# which gauage shotgun?



## fishunt (Jan 24, 2004)

which gauage shotgun is good for my kid to practice and hunting small game before I buy? thanks


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## Duxbac (Feb 4, 2005)

How old? And how big is he? I started at 10 with a 20 guage single but I started my son at 12 with a 28guage double. It depends what he can handle safely. My friend gave his 13 yo a 12guage UO he is a realy tall kid but lightly built, didn't need to shorten the gun but started him of with 7/8oz light reloads.


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

A 12 that fits the shooter, and Winchester low recoil, low noise loads worked well for both of my kids. Congratulations on bringing another hunter into the fraternity! Burl


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## fishunt (Jan 24, 2004)

which one is less powerful 410 or 28 ga?


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## 870 XPRS (Mar 12, 2003)

.410, 28, 20 16, 12, 10


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## fishunt (Jan 24, 2004)

he is going to be 6 and he does pratice with 20 ga and I wondering does they have less power than 20 ga? 410 or 28? thanks for help


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## fishhook (Aug 29, 2002)

At 6 you give him a cap gun or a nerf dart gun......a little young for my taste to give him a weapon that can kill.


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## 870 XPRS (Mar 12, 2003)

I started at 8 with a single shot .410 out hunting pheasants, and I think i could have started earlier than that. It all depends on who the kid is and what they understand at the time, how they are able to handle and interpret different situations.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Some of the same people who will give their young kids a gun are the same ones who are scared to give them a sharp knife to gut and clean their kills. As a matter of fact I have yet to see a youth gut and clean their own game. Used to have to do that if you wanted to hunt and it didn't hurt anybody except the squeemish ones that don't stick with it anyway. 

I have a friend who was shot by his own kid last year, thank God he lived as he was shot in the heart. It weakened him to the point he will never be the same. And another friend who was shot and killed by a youth last deer season.


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## fishhook (Aug 29, 2002)

As a parent you would feel pretty crummy if your 6 year old child was scarred for life by accidentally killing another person. Or worse.....shooting him or herself.

Maybe i'm the minority but i think it's too young.....no matter the kid. There is plenty of time for them to learn to shoot.


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## 870 XPRS (Mar 12, 2003)

fishhook said:


> As a parent you would feel pretty crummy if your 6 year old child was scarred for life by accidentally killing another person. Or worse.....shooting him or herself.


Maybe 6 is a little young, but no matter the age if the above were to happen, you as a parent or yourself for that matter wouldn't be feeling to well. I think if your a responsible parent, you can place your child in situations that aren't going to put anyone in harms way.


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## 870 XPRS (Mar 12, 2003)

How old do you feel is old enough then???


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Is there a minium age to take hunter safety courses? Don't they have to have a hunter safety number to hunt in ND. I would say in these modern times sometime after they have taken hunter safety is soon enough to add the extra risk of inexperienced hunters to the general public. 8)


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## fishunt (Jan 24, 2004)

yeah I agree with u feel the same way.. since I took my lab to trainer and trainer's son who is 7 and shot turkey from 410 ga and last friday I went ND fish and game department and ask about kid age when they can start hunting... they say kids can go hunting with parents and shoot small game and no rifle and also kids are allow to shoot with bow for deer I was shocked so my son was exicted about shooting birds. I would like him start practice with 410 or 28 ga and he did with 20 gauage to target and he enjoyed it so that is why I asked about which is weak gauage good for kid to practice or shoot waterfowl or turkey... later he will go for pheasants... for hunting safey course start at 12 ages or up


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

I believe there are other ways to get your kids interested in hunting rather than giving them a gun right away. I have a 9 month old son, so I haven't done this myself but this is what I observed with my younger cousin:

When I was getting into hunting in my high school years, my cousin was in elementary school. He learned how to properly handle a gun using a BB gun. Then he would go with us on hunting trips (minus the BB gun). He LOVED crawling through the brush and cattails, pushing out deer for us. There was NO spot too small for him to crawl through. Doing this, he learned all about the safety rules, hunting setups, relationships, etc. He is now in college, and is one of the safest and rule-abiding hunters I know. He has a tremendous respect for wildlife and the sport. His families love of hunting obviously contributed to this.

Most importantly, hunting has to be something that the child enjoys...you can't push it on them. Too often you see parents that push a sport onto their kids (I coach at the high school level so I see this once in a while). I would guess the same thing would apply to hunting. This is how I will approach this with my son.


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## Springer (Dec 21, 2004)

> Is there a minium age to take hunter safety courses? Don't they have to have a hunter safety number to hunt in ND.


You have to be ten in Nodak to take hunters safety and you have to must take it by age 13 in order hunt. or be born after 1961.

I have been looking for a single shot 28 ga but can not find one.
I was told that you can get lighter loads for a 12 than you can get for a 20. the problem is that all of the 12ga are way to big for my kids.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Thanks Springer...

Sounds like a sweet gun to learn with. Without a doubt there are no two situations alike when it comes to kids, good luck and have fun!


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## GooseBuster3 (Mar 1, 2002)

I started shooting a browning 20 gauge youth pump at the age of 9. They will work just fine. I can never recall having a sore shoulder.


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## fishunt (Jan 24, 2004)

ok good thank u and 20 gauage would be good enough to kill geese/duck and turkey? If I get 20 gauage and I will get pad on shotgun for my kid wont get sore on shoulder . Thank u again for information


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## BIG LOST (Feb 2, 2005)

:-? *IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE A 410,,get the choke opened to at least an improved cyl. or none at all,,,get 'em hittin',,I feel sorry for the kid who is given a full choked 410,,a full choke is for experienced shooters not green kids..get 'em hittin' right off and they are hooked for life.......charcoal brickets hung from a string are great reactives for kids!! :beer: *


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

I sure wouldn't want a 6 year old kid around me with a loaded firearm!

Not pheasant hunting especially. If you want a kid that young to hunt I would confine it to squirells or deer and I would be sitting behind them without a gun giving what they are doing my undivided attention. My kids target shot that young with a 22 but they were sitting on the ground with me siting ( basically wrapped around them )right behind them making sure nothing bad happened.

I think kids should pheasant hunt with a BB gun for the first year at around 10 or so depending on their size and maturity. When my kids first started hunting pheasants I was alone with them and I either didn't carry a gun, or made them carry theirs without a shell in the chamber ( pump) and when the dog went on point I put my gun down and became the instructor. I didn't want them to shoot me or one of my dogs. I also strongly recommend no hammer type guns, my son shot one off acidentlly trying to lower the hammer on a twenty guage single shot( fortunately he was pointing away from us as taught) and my friends son once bagged his wifes station wagon with a model 94 30-30. Hammers and kids with weak cold fingers are a bad mix.


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

Not having known (or considered) the age of the child in question, when I posted earlier. I have to second Bobm. BB guns ONLY, in the field, until AT LEAST age ten. I don't care who the teacher is, safe gun handling can only be learned with experience and a greater degree of maturity. Please be kind to your son, and those (yourself included) who might be around him in the field and stick with the low powered bb gun. An accident with any firearm will stay with you forever! Buy the 20 gauge gun for yourself, and cut it down for him when he is older. Burl


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## Duxbac (Feb 4, 2005)

In my previous post I said that I started my son of at 12 with a 28guage UO. That's when he started hunting before that, and always under supervision, he had a BB gun and a single shot .22 bolt action. The .22 was actually his first shotgun, cut to a suitable length and the sights removed and replaced with a white bead, with shot cartridges I taught him to shoot hand frown crackers. The dogs and birds clean up the mess. Then he moved on to hunting Starlings and Sparrows which are vermin here in Australia. When he got older we glued the piece of stock back on and fitted a scope it became his first rifle. Bought a single .410 next but when I tried using it myself, I realised how accurate you had to be with the full choke. That's when we bought the 28 gauge fortunately we only had to shorten it about an inch, an English style rubber pad bought it back to proper length later on.

PS 
I had a Police officer friend that was shot in the neck with a .22 shot cartrige at a distance of less than 20 feet he only spent the night in hostpital. While any gun including a BB is potentialy lethal, the .22 with shot shells at least is considerably less deadly than a .410 and is more manageble for a very young child.


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