need help picking a gun
 

I have an eight year old daughter that wants to go hunting. could anyone tell me which one would be better the 410 or the 20 gage youth. for deer and hog hunting in north central florida. thanks

RE: need help picking a gun
 

Most kids can handle a 20 guage. I think I would start there. Start with some lite trap loads and let her work up.

RE: need help picking a gun
 

I agree, a 20 gauge is a good place to start.

RE: need help picking a gun
 

The 20ga would be better, I started shooting a 20ga when I was about 8 years old.

RE: need help picking a gun
 

The 20 gauge can be a gun that she can use for her whole life. That is your best choice. When I was 9 my grandfather got me a full size Remington 870 express 12 gauge...28 inch barrel too! LOL. That is a little too much gun for a little girl, but you would be surprised at what kids could handle with the proper guidance.

RE: need help picking a gun
 

Get a break open 20 guage like a H&R or simular, get a good recoil pad and some weight to put in the butt. The H&R ultra slug guns come with a steal bar in them. Shouldn't be too hard to pick one up and stick in there. It works pretty well.

Then let her shoot some light field loads. That should work ok. They make inserts as well so you can shoot 410 shells out of them if you want. However from what I understand they are not very accurate at all.

If she has never shot before I would suggest starting her out with an air gun or a .22 that isn't loud and doesn't have any recoil. If you start her right off with a shot gun she may never want to shoot it again or devolope some very bad shooting habbits from flinching and the what not. All shot guns kick to some degree or another, it just depends on how well a certain person handles it. Some don't mind, some the slightest recoil frightens them.

I started with a 20 guage H&R that was pretty light. I weighed about 80lbs and liked shooting 3 inch shells out of it. It about knocked me down when I pulled the trigger, but I thought it was fun. Someone else may not feel the same way, especially a small girl. See if you can find a friend that has some different guns she can shoot to see what she can handle.

Honestly I wouldn't give an 8 year old a loaded weapon in a hunting situation. I would want much more control over the situation until I was confident how well they handled themselves. Maybe if it was out of a blind and I knew they could shoot well. I know many will dissagree with me, and that is fine. I am just saying what I would personally do. I am in no way telling others what they should do with thier own kids.

Paul

RE: need help picking a gun
 

I would def. get a 20 gauge if your hunting deer and hogs. I wouldn't buy her a break action like a NEF or a H&R. They are nice and light but that means more recoil and for someone getting into hunting especially a girl I think you'd be better off shooting something that she will feel very comfertable with like a semi or a pump. I would think a semi would be better b/c of recoil.

RE: need help picking a gun
 

I agree with the semi-auto sentiment as well. They usually help with the recoil!

RE: need help picking a gun
 

she has shot my 22 and loves it i got a 20 gauge adult pump and she shot it and said it hurt her arm due to it sliping off of her shoulder as it kicked it was red for about 5 min and never brused and when she goes hunting i will be right there with her

RE: need help picking a gun
 

to be honest, theres not really a whole lot of kick difference between twenty and 12, unless youre using 3 1/2.