Youth shotgun suggestions.

[ckarr]

I want to buy the smallest youth shotgun available for my boys to shoot. They are 7 and 5. They have pretty much mastered the BB gun, besides a little gun safety I have to beat them over the head with occasionally. They have also become fairly decent with a cricket 22, mossberg 22 and ar 22, but I want a decent shotgun for theme. Most I have seen in stores and too heavy and too long. I realize it may just simply be that they need a little more growing to shoot one effectively, but wanted to see if you have any experience in this department. My oldest is around 4'1'' I think and 65 pounds. 5 yr old is much smaller but a lot better shot!

 

[KGmade]

an NEF .410 would be a good start. Could probably order a second stock and have it cut down a couple of inches.

Edit:
Looks like they have a youth model ready to go
http://www.hr1871.com/Firearms/Shotguns/pardneryouth.asp

 

[GeauxLSU]

IMHO that's pushing it at their age/size. They'll grow up plenty fast enough, no need to rush it. But yeah, the NEF is probably the most readily available small shotgun available.

 

[Candy Corn Rocks]

Streetsweeper

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Just the other day I went to a "Turkey Shoot" and watched a father and young son participating. The boy was probably about 7 years old.
He had a Mossberg 500 "super mini" or whatever they call it. A really small pump-action .410 shotgun with a butt stock the size of a travel mug for your coffee.
That light weight little .410 shoved the kid back visibly when he fired it.
He could handle the recoil, but it shook his upper body just like an adult would be shaken when firing a 3" Magnum shell out of a 12-gauge.

Now, a .410 when fired from a gun with a steel frame (not aluminum), a dense wood stock (not hollow plastic), and a long barrel (not a 20" skinny barrel) may be much softer on a kid's shoulder, even if the gun doesn't carry or swing on target as well.

 

[fattboyzz]

I want to buy the smallest youth shotgun available for my boys to shoot. They are 7 and 5. They have pretty much mastered the BB gun, besides a little gun safety I have to beat them over the head with occasionally. They have also become fairly decent with a cricket 22, mossberg 22 and ar 22, but I want a decent shotgun for theme. Most I have seen in stores and too heavy and too long. I realize it may just simply be that they need a little more growing to shoot one effectively, but wanted to see if you have any experience in this department. My oldest is around 4'1'' I think and 65 pounds. 5 yr old is much smaller but a lot better shot!

What kind did you end up getting ?

 

[ckarr]

After going around to a few stores and letting them fondle some different guns I realized it's not the wisest decision. All of them were too heavy or too long. They are great shots with a rest, but need a little more growing to be decent with a shotgun. But we are going to cabelas Saturday so I may see what they can handle there.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

This Mossberg 510 "super mini" is very short. Only weighs 5 lbs. Has 18.5" barrel. The stock can be as short as 10.5" length of pull if you take out the spacers.
http://www.mossberg.com/product/510-youth-mini-super-bantam-all-purpose-field-50358/

 

[jeep78]

This Mossberg 510 "super mini" is very short. Only weighs 5 lbs. Has 18.5" barrel. The stock can be as short as 10.5" length of pull if you take out the spacers.
http://www.mossberg.com/product/510-youth-mini-super-bantam-all-purpose-field-50358/

And that tiny gun kicks a small shooter like a 10 gauge kicks an adult.

Let them practice with 22lr shot shells for a few years, then get them a 20 gauge when they are big enough.

A 410 at that age is too much gun, and puts out a really poor pattern.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

20 years ago, I bought a single-shot .410 (bolt action) and cut it down to Daisy BB gun size proportions.
18.1" barrel, and the stock has about a 10" length of pull.
The gun only cost me $50, so I didn't mind taking a saw to it and Bubbafying it to make it kid-sized.
It's light. Probably 5 lbs.
The only thing I regret is that I never put any kind of sighting system on it, and that makes it hard to teach kids how to aim or point it.