My 6 year old daughter is very mature for her age and safe with the bb gun. she is wanting to move up so she can dove hunt with dad next year. (not going to happen this year) she is already 4'3" and weighs about 80 pounds. she has shot a ar-15 a few times. she seemed to handle it well. I am looking at the rossi combo's at Academy in 410 or 20 gauge. i know she will have no problem with the 410...but may get upset that she has a hard time hitting targets with such small amount of pellets. And think she would out grow it soon. but would make her really good shot when she gets older.

kind of worried that the 20 is to big for her and would make her gun shy if kick is too much. she would probably have more success hitting targets. her grandmother has a 20 but 11-87. may let her shot ounce and see how she reacts. dose remington make reduced recoil in 20 gauge?

interested in what yall think, especially those that have started young shooters in past. Or if yall think i should wait till she gets older?

4'3" and 80lbs? By nest season,she should be able to handle the 20.

Dont do the 20 ga. She will not like it. You cant expect her to hit to much in the air anyways

A 20ga would be fine. You may also want to look at a 28ga, not much difference in the pattern from a 20ga. Ammo is a bit high though.

.410 ammo is expensive too...

thaqnks keep them coming. think the 410 is easier to find as well as the ammo. the 28 is harder to find as well as ammo. think im going to stick either a 410 or 20

Single Shot .410, Hand pitch Targets until she can hit a few. Keep her on the single shot till she gets a couple of years and kills under her belt and then worry about giving her something she can really burn some ammo up in.

Most important thing with starting a young one in shotgunning is proper technique.

I started my daughter a year and a half ago and though she was 11 and 100 lbs it still goes for 80 lbs. We started with the 410 at the range and moved to the 20 gauge after 20 rounds. She hunts with a single shot 20 now.

Proper stance and mounting of the gun is critical.

First: Teach the stance - she should be standing with her off-hand foot pointing towards the target and her shooting hand foot pointed 90 degrees from the target. Knees slightly bent in an athletic stance with most of the weight over the front foot leaning forward.

Second: the gun should be mounted tightly against the shoulder providing firm resistance against the recoil. She should just about be pulling the gun into her shoulder as she leans into it.

If you can teach this stance it will greatly reduce felt recoil as she will minimized the amount of jerking she feels since she is leaning into the gun and won't be pushed back on her heels.

Very good advice!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^



If you reload, you can either save a fortune on 410 & 28/g or build lighter 20/g loads.

You still save money reloading 20's & 12's, but not nearly as much as you would on 410's & 28's.

A good friend of mine bought his son a youth model 870 in 20/g
I'd swear that thing kicks worse than my 12/g 870 !?!?!?!?

Second what TXed said, my first shot gun was a 410 pump mossberg, then a savage 20 ga bolt.

I'd get her a 20 g auto and load one at a time. There will be hardly any recoil. Most of those single shot 410 and 20 g kick harder than 12 g autos.

Thanks guys think im going to go with the 410. I plan on taking it real slow with her. like yall said, proper stance, practicing mounting the gun right all that good stuff. like i told her she has to prove to me by next year she can be safe and make ethical kills. took some explaining to her what ethical was, but she needs to learn sometime. Also was considering getting a few profestional lessons, sometimes she listens better to others then her dad..:)

I cant wait...been looking forward to this for some time

Truer words...

Even when others say exactly the same thing as you.

Big_B... IMO a .410 ia a bad idea. It's an experts gun, not a kid's gun. You'll end up with a frustrated daughter. Huntthings advice is right on. Start her on a 20 ga auto.

Experts Gun, Are you kidding My first gun way back in 1976 was a Savage bolt Action .410. I killed birds with it, Rabbits, Squirrel. It taught me how to shoot a shotgun, be frugal with shots. There is nothing wrong with a .410 for kids.

either or... my boy started with both... 20 hurt a little , so he was useing my 410 did alot better with it then i ever did... so when he got back on 20 his ratio was awesome....

I think she will grow into a much better shot learning how to shoot targets with a single shot .410, its forces you to concentrate on the lone shot, instead of anticipating 2nd and 3rd rounds. Good luck with whichever direction you choose to go with.

I agree with some of the others... get a 20ga, and you can
always buy the reduced recoil or "trainer" loads. They worked
great with my wife learning to shoot a Parker 20ga sxs...

For flying targets, the 410 is an experts gun... it has a very
long shot string, and the pattern doesn't open up very well..
It's great for squirrels and rabbits and other stationary
targets, and great for teaching basic gun handling and shooting
technique...

Buy a Beretta 20ga, have the stock cut to fit her, and just
load one reduced or trainer load at a time... she'll have
much better success, and have a gun that will work well for
her for the next 20 years...

I started with a single shot 410 of my dads. It was a stevens model 94 that I still have. That was over 60 years ago and I learned to hit very well with it. I still love that old gun. I also have a H&R 20ga. I started my oldest son with and he loved it. So just get her one or the other and go enjoy the times.

My daughter started with the 410 at the range but after she used the 20 and hit more targets she decided that she wanted the 20 and could live with a little extra punch.

I'de go with 20ga, you can kill a wide range of critters with it. I started out with a 410, but not on flying targets.

+100 The only people you ever see shooting a .410 at the gun club are the experts. My daughter will definately start with a gas operated 20g. She is only 3yrs old now, but it won't be long.

Gosh I kept thinking and thinking .20 ga.....20 ga. Then realized 6 years old is mighty young. Single shots have a little kick too.

I'd say what ever gauge you get, make sure the gun fits. My daughter wants one, but until she can hold it properly and without issue, she'll just have to wait.

I may do like Treebass and pickup a Weatherby Semi-auto 20Ga.