I have 4 boys and all of them have been out hunting with me since they could walk with out any trouble. I now have my 7 year old that waht to start shooting birds. He has shot my 122 gauge several times but not at any thing that moves. What would any of you start a young hunter with. Would you go with a 410 or 20 gauge. I think a 122 gauge is to big and heavy for him. Any Ideas on size and make if it was one of yours or you as a young boy. His big thing is he wants to duck hunt with it as well.

20 gauge if he wants to duck hunt with it as well. They dont kick that much and if it is too much for him you should also try a 28 ga. and if he could use bigger which i doubt you should try a 16 ga. just some suggestions.

Look he's seven, and going to grow. You can shoot ducks with any kind of guage. It just depends on how close the are. Since he's gonna grow get something that he can easily replace , when he wants a 12 guage. I would get him a 20 guage 870 Express Pump.

I agree id go with the 20 gauge. I think the 410 is over rated as a starter gun because on the small paterns and the high cost of the shells.

I would definitely start him with a 20 guage for bird hunting.

20 guage pump was my first gun to kill anything with. i took mine on duck trips, dove hunts, and even killed my first deer with it. its the perfect first gun! i still use a 20 guage sometimes but not the same one.

I would start him on a 20 gauge 11-87 or some other gas operated auto loader. And I would also use low hadicaped or low recoil shells for the first couple of trips shooting.

20 gauge was my first gun, and it was awesome. I killed everything from doves to canadian geese, last year I upgrade to a 12. I'd get him a pump 20 gauge. And honestly, I think it would be unsave to give a 7 year old a semi-auto of any kind, they pull the trigger and another round is ready. At least with a pump he has to pump it first.

I got started off with a 20 gauge and used it till I was about 13 or so and my Dad gave me a 12 gauge. I used it to shoot lots and lots of dove with and I actually prefer to hunt dove with my 20 gauge anyways. It really taught me to be patient and wait till they come in close. It also taught me to wait for the right shot and to pick and choose which bird I want to take.

My first shotgun was a Stevens Savage 20 gauge when I was 12 years old. I think a 20 gauge would be a good starter if ducks are going to be on its "menu." If you are really concerned about recoil, look into getting a shotgun that you could put a KNOXX compstock on it. I don't have one of the knoxx stocks but they are supposed to work pretty good.

okay as far as the safty thing goes load shell one at a time. a semi is a lot better than a than a pump because of recoil. A 20 gauge pump, single shot, and over/under are about the worst reoil guns out their espacailly in a youth model becasue the are built to light. You can not beat the gas operated semi autos for low recoil. You take a kid out shooting and he get the crap knocked out of him good luck getting him to do it again, my dad made that mistake with me by getting me a little you 20 gauge single shot and takeing me to the skeet club and letting me shoot and it kicked the crap out of me, needless to say after my first shot I was done for the day. My dad found a 20 gauge 1100 for the next time and it was a lot better and I Shot it better because I wasnot scared of recoil. Thats my 2 cents.

20 gauge. I started with a single shot, but that was 25 years ago. Guns are better and more affordable now for a really nice one. The one good thing about a single shot is you learn how to make your one shot count.

well an 870 well knock a 7 year old to the ground no matter what gauge and i agree with 11-87 or 1100 no recoil no matter what gauge when you take him out shooting get low handecap shells to start out with and.

I personally started with a 12 guage when I got into hunting, but I'm a big guy so it's a little different. I'd say a 20 Guage would be your best shot, Pump or Semi-Auto is fully dependant on how much money you're willing to spend on a gun you may have to revamp in a few years anyways.

20 gauge!

Id go with a 20 Gauge 870 Pump.

I agree with Goose Bonker.If you start him out with a semi-auto he might become alittle trigger happy. And if recoil of an 870 would happen to be an issue you can always buy a limbsaver slip on recoil pad or any kind of recoil pad and put on it for him that way he can concentrate more on shooting and making the shot than being afraid of the kick of the gun.

870 with a limb saver pad still packs a pretty good punch to a 7 year old. get him a gas operated semi auto and load it one shell at a time. There is no gun out there with less recoil than a 20 gauge gas operated semi auto.

Single 20ga youth turkey by nef I love mine I shot my first deer with it and just about every kind of bird. now I have a beneli 20 pump love it more!!

I personally don't think most 7 year olds are capable of making proper decisions necessary for hunting. I have no problem taking them to the range, but wouldn't personally want to be in the field with one UNLESS the person hunting with them has no gun and is within arms reach at the farthest. My own kids started at 12 which I still thought was young even though they had shot for years.

Not knocking you just my .02

2o gauge is perfect for a 7 year old

i started out hunting when i was about 7 with a 410 single shot

20 ga is pefect I can shoot it with one hand lol but yet it is powerful enough to take down a duck or turkey I would go for the 20 ga

any pump action 20ga. no better youth gun. make sure you get the "youth model" tho so it will fit a youngster. dont start them on a semi, they never learn how to shoot well. plus any kid can handle a 20ga. you just have to break them in.

I would start him out with 510 magmum or a M16 or 50 caliber

go for 28 ga or if bigger 20 ga. Get something he can grow into. If he out grows it be sure you can sell it

When I frist got into hunting... My Dad Started me out with a 410 so I could get used to shooting a shot gun and then moved me up to a 20ga wingmaster!

I'd go with a 410 or the 28 ga.

I have a 28 and it works for rabbit...pheasant...quail.

Get him a single shot 410, 28, or 20. If hes 7 years old I wouldnt go with the 20 gauge right away. Get him used to walking and swinging with the smaller guns first. I shot my first gun when I was 10 and it was a H&R single shot 20 gauge and it was a little rough on me. Single shots make the young shooter really good. If you are going to get a single shot, let them shoot still targets first so they biuld up some confidence. After they have the still targets down, then move onto the moving targets. They are going to miss like crazy in the biginning but dont let them quit. Once they hit one in the air, they will be hooked.

a youth remington 870 20gauge. would be perfect. take him out trap shooting so he gets used to moving targets. then he'll be ready for ducks

Im not much of a gun hunter, i bowhunt most the time. but i bought a .410 a while back and i used it and think it is plenty powerfull for all the crow rabbit grouse and squirrels ive shot with it. it would probably get the job done on most birds depending on distance and shot size as well. It is a great overall gun (low kick, small, and light!) but i agree with the other guys if you wanna shoot bigger birds farther away i would get a 20 gauge but that might be a bit big for a 7 year old in my opinion. but the .410 has been plenty to kill the small game listed above for the times ive used it.

i think a 10 gauge would be the best that what i started with

that would break the kids shoulder and make him fly away from all the rocoil....

"I would get him a 20 guage 870 Express Pump."

I would definitley agree. I am 12 and have a 20g 870 express pump remington, but I reccommend that you dont make him walk around too much until he gets bigger because it will still be big if he is 7.

i started with a .410 single shot. and loved it. i killed everything but deer with it. i then got a 20ga single shot and killed everything. i think a single shot for a starter gun is the best because it teaches safety. the one i had was a new england firearms. it came with a 243 barrel too. i still shoot it sometimes but not much. but if ur looking for a pump the 870 youth model would be a great choice. they just never stop and are easy to have repaired.

ahh i remember it like it was yesterday.. my old man bought me a 22 bolt action for my first gun. i was only 4 lol.. in arkansas, we start em young.


when i was old enough to deer and bird hunt, he bought me a 20 guage mossberg 500.. i wish i still had that thing.. it was a trusty little shotgun

I was started on a 20 gauge and i think that is the way to go.

an 870 kicks to much for a seven year old a 20ga 1100 and make him put one shell in it then when he gets to where he can hit somthing then put two in it then three and yes he can learn to hit somthing with a semi auto

I'm 12 and use a 12ga. 3inch. Just put a recoil pad on it and they'll be be fine

i would go for a 20 a 410 you will pay a ton for shells i wouldnt go for a 16 that wat i use shells arent easy to come by good ones anyways maybe a 28 gauge i have no experience with

Either a 20 gauge or .410

I STARTED WITH A SAVAGE OVER AND UNDER 20 GAUGE AND .22. I LOVED IT. I STILL HAVE IT TODAY I JUST DONT USE IT AS MUCH. SO I RECCOMEND A 20 GAUGE OF ANY KIND

i agree 11-87 20ga

My dad started me and my 3 brothers on a Remmington 1100 20ga. Youth model. Used it until he bought a 870 Express 20ga, then I used that and my brothers used the 1100. I actually took my first deer with the 1100 when I was 11. The biggest thing was the fact that it was the youth model, switching to the 870 when I was 14ish was a big change as I was a smaller person and was lucky if I weighed 100lbs!

Go with an auto loader, it will teach more control, and to save your ammo for the right shot.

I now use an 870 Express 12ga and still to this day, grab the 1100 to play with at the range and the 870 20ga for small game sometimes.

Looks like the majority rules with a 20 gauge, if you can afford an automatic it will have less recoil, i just bought a 20gauge youth pump myself, couldn't swing the auto, he will just have to tuffin up. I started him with 9 shot just to plink with then went to 6 shot, then slugs. I didn't let him target practice with slugs as I new the kick would ruin him, I made sure it shot slugs ok myself. He did shoot a deer and never noticed the kick because of the excitement.
4/10's are just to expensive to shoot, although I still like to take my old single shot out every year and kill a few squirells.

You can't go wrong with a gas operated semi auto in 20 ga. Start with loading it one shell at a time. until he figures it out.

20 and 28 gage

I wouldn't buy anything smaller than a 20 gauge especially for duck hunting. I would even goes as far as to say I would buy a gun chambered for 3 inch shells. Once he gets older he may want to goose hunt. Pump or autoloader imo doesn't really matter, but I would only load one shell at a time. One question in regards to an autoloader though, at his age can he pull the slide? I have seen more accidental firearm discharges in loading and unloading autoloaders so a pump might be the safer of the two. Maybe it was just the jack----- that I was huntin with.

i personally started with a 20 gauge and it is probably the best gun he can get. bird, turkey, deer, and in most other types of hunting a 20 gauge is enough and is a great starting gun.

Benelli's 20ga M2 is a great starter gun. Although a little pricy it has its advantages. 1. Comertech stock that reduces recoil 2. New Crio Plus chokes system 3 Light weight and short length of pull. Chaeck it out. it is what I got my little girl and she loves it but charles daly also has a nice affordable 20ga youth gun