I would definetly not shoot past 20 yards... I'm thinking more like 15 yards... Maybe you should pattern it at a turkey target at 15 and 20 and see what happens...

pattern your 410 at twenty yards and see how many pellets are in the kill zone. don't move to a 20 gauge if your son isn't comfortable shooting. one he will prob flinch and miss the bird and also if your son enjoys shooting the 410 he is at a stage where he needs to enjoy hunting and not be afraid. it needs to be fun for him and if a 410 is fun then that is what he needs. hope he gets him one. good luck

A good 20 gauge is a H&R youth model hold's a good pattern and is easy on the younger ones or those that are lighter framed.
That's what I started my son out on he was twelve and pretty light body frame,Now he's seventeen and bulked his muscle up he still likes to take it out and shoot it,sentiment i think.
I wish you luck in getting him adusted on a good gun he's not afraid of.
Also Good luck going after those bird's

Thanks everyone, we have shot the .410 at a turkey target and at 20 yards it wraps up the head. I will not be able to back him up the first weekend, as it is youth day. We will be shooting again this weekend and we are going to take both guns over and I think he will try the 20 gauge. We open up on the 7th of April and I will report back. Thanks again, good luck to every one!!

If you're getting decent patterns at 20 yards I say go for it. As long as he's shooting well it should be okay. Just be ready to pounce on the bird if need be. If he's up for shooting the 20, by all means let him try it. But I think you shouldn't push it on him since he's so young. It could scare him worse. If he does try the 20, go for 2 3/4" loads and add a couple layers of towel to his shoulder. That's what had to be done with me when I was 11 (little guy). Either way, make sure you get him out there and hopefully we'll be seeing pictures of a proud pop and a kid with an ear-to-ear smile. Best of luck.
-- B

I started out young with a 20 ga.. It was an over and under with a 22 barrel on top and a 20 ga. on the bottom. My dad always helped me hold it and one day he thought I could do it by myself, so he let me. Now here is where the problem was, the gun had a full length stock and an external hammer and because of the long stock I had it under my armpit instead of on my shoulder. When I shot it the hammer stuck in my cheek right under my eye. Well a few months and 7 stitches later I had a 410 with a stock that would fit me and used that until I was 10 and then went straight to a 12 ga. So do be careful with the 20 if he tries it(and I know you will be).

They tried to charge my dad with child abuse but never did and that was back in the early 80's. The way things are today, he probably would have been charged.

I was a year or two younger than your boy is now though.

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

Thanks for the reply, I feel the same way. I did not start to hunt until I was 13 so I started with a 12 gauge. I have a very mature, in size and behavior, 7 year old and he really handles the 410 good, we will try the 20 gauge this weekend and I do want him to use it instead of the .410. Again thanks to everyone and Mouthcaller, I do not think you came off at all like a know it all and I appreciate the input. My son is in the 2nd grade and I bring his shoes and clothes to my school and give them to 3rd and 4th graders. My school is a very low income school. Thanks again

I do agree it would be a very good idea to put a slip on recoil pad on the stock of the 20 gauge.
But if he isn't able to use the 20 and is going to use the 410 make sure you putsome marker stick's out and make sure he understands not to shoot at a bird past them.
I wish you and your son all the luck in your quest.

Why not pattern the 20 guage yourself with turkey loads, so you know its limitations? Have your son shoot it with some nice, light #8 target loads to get used to it. If he is lucky enough to get a shot at a turkey he won't notice the kick.