My son is getting ready to turn 8 and this was his second year deer hunting. He carried a single 20 guage and while he never noticed the kick, I sure could notice it. Plus I never let him shoot a high brass shell in practice for fear of him disliking the recoil and becoming afraid of it. With that said, this yearafter doing alot of research I am going with the Charles Daly youth 20 semi-auto. It is super lightweight because of the alloy receiver and doesn't kick much.