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Buckaroo shotgun ?'s


Renegade Roper

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We have a new shooter who wants to get her 12 year old son started too.  She is buying the Ruger Wrangler pistols for him and a 22 rifle.  What do you suggest for a shotgun?  They don't reload but some of us reload 12 gauge, but not 410 or 20 gauge.  I don't know if they could find 410 or 20 gauge shells and if they did they would be factory loads and I don't know how "heavy" they would be because I have never shot them.  So this would be a consideration in the type of shotgun they get for him.  Also any suggestions on the stock length?  We all shoot sxs's and she has an skb 100 so she would like to get a sxs for him.  Any suggestions or helpful hints would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Roper 

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My 10yo son shoots a 12ga double. Shortened stock and 20” bbls. I load him some light 7/8oz loads over a wee bit o’ clays and he does just fine.  I liked the idea of a fairly heavy gun along with light loads to tame the recoil. A sub-gauge double can/will kick just as hard if not harder than a 12 with comparable loads simply due to gun weight. If your pards load for 12, they could keep the kiddo going for now and it’ll grow with him as he gets bigger and the loads step up a bit.  Assuming, of course, that the parents are comfortable with their son shooting someone else’s reloads. 
 

keep in mind, too, that Buckaroos only have to hit the SG targets, they don’t have to fall. So no need to go looking for a knock-down recipe right now. 
 

Good luck on the hunt and good on you for helping another youngin’ get started. 
 

JJ

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17 minutes ago, JJ “Reb” Wainwright 110206 said:

My 10yo son shoots a 12ga double. Shortened stock and 20” bbls. I load him some light 7/8oz loads over a wee bit o’ clays and he does just fine.  I liked the idea of a fairly heavy gun along with light loads to tame the recoil. A sub-gauge double can/will kick just as hard if not harder than a 12 with comparable loads simply due to gun weight. If your pards load for 12, they could keep the kiddo going for now and it’ll grow with him as he gets bigger and the loads step up a bit.  Assuming, of course, that the parents are comfortable with their son shooting someone else’s reloads. 
 

keep in mind, too, that Buckaroos only have to hit the SG targets, they don’t have to fall. So no need to go looking for a knock-down recipe right now. 
 

Good luck on the hunt and good on you for helping another youngin’ get started. 
 

JJ

Thanks JJ.  We have some clays, how many grains do you use?  Any idea how much you shortened the stock? What brand double?  Thx.

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Hi Renegade,

It’s a Baikal and the total LOP from the front trigger is 13 1/4”. The wood is cut at 12 1/4” and then I installed a recoil pad, and covered all of it with a leather butt cover. It’s a hair long for him right now but as fast as he’s growing it works, and will be too short before I know it!  He also shoots Wranglers (after a fair bit of slicking’ by me) and his rifle is a Henry H001 with a youth stock.  You can see him shooting all of these in the video below at about 5:15 in.  At the time of this video he had been shooting for about 8 months. (Check out all of Jed’s movies while you’re there - he’s a great ambassador for the sport and an all-around good dude).

 

 


my Shotshell recipe for him uses a #19 MEC bushing (which on my loader, with my style of loading throws about 11 grains) with 7/8oz lead over a gray claybuster wad in win AA hulls with Cheddite primers. He wasn’t content just hitting ‘em - he wants to see them fall!
 

As usual, Your mileage may vary on the load. . . .consult the official books please. 

 

I get all excited when I hear about new kids coming into the game. Too bad you’re not in the neighborhood - my boy is itching for some other kids to shoot with. Good luck. 
 

JJ

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My son started with a single 410 at 10 years old, after half a dozen matches he switched to a 12ga double and said he wished he never had the 410.  The heavier gun with light loads makes all the difference in the world.  Try and find a used Stoeger and cut it down to 13 to 13-1/2 so it fits.  That makes handling the gun much easier for the kid. 

 

If mom has a 100 that is the Cadillac of light sxs, if its got a butt pad on it take it off and let the boy try that.  Honestly if mom has the SKB 100 that is your answer right there.  Let the kid use that for a while to see if he likes the game.   Then consider getting him his own gun.

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I have started my 11 year old Granddaughter with a 12ga.  9 grains of Unique with a 3/4oz load of shot.  It is a very light load, but still takes down 90% of the knock down targets.

Baikal shotguns are still available and very dependable. If interested ask me about them.

If cutting the butt stock, cut it so that he or she can get the stock up to their shoulder for shooting. Keep the cut off stock and add it back as he or she grows.

Johnny Meadows

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Two of my sons have shot buckaroo.  One is out of the game right now and the other is now a Young Gun, but will be shooting Cowboy soon.  Like @JJ “Reb” Wainwright 110206I started both of them with a 12 gauge double.  A Fast Eddie SKB with 22 inch barrels and a 12.75 LOP including the rubber butt pad.  I loaded 7/8th oz with gray claybuster wads, AA Hulls, whatever 509 primers were handy, and I believe 12.4 grains of Clays, but it's been a while since I loaded any so I'm not sure about the Clays weight.  The older of the two was shooting that gun starting at 8 years old.  The younger started at 10.


I've heard 97s work well if cut right.  They soak up the recoil better due to the weight, but the kid has to be able to handle that weight. 

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12 ga - 9 to 10 gr Promo or Red Dot - 7/8 shot - Claybuster CB0175-12 wad. Worked for this one .....she was 10.

Baikal - 21" barrels.  Henry .22  - Ruger .32 Mag Single Six.

 

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On 11/15/2021 at 6:40 AM, Johnny Meadows,SASS#28485L said:

I have started my 11 year old Granddaughter with a 12ga.  9 grains of Unique with a 3/4oz load of shot.  It is a very light load, but still takes down 90% of the knock down targets.

Baikal shotguns are still available and very dependable. If interested ask me about them.

If cutting the butt stock, cut it so that he or she can get the stock up to their shoulder for shooting. Keep the cut off stock and add it back as he or she grows.

Johnny Meadows

 

I'll second Johnny Meadows' recommendation of the Baikals. Both of mine (a 20 and a 12 gauge) were cut down and action work done by him and they work great. I think the 20 is a great choice for a smaller framed shooter (my wife shoots the 20), just because it's a physically smaller and trimmer gun than the 12. 

 

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Both Cody James at age 9 at the time and SASS Kicker at age 11 started with 12 gauge SKB's by Johnny.   With low recoil loaded shells, both were able to knock down the shotgun targets and enjoy the game.

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