hold and shoot well,but will reduce recoil,since it's an auto and it's heavier. I'd get him a youth model or cut down 12ga. You don't need to shoot heavy magnum loads to be effective. Find some loads in 1 or 1 1/8oz. and take him hunting.

id. painter · 03-13-2003, 01:13 PM

I started with a 20ga feather weight pump. It worked fine . I soon wanted a 12ga. auto loader. I spent an entire summer mowing lawns and saving my $ to buy a Rem. 1100. I still have that 1100.I may try an Auto loader and give him one shell for a while. Good idea. Thanks. id. p.

bigshark · 03-13-2003, 01:20 PM

id.painter

The advice your getting here is good. Most folks don't realize the physics involved in shot shells.
Pressures generated in a 20ga are much higher than with a 12. Hence, pound for pound the 20 kicks harder. Many youths who are born into "shooting" families, like trap or skeet or sporting clays, are rarely started with 20 ga. guns. I understand money or the expense factor is many times a factor, my vote goes to getting a used 12 if need be. I would not hesitate in getting an auto verus a pump. Its all in the training you will provide. The felt recoil is less in many of the autos

KingFisher85 · 03-13-2003, 06:20 PM

Yes, autos are nice, I have two of them :grin: Lot heavy then the pumps. I have a Remington 1100 and its a heavy gun, but my American Arms 12 GA is a light weight gun. I really don't know it but someone that does not shoot it a lot can tell its a heavy gun. The Mossberg model 9200 is also another heavy gun. But the Charlies dalys and the Beretta auto 12 GA shotguns anit to bad.
I would say get him a Mossberg 500 12ga to start off with.
Just my 2 cents

[ 03-13-2003, 07:22 PM: Message edited by: KingFisher85 ]

Lured In · 03-13-2003, 08:48 PM

I'll throw in my .02 as well. I started shooting shotguns at the age of 11. I was shooting my dad's first gun, a single shot JC Higgins 20ga. In Rhode Island, you had to be 13 to hunt and pass hunter safety. For the Christmas just before my 13th birthday, my dad got me a Mossberg 12ga. At the time I was all of about 4'11" and 90 pounds. My dad had the stock cut down (about 1.5") so I could shoulder it. It had a 28" barrell on it, which felt a little long but I got used to. When i was about 16, my dad epoxied the original portion of the stock back on. I shot that gun as my primary for 15 years. I still have it and it shoots great.

My advice, would be to get him a inexpensive pump (wood stock). Cut down the butt. Depending on how big he is and how fast he is growing, you might consider a 26" barrell. With Mossberg's you can get new barrells for about $100 so when he is ready, he can get a new barrell. They are not fancy, are easy to clean and cost effective.

Personally, I would not go with the auto loader. Let them earn those stripes if he chooses to at a later date.

willametteriveroutlaw · 03-13-2003, 11:14 PM

Gary,
There could be a couple reasons for that, most likely he was used to shooting his 20, so the 12 was a new feel,it very well could be the weight too, 12's are heavier than 20's generally. Do you guys shoot Other metals or steel for ducks and geese?

I passed my hunter safety at 8 and have been hunting ever since. I started out with a single shot 20 that kicked the crap out of me and went to an 870 12 ga from there. I have shot numerous 20's and from my expirience a 3 in 20 duck load kicks harder than a 2.75 12 ga duck load. Get hime whatever works for him. I shot a semi when I was 11-13, 12 ga (A5) and I found that at that age, I wasted alot of shells in comparision to my 20 single shot. (birds per shot ratio much better with the single shot).

id. painter · 03-14-2003, 06:15 AM

Thanks everyone for the great advice... I will look at the Mossberg , 500's. Several voted that way and it will not be ignored. I do have some time , my son turns 11 in July and we are trying to have it by then. Thanks for the feed back....id. p.

northriver1 · 03-14-2003, 11:43 PM

For my 11 son we are cutting a 28ga down for the first year or two, add the bismuth and he should be fine. I do not want to have his brains beat in like good old dad. I have seen to many kids fight the big gun (can't hit anything)and than sour to hunting for a couple of yours do to the kicking of the 12 & 20's. My thoughts but I know
most people thgink I am crazy with this plan. However, if you have shot a 28ga you might see the wisdom to the plan. They are sweet.

MarlinMark · 03-16-2003, 10:18 PM

I'm going to second the 28ga. My uncle uses a 28 ga. for all of his upland hunting. It is a Remington 870. Light and sweet. Kills birds dead. I don't know if you can get Hevi-shot in 28 or not but I'm sold. I'll own a 28 for chasing chukars all over the canyons. (read this as a second use for the guns lifetime in your family.) His first few years will be spent shooting a managable firearm (you said he wasn't big for his age.) Then you will have a great light weight gun for treking all over the place.

Mark

northriver1 · 03-17-2003, 01:07 PM

I am not aware of any factory 28ga Hevi-Shot or any reloading data. Something about the wad or lack of one.