My son is shooting a 410 and we have gotten pretty good at the turkey target. How far should we keep our shots. I have only ever killed a turkey with a 12 gauge.

I'm no expert here but I'd think you'd want to keep it close. Depending on your pattern density, 25 yards sounds doable. Looking at Winchester's website, their 3" 3/4oz #6 shot load for a .410 is at 1100 fps. A 20 gauge pushing similar loads (but more pellets) seem to be around 1250 fps. I imagine if you have it choked down enough he can take 25yard shots but I wouldn't really want to extend it much farther. Is it possible for him to handle a 20 gauge? My first gun was a .410 and when I started hunting I was small, but I could handle the kick for one or two shots with ease. Good luck, and I hope he gets one.
-- B

.410 isin't even legal to use in Iowa... there might be something to that.
I'd sure try the step up to a 20 ga. like Branson suggested.

Bump it up to a 20 gauge if possible. Killing a turkey can be done with a .410, but far more times you will have a miss or a wounded bird. If he can shoot a .410, he should be able to shoot a 20 gauge. I personally wouldn't even consider sending someone out turkey hunting with a .410, just my opinion. If you are determined to use it, then I would go no further than 20 yards.

20 yards is probably the longest shot.
I would try shooting the 410 at 20 yards shooting at soda cans or something that would show how much power it has at that range.
I own a 410 and know how expensive it is to shoot, you might be better off buying a 20 gauge. The recoil is still managable and the cost of the new gun is offset by the savings in shells.

My son is going to be 8 in April and he shoots the .410 very well and has a mental block for the 20 gauge. I have a buddy that has a 20 gauge the exact ame size as our .410 but I can not seem to get him to shoot it. i do not want to push it because he is having so much fun with the .410.

if you keep the cartridge high base at maybe #4's you could probably get out to 30 fine..i shoot 410 for three years when i was younger and killed 3 birds out to 30..but like other suggested pattern it out to 30 and see what happends......also you may want to try a couple different brand or cartridge as i did notice some will hold better then others.

The way I read your Virginia regs, you can use "any modern firearm". For deer or bear it needs to be .23 or bigger. How bout5 just getting him a .22 MAG? Far more deadly at 40 - 100 yards than a 410.

But do check local regs before going out with a .410 or .22 MAG.

Just let him shoot a H&R 12 gauge and he'll be happy to shoot a 20

personally I can't see using a 410 for turkey no where near enough pellets in a shell that small but like the others have said pattern the gun and see what happens maybe even you could back him up with a 12 but by all means keep him interested in hunting and let us know when he gets one