Upland bird gun for 11 year old.

[five.five-six]

Where I take upland birds, juniors under 14 can hunt without a permit provided they are with a permitted adult and have complicated hunter safety course and are in possession of a certificate. With those qualifications, the child is allowed 1/2 the adult’s bag.

So, the boy needs a gun. I have a model 12 in 16 gauge, which is larger gauge than I like but better than 12. My thoughts are to hack off a portion of the stock because there is a real issue with LOL and balance for the child. I’d rather an adjustable or youth stock so the gun can be restored as he grows.

Does this seem like a good path or are there better ideas? I am not made of money but I am willing to spend some for a superior solution.

TIA

[BespokeGuns]

Mossberg youth Bantam 500 in 20 GA. My son used it when he was that age, fit him perfectly and was able to knock down a lot of clays with it. Also hunted Quail and chukar with me using it. https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/mos...action-shotgun

[Elgatodeacero]

Benelli Montefeltro youth 20 gauge, includes adult size stock for when they grow.

[Jeepergeo]

20 gauge Stoeger Condor Supreme O/U. You get a lot of gun for the money.

[five.five-six]

Originally Posted by Jeepergeo

20 gauge Stoeger Condor Supreme O/U. You get a lot of gun for the money.

Does it have ejectors or extractors?

[JBG92649]

I also recommend the Benelli Montefeltro. You can get it as a two stock combo—one gives you a 12.5” LOP and the other gives you the standard 14.25” LOP. Very lightweight and extremely reliable.

[Jeepergeo]

Originally Posted by five.five-six

Does it have ejectors or extractors?

Ejectors if the round was fired. Extractor if not fired. Nice setup.
With a little practice, one can learn the Kim Rhode eject and catch.

[Thefeeder]

I have used an 870 youth 20ga for small body shooters. 13" LOP , 12" LOP with the recoil pad removed. Easy to balance with its hollow butt stock. Easy to find cheap stocks on ebay to cut.

Good resale value, so your basically using the gun until you sell it down the road

Find out what your M12 is worth before cutting. You may be cutting hundreds of dollars off the gun.

[sigstroker]

Is a Model 12 a pump? If he can reach the slide, don't worry about it. I got my first shotgun, also a 16 gauge, at about that age. Mine was a bolt gun though, so no problems with reaching a slide. I was literally the smallest kid in my class at that age, most of the girls were taller, and I don't remember having any problem at all, and usually hit as many or more doves than my dad.

[downsouth]

I might have a model 31 in 16ga I'm in the middle of restoring, repaired the stock crack on it but it should be a good shooter.

[MJB]

20ga o/u

Safer for everyone and easier to learn basic shooting.

[Calif Hunter]

My son used an 870 20 GA youth model that I got on sale for the same price as the adult 870 Express at Turner's. He is 22 and still likes it for upland game once in a while. He was 9 when he started with it. He can get a full size stock for it if he wants to, but he likes it being compact.

[tnlrat37]

I got my son a Winchester 120 20 ga off CG marketplace last year for 180$. He was 11 at the time and I ended up putting a shorter stock on it and Camo wrapped it for him. He took 9 dove and 13 ducks his first season with it. He’s 13 now and still loves it. We will reinstall the 14” stock when he gets older. Most 20 ga will work but have him check the LOP to be sure it fits him and he can rack the pump and work the trigger/safety. Remington 870 comes in a youth model stock. I’d avoid any semi-auto for new shooters.

[Tom-ADC]

We never got a chance to hunt together but when my grandson was about 11 I bought a 20 ga Mossberg 500 with youth stock 26 inch barrel it had chokes, we shot a lot of skeet together I’m sure he would have done well in the field. He’s 34 now.

[PoorRichRichard]

870 Jr. Comes with an 18” barrel threaded for RemChokes. Also comes with spacers for the butt stock so that you can move between 12“ to 13.5” for the length of pull. As your kid grows, you can replace the smaller stock with a standard length of pull 20 gauge stock, and also buy a longer barrel.

Mine has been a great investment for my kids as I introduce them to rabbit and bird hunting. It’s also great to be able to put the 18 inch barrel back on the gun as a nice little home defense tool.

[MrTokarev]

I’ve settled on the mossberg sa28 bantam for my boy when he’s large enough to shoot it.

28g shells are more expensive but I feel an ultra soft shooting gun will help him succeed early on and have more interest in the sport. It should also allow me to get him started younger.

[five.five-six]

I’m not 100% sure the kid wants to go next year..... I’ll probably pick up a shotgun for him and let him try his hand at clays first.

[sfpcservice]

870 12ga... He'll grow into it👍

[MJB]

Originally Posted by MrTokarev

I’ve settled on the mossberg sa28 bantam for my boy when he’s large enough to shoot it.

28g shells are more expensive but I feel an ultra soft shooting gun will help him succeed early on and have more interest in the sport. It should also allow me to get him started younger.

Better reload

[MrTokarev]

Originally Posted by MJB

Better reload

It’s a good excuse for getting into it.

[sigstroker]

Originally Posted by Tom-ADC

We never got a chance to hunt together but when my grandson was about 11 I bought a 20 ga Mossberg 500 with youth stock 26 inch barrel it had chokes, we shot a lot of skeet together I’m sure he would have done well in the field. He’s 34 now.

Invite him hunting while there's still time.

[sargenv]

The Tri-Star 20 ga Over/Under is a really nice little platform. It can take shells up to 3" and it handles really nicely for people with smaller frames. It has extractors not ejectors and the cost is just under $500. I've used one for target shooting and used it for last year's duck season with Handloaded steel and Heavy Shot. It's a slick platform for not much money.

[BigPimping]

I just bought a Mossberg 410 for that reason. It fit him perfectly.

[CartridgeCalls]

I have a 20,ga mossberg 500 for sale with 23" barrel and slugster barrel