Youth Shotgun reviews and comparison

[Dirty]

I was wondering if any of you fellas have experience with youth 20 gauge;
specifically Remington 870 express and Mossberg 510 mini.

Pros and cons of each?
Price doesn’t matter. I have three daughters and the first is about to move from her .410 to a youth 20.
Any info is greatly appreciated.
I have one of each currently available and I’m trying to decide which to purchase.

 

[shorthairman]

I think youth shotguns kick like a mule. They make them so a youth can carry them, but dang they have some recoil. Bought my son the 870 10 years ago and wish I would have bought him a semi-automatic of some kind and put a shorter stock put on it.

 

[Kurtr]

never had to use youth models since my kid was a giant but if im picking i go 870 every time my only experience with a mossberg is the first gun i ever bought. Biggest piece of garbage i ever owned

 

[LBrandt]

I have a youth model 870 20ga and if you use 3" mag it kicks like a 12ga. It would be best to go auto loaded if you can. Even 20ga single kick like a mule unless you use a real light load. JMTC LB

 

[TFX 186]

Dirty,
I have a Mossberg 500C pump youth 20 gauge that my son shot. I also have a Winchester 1300 pump youth 20 gauge that I bought for my daughter to shoot. The Mossberg wasn't near as smooth and was hard for her to work the action so therefore, the Winchester. In my opinion, the Mossberg was pretty rough and OK for a stronger boy to operate, but you need something pretty decent for the girls to be able to operate it without struggling too much. The easier the better for the girls. I would be leaning away from the Mossberg.
Fish On!

 

[Obi-Wan]

When my son started shooting shotgun around 7/8 yrs old I had a mossberg youth 20 ga that I had bought for my daughter when she was around 12. The gun was to front heavy and he had trouble holding it up. I bought the mini super bantam and with the shorter stock, shorter overall length and lighter weight he had no problem handling it, although he did only shoot lighter loads with the mini. as he grew he moved up to the youth 20 gauge and then to a full 12 ga. The action of a mossberg is not the smoothest but my kids did not seem to have a problem with them. something i would not do is start a kid out with a with a 410, I had a buddy that did and that did not go well, the kid could not hit anything and would lose interest and want to go back and sit in the truck.

 

[Dirty]

Too late on the .410….my daughter has been killing turkeys with it for a couple years.

I really appreciate all the feedback fellas. Thanks!

 

[JMF]

I bought a full size 20 gauge 870 for my son, and then bought the youth stock for it. I wanted to kill 2 birds with one gun, now that he's outgrown it I gave him my 12 gauge 870 and I will put the regular stock back on the 20 gauge for me.

 

[Allen]

I bought a Mossberg around 10-11 years ago for my kids to use in 20 gauge. Kicks like a mule. They are very hard to pump for a young kid. Jams every now and then, parts of the bolt and slide are SHARP as hell, I cut myself a few times disassembling it to clean it.

These are all things I KNEW about Mossbergs from my own experience of owning one 40+ years ago, and yet it was the only true kid shotgun Scheels sold when I needed one for the kids.

Probably the only redeeming quality of a Mossberg is that I've always been a fan of the thumb safety, it's right in your face when you are learning how to use the gun, other than that it's safe to say that my favorite Mossbergs all reside in someone else's gun safe.

- - - Updated - - -

I would find out wherever TFX got that youth Winchester Model 1300 and/or try really hard to locate one on the interweb. It's a great gun and that assisted pump feature on the 1300 takes away some of the recoil while also making it very easy to operate. I finally had to replace the extractors on mine after 20 years.

 

[Dirty]

Good info guys. I will look into other options.
First shotgun I ever shot was an .870 express 12 gauge.
I still shoot the same gun 30+ years later.
I have zero experience with youth guns.

 

[KDM]

I bought a full size 20 gauge 870 for my son, and then bought the youth stock for it. I wanted to kill 2 birds with one gun, now that he's outgrown it I gave him my 12 gauge 870 and I will put the regular stock back on the 20 gauge for me.

This^^^^^^^ I did this exact thing myself. The idea is that IF your youth doesn't continue with hunting or whatever, you can use the weapon. It's also easier to sell a full size gun vs. a youth model IMO. Hopefully that doesn't become a reality. Good Luck!!

 

[Achucker]

I was wondering if any of you fellas have experience with youth 20 gauge;
specifically Remington 870 express and Mossberg 510 mini.

Pros and cons of each?
Price doesn’t matter. I have three daughters and the first is about to move from her .410 to a youth 20.
Any info is greatly appreciated.
I have one of each currently available and I’m trying to decide which to purchase.

I bought that mosberg. Kicks so had I hate shooting it. Thing I did like about it was it had a stick to fill up the magazine and would allow only one round or two if trimmed

 

[Dirty]

Am I understanding correctly that the heavier 20 gauge .870 with a youth stock has less kick because of the extra weight of the gun?

Or is a youth .870 20 gauge comparable to a regular sized 20 with youth stock, but you get the added benefit that when they out grow the youth stock you just switch and they are still good to go?

This is likely the route I will go.

 

[Motohunter]

Where are you located? I have a Benelli Nova in youth you're more then welcome to try out. Like most have said I feel it kicks pretty good.

 

[Dirty]

Where are you located? I have a Benelli Nova in youth you're more then welcome to try out. Like most have said I feel it kicks pretty good.

I may take you up on that. I live in Bismarck.

My 11 year old will use her .410 one last time this spring. Going for turkey number 5 already! Then this summer I want to have her move on to something bigger perhaps so my 9 year old can start hunting doves and turkeys with the .410.

This summer I plan on getting them both out for a few shots with the scattergun every time we shoot bows. Hopefully I will have both of them comfortable by fall.

 

[1lessdog]

My two youngest boys shot the Franchi Affinity 3 Compact. It weighs less than 6 lbs and very little recoil and is a Inertia-driven semi-auto shotgun. I cant ever remember a single malfunction. They had the 24 inch barrel.

 

[snow1]

Little more insight here....for your youth gunner,"felt recoil" is a huge factor,consider shying away from mechanical action's such as pump shotguns.

As you know,pump action shotgun's donot have recoil reduction built in like a semi/gas cycling....felt recoil can spoil the outting of your youth gunner,whether it's a slap in the face from recoil,stock comb to teeth jarring shoulder hits,black n blue shoulder's follow.

I strongly suggest a beretta youth AL391semi auto...24" barrel,nice light weight mini thunder stick,darn dependable as well,start your youth gunner with just one shell chambered for starters,very little felt recoil even with 3" 7/8th ounce loads,so it won't sour your outting with your young shooter or small framed adult/wife or girl friend.

My .02

 

[Allen]

snow, that's why I suggest the Winchester Model 1300, assisted pump. It IS the one pump shotgun that I know of which uses recoil to put the slide in motion. Hence, less felt recoil. Not as much recoil reduction as a semi-auto, but it is less than other pumps.

 

[bilbo]

I nearly bought an 870 for my 11 year old, but ended up getting a Tristar semiauto. At least I think that's the 'brand.' It's made in Turkey and it was relatively inexpensive. I wanted to minimize recoil as much as possible for him when he was beginning shooting and figured a gas semiauto was the best option. It's a full size gun and they have youth size stock available. I ended up not needing it as my kid is like me, long torso with monkey arms.

I had reservations as it was an 'off brand' but it's performed flawlessly so far. And I figured if he ended up hating shotgun shooting it I wasn't out that much. I opted for the wood stock model, which cost a bit extra but I like wood stocks. It's a nice looking gun, in my opinion. Best of all is he shoots it and isn't afraid of the recoil.

 

[SDMF]

I strongly suggest a beretta youth AL391semi auto...24" barrel,nice light weight mini thunder stick,darn dependable as well,start your youth gunner with just one shell chambered for starters,very little felt recoil even with 3" 7/8th ounce loads,so it won't sour your outting with your young shooter or small framed adult/wife or girl friend.

2nd vote for a youth Beretta gasser. Really anything in their lineup from a 302 on up through the A400. Beretta recently launched an A300 Outlander in 20Ga that's <$800, not sure if they're offering a short stock yet, but, that's what chop/band saws are for.

I started my now 13yr old off w/the Beretta 391 youth 24" bbl and Win AA Low-Noise/Low Recoil 900fps ~24gram loads. She has to shoot those single-shot as there's not enough "Oomph" to cycle any semi-auto, but, she didn't get scared of recoil outta the gate either. I had her shoot the same ammo out of the much lighter 1950's/60's single-shot Stevens that I started with and she didn't like shooting that at all, significantly more recoil.