BarnesX.308

I had an Ithaca single shot 410 when I was a kid and killed plenty of squirrels. Also killed a crow, a porcupine and a bunch of doves with it. Then I moved up to a 20ga/22 mag for a few years before getting a 12ga. That 20/22 mag and Ithaca 410 will always have a place in my heart .

My boy is 6 and is hunting squirrels now with a 22 Crickett. He will get my Ithaca 410 when he's ready to hunt with the shotgun.

zrexpilot

I thik the 410 is much better for squirrels and rabbits.
number 6's or even 4's
I dove hunted my first few years with a singl shot 410 and actually out shot most of my uncles.
When I finaly moved to a 12 guage I couldnt miss a thing.
To this date I am deadly at dove hunting. probably because I learned on that 410.

firebird74521

I know this is an old post but the subject still comes up often and just my two cents. For hand loaders it is an easy choice. Simply reduce loads in the 20 Ga until the child grows bigger. You will still have much more useful gun for him to grow up with. Even a single shot 12ga has little recoil if down loaded to 5/8 or 3/4 ounce and lower velocity and is still much better choice than a .410 for anything. I have pattern tested many loads including trying to work up a useful 30 yd duck load load for a friends 410. After that experience I vowed to never own a .410. A poor 20Ga load will still pattern much better than the best .410 load anything past 20 yds. The payloads is just too small. Going to smaller shot like 7 1/2 to increase pellet count also limits penetration and increases wounding on tougher game. # 5 shot is about the smallest shot that will blast through a duck to the vitals at 40 yds.and there are precious few #5s in a .410 shell. The .410 really is a experts gun, not a beginners gun . It takes skill you be proficient with such a small and thin shot pattern. The 20,Ga with light loads is still miles ahead of anything a .410 can do. My kids learned with a model 24, .22 over 20Ga and an old single shot Winchester 12ga with reduced loads. Occasionally I just bough cheap trap loads and opened the shells to change the #8 shot to a slightly smaller charge of #5 shot for hunting. The loads grow as they grow and no need to buy another gun. Some love the .410 but I am in agreement with many others that a .410, with its limited payload has the capacity to be a better wounder than hunter on anything bigger than close squirrels and small game birds.

SecondChance

20ga no question!! Charles Dailey or go the money and get him a Remington 11-87 with youth stock and drop in a Imp. Cyl. tube and let him blast away!!!! Squirrel dinner coming up shortly.

emtrescue6

My daughter stated on a 20g when she was 7...she's a skinny little thing and did just fine...that being said, she like's my 28g even better so I have been looking for a 28 O/U for her that I can shorten the stock on for here as my Browning is just a bit long and I just can't force myself to cut the stock on it...anyone got one they want to sell??

SingleShotNeeded

20 gauge for sure, start the kid off on light 7/8 oz. loads and go from there.
When they get older you can re-stock the gun in an adult stock and the 20
gauge will get the job done for them hunting. A .410 is a toy...

Amy999

Shooting is not at all a scary game, but i think it is a daring game.

Austinhuntman

20 gauge is best for the same reasons listed above you can do anything with a 20 guage and also when he gets older and has a house and family of his own he has a defense shotgun for himself and he can pass it down to his kids 410 is a good round but not for deer or turkeys really anything else but squirrels and rabbits and other small critters like that i would take a 20 ga or a 22lr that way you can teach him precision shooting to

Nomercy448

I haven't read the entire 3 pages of responses, but here's my take:

For what it's worth, if you're going to get a single shot .410, that's a great option. I have killed more rabbits, squirrels, upland game, and dove with a single shot .410 (Iver Johnson from Eric's Cylce and Gun works) than any other shotgun I own. I STILL use this shotgun.

Yes, ammo is pricey.

Yes, range and spread is limited with a .410.

Yes, 3" is WAY more effective than 2 1/2".

Yes, it is effective.

Yes, it's a heck of a lot of fun.

My personal opinion is that you will NEVER outgrow a single shot .410, a guy will always have a use for it. You will, on the other hand, outgrow a pump .410 or 20ga with a youth stock and 20-22" barrel.

If you're looking for a pump, then I'd go 20ga. Quite often, many of the .410 pumps out there are really just 20ga receivers that have been re-worked to handle .410 shells, so they're not really any smaller than the 20ga version.

Unfortunately, the youth models are just as expensive as the adult models, so by the time you buy a youth model, then eventually replace the stock and maybe the barrel, you have as much into it as you would have spent if you would have simply bought the single shot .410 and an adult 20ga, except instead of a good rabbit gun and a good upland gun, you'll have a good upland gun with a stubby stock and a short barrel in the closet.

My Iver Johnson 3" .410 is rusted to junk, has a broken hammer spur, a cracked stock, and the retainer for the forend is long lost, so it falls in half every time I break it open to reload, and it is STILL, with over a dozen other shotguns in the safe, my go-to rabbit hunting gun every time I go out with my cousins kids and my nieces/nephews.

Sheridan

I think all sub-gauge shotguns should be built on smaller recievers.

Unless it's a 12 gauge for shooting clays ~ then I recommend to buy a set of tubes.

Lastly, a 20 gauge will still allow you to hunt everthing you can with a 12 gauge (given 3" capacity).