# Suggestions on a youth 410 model



## Bow Hunter Brandon (Jan 15, 2003)

looking for suggestions on a youth 410 model. I don't care if its a new or old model just trying to get an idea on some different brands and models to keep an eye out for. I have never really had a need to know anything about them until this point. 

Few simple things I am looking for. 

1.) I have no interest in a gun with an exposed hammer its a deal breaker.

2.) short light barrel.

3.0 short light gun.


I have heard the pro's and cons of a 410 for starting a kid out many times in the past and I know everyone has a strong opinion on that subject but just to be clear I am not looking for a 20 or 12 gauge 

Really just want to get an idea of what models I should keep an eye out for on gunbroker and in the shops.


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## windknot (Jul 22, 2001)

Bow Hunter Brandon said:


> I have heard the pro's and cons of a 410 for starting a kid out many times in the past and I know everyone has a strong opinion on that subject but just to be clear I am not looking for a 20 or 12 gauge
> 
> Really just want to get an idea of what models I should keep an eye out for on gunbroker and in the shops.



Sorry for the long post.....


Brandon....I've been down your path...and there is no easy way to navigate it except one. 

Find the cheapest .410 you can find...unless you've got several kids that will be using it in succession, then I'd get a little bit better than cheapest, but not much. The window that a youth .410 will truly fit your child is relatively narrow. 

I started my daughter (now 17) at 10 years old with a single shot Rossi....she was ecstatic....shot 19/25 of the clays I threw for her in our front yard the first time she ever shot a gun!

Then I took her to the range and had her stand directly behind the trap house and shoot trap (non-wobble) from there and she was nailing them left and right.....my PROUDEST moment of her younger years is when she turned around at the trap house and looked towards the clubhouse and then asked me "Daddy? Why is everyone staring at me?"

They were staring at her because she was smashing clays with a .410 at close range...consistently 18-20/25 per round. 

Then she got cocky and wanted to shoot from the trap line.....well that extra what? 20 feet made a huge difference and the single shot was sent packing. I looked and looked for 6 months trying to find her a youth double .410, never found one, and one day I remembered that I had inherited my dad's Hunter Arms .410 that he got on his 14th birthday (a gift from Stylie Ferris for any of you Owosso/Perry historians) and they promptly took it to the local hardware and chopped off 2/3 of the stock so it'd fit him. I had the gun she needed the whole time. 

There was something special watching my (11 year old now) daughter shoot my dad's first gun...and shoot it well. Now that she had a second shot, her averages went back up. 

About that time is when I started reloading .410's....at $8 a box, she was shooting me out of house and home. 

By 11 1/2, she wanted to shoot sporting clays. We tried it once and the .410 couldn't reach out and touch them regularly.....she was still hitting maybe 18/50, but she was upset because she thought it was her shooting. Now mind you, we shot every Wednesday and every other Saturday and Sunday for 18 months with the .410 - I'd have to conservatively say that I reloaded 1500 rounds of .410...and this was when lead was cheap!

By 11 years and 9 months old, she'd moved up to a Stoeger Condor O/U that I had fitted with a Graco adjustable length butt plate and a thick Pachy pad for the range and then she got a Charles Daly Wal Mart Special 20ga Semi Auto for hunting upland. She shot them till she was in the 9th grade and discovered boys.....I knew her shooting days were over when she showed up after school to go shooting wearing a mini-skirt and a cashmere sweater....she was trying to impress one of the trap boys.....that was the end of her shooting....she hasn't picked up a gun since.....

Total Times (Estimated):

Single Shot .410: 6 weeks tops?
SXS .410 - 13-14 months tops?
20 o/u with adjustable length stock: 4 years

My lesson learned: Kids grow fast, their bodies and their minds change as rapidly as the seasons. Go cheap till they're all grown up and then buy them the heirloom piece that they deserve once they can appreciate it and take care of it!

Just my opinion, and NO....I did not sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night.


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## franky (Apr 14, 2004)

Up at my club I know we have a little mossburg 500 .410 pump. Its a pretty fun little gun. Its choke was fixed at full though.


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## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

Windknot, I have a 11.5 year old daughter and could have cut and pasted your post as my own. Took her from shooting a bb gun and .22 cricket to a model 60 and a single .410 for about two time out. On the shotgun it was right on up to a 20 gauge 870 youth model, she'll loves it and will be shooting that for quite some time into the future. 

......Or until dad decides she deserves to shoot his "very pretty" 20 gauge Browning A-5, which won't be mine for to much longer as she is already eyeing it and I'm sure you know about dad's and their little girls, we're easy marks and cave at the crack of a smile from them.


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## Bellyup (Nov 13, 2007)

I believe Remingting makes an 870 model in the 410. That might fit the bill just right. 

The doubles are hard to find, even used. But those are cool. 

And remember, it will become your number one deer gun too. Straightest shooting slug gun around.


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## TNL (Jan 6, 2005)

We have 300 kids a year come through Hunters Saftey each year at our gun club. We have them do live fire on the trap and .22 range. We can't refuse anyone, so we have some VERY young kids coming taking the class.

So we got some Remington 11-87 Compact 20 gauge guns. These are gas operated guns and some of the gas is used to work the bolt, therefore reducing recoil. We further reduce recoil by using 3/4 oz. loads and porting the barrel. You can add mercurry recoil reducers and recoil pads; we chose not to because of weight and fit. The 11-87 Compact has an adjustable length of pull too so it can be adjusted as the child grows.

Just a thought..


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

Bellyup said:


> I believe Remingting makes an 870 model in the 410. That might fit the bill just right.
> 
> The doubles are hard to find, even used. But those are cool.
> 
> And remember, it will become your number one deer gun too. Straightest shooting slug gun around.


Yep, have the 870 Wingmaster in 410.

410 with kids can lead to frustration. 20ga is a lot better option IMO. I also thing Franchi or similar makes an auto 28ga that would be better than 410.


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## LumberMatt (Apr 2, 2009)

"1.) I have no interest in a gun with an exposed hammer its a deal breaker."

I too prefer long guns without an exposed hammer.

However, for a beginner (regardless of age) I found that an exposed hammer is nice because I can see if it's cocked or not from a distance.

Just my 2-cents ...


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## flighthunter (Nov 21, 2005)

I started out with a 410 in the duck blind at about 10 yrs. It makes you to be a fantastic shot, when you only have one shot and its a full choke, and you are wing shooting buffies. Although a this gun can be frustrating (not a huge pattern and only one shot), it teaches you to be a responsible shot. Unfortunately i have no reccomendation on models for the type you are looking for. I have a HR pardoner with a hammer. The hammer can be a little dangerous if your thumb slips....this happened once while rabbit hunting and it almost turned out to be a bad accident, on the other hand, you dont have to worry about a safety being off. I know the rem 100 in the 410 is an awesome gun.


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

With Bismuth, this would be a great youth starter gun.

http://www.franchiusa.com/firearms/48al.php


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## windknot (Jul 22, 2001)

This has been bugging me - I know you said you didn't want a 20ga, and I think we all pretty much told you to just skip the 410 and get the 20....

Was surfing instead of working this afternoon and found this....











Mossberg 510 Mini.....it's available in 410 OR 20ga and has adjustable stock pieces so you can change it up as the kid grows (Or...if like ME...you want to use it too). Mossberg website says MSRP around $369, so retail should be cheaper. 

http://www.mossberg.com/products/default.asp?id=41&section=products

Check it out.....

And as an afterthought....you'll notice I resized the photo I downloaded from the site.....please be aware that if you dont resize the photos you post, it can screw up the view of the M-S page by others. (Rant over)


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## Bow Hunter Brandon (Jan 15, 2003)

Thanks for the feedback.

Windknot,
Yeh I noticed how serveral people told me to skip the 410 and go to the 20 its almost like they didn't hear the question. 

I have a youth 870 20 in the case so when I need one its ready but a 410 is what I am in the market for. 

That Mossberg 510 Min really looks like it could be good for kids to grow with. To bad its a Mossberg but I think I could get over that.

I just finished the purchase on one of these for 100.00. I will need to cut it down the LOP is 13 inches but otherwise it should be good for shooting some water balloons and targets.










http://www.remington.com/products/archived/shotguns/single-shot/spr100.aspx


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## Ken Martin (Sep 30, 2003)

I can't see what gun you got but I have an extra set of youth stock/forend for a Mossberg 500 .410 you could have. I put it on for Jacob my youngest. He shoots clays pretty well with it but this year the ducks seemed to know when he was peeing.

Ken


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## eyecatcher (Feb 2, 2004)

I'm happy to see you starting your daughter out right. I started all of mine on 20 ga single shot guns and they now all shoot 12 ga pumps, bolt action rifles, and one had taken up muzzle loader and bow hunting. She hunts all over the US and Canada. 

You may want to take a look at the browning BPS auto. comes in a 410 and msrp is 639.00 they are offering a discount of $50.00 on it. its a nice gun comes with invector choke. If you look around you might find one a places like guns galore or Michi-gun. I bought a citori last year for less then half the new price. I doubt it had a box of shell's shot through it. 
Good Luck. Happy Easter


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## franky (Apr 14, 2004)

Just out of curiousity Brandon, are you looking for a shoot-around gun or a hunting gun?


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