Trigger Mike Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 my son is 10 is wants a shot gun for snakes and squirrels but is thin and very little fat and my double barrel knocks him backward the one time he tried it with #7.5. he has asked for a 410 but i want to save the 410s that i have for my two daughters. i keep telling him he will soon outgrow the 410 and not want it any more. at what age can boys usually handle a 12? I never got to shoot until the army and don't want him to miss out like ii did. as a side note i have been saving a Ruger single six 22 for him and yesterday he tells me he wants a semi-auto 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Dan Dawkins Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 My son started at 7 with an H&R Pardner 12 ga. I cut the stock, installed a recoil pad, and loaded him BP loads with 7/8 of shot and XXX grains of FF. The 410 single barrel he tried had much sharper recoil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presidio Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I was 8 when my Grand-father handed me his Browning 12ga. pump. Set me back a few feet when I tried it. Yup, I WAS thin and a tad under weight. Keep up with the double ever so often, once he learns how to position and hold his body, he'll love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Harley, #14153 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Every kid is different. The key is making sure the stock fits him and that there's a good recoil pad on it. If he's struggling to hold the gun up, it will be very unpleasant to shoot. But if the gun fits him, things are much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Every kid is different. The key is making sure the stock fits him and that there's a good recoil pad on it. If he's struggling to hold the gun up, it will be very unpleasant to shoot. But if the gun fits him, things are much better. Yes, and I know adults that won't shoot a 12 gauge. Besides stock fit mentioned, try to fine some ultra light target loads. Winchester AA feather light, Fieocchi makes a LITE trainer load. If that's not possible, find the lightest load possible - 7/8 or 1 oz with the lowest velocity. Make sure he holds the gun correctly and not on shoulder socket, arm or coller bone. Caution him that it's going to kick but it'll be ok. Just roll with it. Recoil is half phisics and half mental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Home Range Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 My son started SASS this year. He is 10 and not very big. He shoots a 12 gauge. He has no problem with it, and you can see he isnt struggling with it. The stoegger coach guns all weight almost exactly the same. So you wont save weight with a smaller gauge. The 20 gauge has more felt recoil than a 12 gauge. I cut his shotgun down almost 6 inches for LOP. I load him 3/4 ounce loads with a light powder charge (if you want to know details pm me) He still knocks down all the shotgun targets he hits. He shot a rattlesnake in our barn this last week with his 12 gauge. He was feeding and ran back up to tell me, I supervised everything for safety. As everyone else said, every kid is different. The biggest thing is trying to fix problems before they start, shorten the LOP, get a recoil pad and use light loads. The worst thing anyone can do when training new shooters is get them scared of recoil. We shoot mostly suppressed firearms here at my house. When I work with new shooters its usually a good experience for them. Very little noise and suppressors also drastically reduce recoil. The easiest way to get rid of scared, recoils anticipating, flinching shooters is to never have shooters get scared in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trigger Mike Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 i will get a recoil pad, i never thought of that. that might help. since he is tall the LOP seems fine. He holds his m1 carbine like a pro like he was born with it but the pad might help. I have a TTN I use everyday and was either going to give him that one or a Norinco rabbit ear or a Rossi i had bought but never fired. all 3 have external hammers which i though might make it safer for him anyway. he was shooting remington, i believe i have some winchester featherweight on hand and will have him try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I guess I can't help you very much, Mike. I shot my first shot gun at the age of 5, dang near busted my nose and didn't want any part of it for a while. At the age of 11 my Dad got me a 16 gauge and I went with that and never looked back. I am not recoil sensitive so I can't say how things go for your son. Anyway, good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coho Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Growing up we used a hand-me-down single shot .410 as soon as we passed hunters ed. (@ 8 years old) but we had to be 12 to get our own "real huntin' gun" which was a 12 ga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Hatfield shot my 12 ga. full choke double with heavy field loads when he was seven or eight years old. The first two rounds were "BAM-BAM" and he staggered back a step. He cracked it open and looked at me, "You got some more of those?" He blew the center of one of those man silhouette targets on that first try. To this day, he seldom missed with a shotgun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 If my kid had shown an interest in shooting at 10, and had asked for a .410, he would have had one by supper time! The best way to kill his interest is to buy him something he doesn't want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hoss Carpenter, SASS Life 7843 Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 I was a big kid and got a 12 gauage J.C. Higgins bolt action Christmas of my 12th year. At 14 I got a Browning Sweet Sixteen. It fit well and I learned to "lead" birds and Ducks. Like a fool I traded it my first year in college for a Remington 1100 in 12 gauge. Make sure the gun fits the boy/girl, even if you have to cut the stock. Teach them to keep their heads down on the stock when shooting, and follow through is very, very important in hitting clay and live targets! Cheers, Hoss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Better than cutting the original stock would be to find a cheap replacement buttstock and wack it off. That way in a couple of years you can replace the original buttstock. I did this with a little Crackshot when my youngest started shooting. In a couple of years he outgrew it and I put the original buttstock back on. Also a good way to go if you intend to sale or trade it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Howdy,I was handed a 12 with low power loads supposedly because it had Damascus barrels and nothing more was safe. I still remember hitting my first pheasant with that old 12. Best CR ps I have a marlin 22 semi auto could go pretty cheap. nice older one wood and blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trigger Mike Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 let him try out a smith and wesson 3000 pump with pink #8 and he liked the recoil only the pump is too far for him, BUT it has a recoil pad so that might have made the difference. may try him with the SxS again with the recoil pad . my thought is farm out my extras to the kids as they get old enough and sell the rest to pay bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tonic Kid, SASS #70340 Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Little Rebel was 9 when he started using a Stoeger in 12 gauge, and Rebel is a small feller. The gun was cut down really short so he could snug it up to his shoulder tight. The stock on his Stoeger is cut really short for him. He did shoot a double Stoeger in .410 for one match prior to shooting a twelve, but Rebel says the shells on a 12 are easier to handle than the .410. We also shoot Winchester Double A Low Recoil Low Noise factory shells exclusively. The fit of the shotgun to the kid is most important in my opinion. Results may vary. Glad he's shooting! Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 I was 8 when I started shooting a 12 gauge. Then again, my dad couldn't afford a youth model gun, and didn't want to cut the stock like some folks do. So he just removed the recoil pad. So I held that bare wood stock against my shoulder, and of course the gun was way too long. There was no way the stock was ever going to stay in the shoulder pocket like it's supposed to, so every trip to the range meant I came home with a badly bruised shoulder. I liked it so much, I haven't stopped shooting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Hi Mike, I posted a link to this on FB. The few that responded declined to post on the Wire. The consensus was that the 12 can be downloaded to kick less than a 20 or 410 for any age. Regards, Allie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trigger Mike Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 that is helpful. i added a pad to my double barrel off the pump and he loaded the pink Federal Breast Cancer rounds and said it was better. It still hurt his hand by the trigger. not sure why. He used a TTN. Would a rossi or Norinco hold different or have better weight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Hi again Mike, I do know that the FBC pink rounds (I bought two cases several years ago and haven't gone through one yet) kick more than my home-load AA equivalents. Regards, Allie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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