my first gun was the rem 870 express youth. i got it five years ago. now im 17 and more than capable of using a 12 ga, but i actually still use my youth gun for turkey. with hevishot #6 and a pure gold choke tube, im deadly out to 40 yards easy, and its a whole lot nicer to carry around the woods than some big 12 ga. im very satisfied with it and would def recommend it. you may want to consider not having you son shoot the 3'' turkey loads until hes in the woods cuz they really kick. my dad had me practice with trap loads and then we put in the turkey loads only when we we're actually hunting. when a tom steps out in front of him, he wont feel a thing.