Allen

Thisreply is offered withsincerity and good intentions - please don't take offense.

I wouldn't allow my son to use a .410 to turkey hunt with because I don't feel it is an adaquate gun and, especially in the hands of a child, is unethical to use for turkey. In the hands of an expert perhaps it could get the job done in limited situations. Kids, however,are more likely to take a marginal shot or a poorly aimed shot. That shell simply doesn't have enough pellets, in my opinion, to take a bird on anything but a perfect shot at short distances.

The analogy of using a .410 for turkeys would be using a .243 for elk. I'm told that you can go out west and findelk guides that use this caliber, but those guys get to hunt the entire season and can afford to wait for the ideal broadside shot at a reasonable range. That doesn't qualify the .243 as an elk gun, and the fact that somepeople have killed turkeys with a .410 doesn't qualify it as an adaquate gun for turkeys either.

My son just turned 11 and has been turkey hunting with me for 4-5 years. I wouldn't allowhim to be the shooter until he was big enough at age 10 to handle a youth model 20 gauge. It wasn't because of recoil either, because he has taken 4 deer with my 30.06, the first one at age 8. I needed to feel confident that he was ready to execute a killing shot on a turkey with a gun adaquate for the task. He now is strong enough to handle the 20 gauge 870 quite well and killed a bunch of ducks with it this past season. We used it last year with a monopod (that unfortunately cost him a shot at a gobbler) and this year he is able to shoot from the knee in a sitting position without the monopod. We have practiced enough shooting at paper and "exploding" targets like water bottles that I am fully confident that he can cleanly take a turkey at 35 yards or so with this set-up we have worked on and practiced with. With the Primos Tight Wad ported turkey choke (.570 ID)and Nitro 4X5X7 loadshe and I are bothconfident that it is at least a 30-35 yard gun, but that is our distance limit. The last thing I want to see is the lookon my sons face as he watches a wounded bird get away, only to die a misirable death to coyotes. It still could happen if the excitement of the moment causes him to pull the shot, but it won't happen becasue the gun is inadaquate or we didnt' put in the time practicing with it in preparation for the upcoming season.

Obviously it's your call, but I would encourage you to wait until he is able to handle the 20 gauge. Most youth model 20s are so light that they do kick suprisingly hard, so you will have to make some modifications to it. You don't want the gun to kick the snot out of him the first time he shoots it 'cause he will be scared of it from that point forward and will never be able to shoot it without flinching. Geta ported turkeychoke and install a good pad on it like the Limbsaver. You may even consider taking more of the stock off and double padding it with a Limbsaver then a slip-on pad over that such as The Shooters Friend. That should take out a great percentage of the felt recoil. Participants in still target competitions do just that to be able to shoot multiple shots with hard-kicking turkey loads in practice and competition.

I hope I don't come off sounding like a know-it-all, but I've been down this road, both personally and with my son. My first gun was a .410 then I "graduated" to a double barrell 20 gauge Fox-Sterlingworth that my grandfather owned. That double barrel kicked like a mule and I hated it - I certainly don't want your son to have that experience.

Best of luck to you both this season,

Mouthcaller