Youth shotgun

[double bogey]

Looking at a mossberg 20 ga in synthetic, and a rem 870 in laminate. They are priced within $5 of each other. 20 yrs ago it would have been no question. Today, which is better quality. This is for my oldest grandson, but the younger one is 4 yrs younger than him,and I want to get them the best.

 

[LeonCarr]

If grandchildren are left handed, the Mossberg 500 due to its tang safety.

Right handed, the Remington 870.

Both are good shotguns, but I personally prefer the Remington 870 to the Mossberg 500.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[back40]

i'd echo what leoncarr just said. both will serve them just fine, but i like the 870s better.

 

[btg3]

I want to get them the best.

If you're getting a 20ga, get a semi-auto (Remington 1100).

Also consider the significantly larger ammo selection in 12ga including reduced recoil loads that make a 12ga pump much more versatile and less likely to be replaced in the years ahead. (12ga Remington 870).

If left-handed, this is what my Dad used on his Remington's http://www.midwayusa.com/product/46...nversion-remington-552-740-760-870-1100-11-87

At age 13, I was reloading both 12ga and 20ga, but now just reload 12ga (with loads that range from ..410 to 28, 20, and 12ga).

 

[oldrevolverguy]

I concur with the Remington 1100 suggestion. I started my son at age 7 with a Mossberg Bantam 20 ga. With the short barrel and light weight it kicked like a mule. My son never quite warmed up to it. I bought him an 11/87 20 w/28" barrel and put a kids synthetic stock on it. He LOVES it. The recoil is almost non-existent. He has put over 20,000 rounds through it and it is still going strong at age 14. If you are going down the pump road get the heavier 870, an after-market recoil pad and low recoil ammo.

 

[Hondodawg]

Browning makes a Youth Micro BPS 20ga. But dang browning stuff is way over priced. I had a 870 but it still was to big for my son. They now make a Jr. Model which might have been the ticket. I ended up with a Winchester ranger 120 youth 20 ga. $180 at a pawn shop excellent condition. But I have to replace the ejector spring only $13 online.

 

[oneounceload]

But dang browning stuff is way over priced.

Sorry, completely wrong. If it is "way over priced", they wouldn't be selling them and having backorder issues. Browning shotguns are head and shoulders above both Remington Express and Mossberg 500

He said he wanted the BEST - in a pump that will be either the Browning or the new Ithaca (unless you go with a Winchester 42)

I would still agree with those saying an 1100

 

[double bogey]

Looks like I will get him the 870. I have a 1100 special field I could get a youth stock for. But I want to get a gun that is HIS. And there is another grandson that will be old enough in a few years, and the first may not be big enough to move into a full sized gun yet, don't want to have to find another special field then.

 

[drcook]

Remington also has a 12" LOP stock. We bought one (20ga) for my daughter from Gander Mt with the 12" LOP and it fit her so well, that I bought another stock for the leftover youth model we had from my son. We now have one she can hunt rabbits with, and then swap the barrel over to the scoped receiver for turkeys. Plus we have the original rifled barrel so it is the best of both worlds for a reasonable price.

 

[Diggler]

I agree with the 870. My 9 year old used his brother's Mossy 500 to get his first turkey this year... the stiff safety on the Mossberg was too tough for him to deactivate quietly. I had to reach over and do it for him when the bird was behind a tree.

The 870 safety is much easier for a kid to manipulate. Also, the slide isn't as sloppy and noisy on the 870.

 

[Kernel]

+1 on the 20 gauge 870 "Jr." they sell at Gander Mountain. The LOP just a bit smaller than the Youth model. I have both, one for each of my two sons.

The youngest is 15 and 6'-1" now and using the Jr with a slip on recoil pad (to increase LOP and help with kick) to shoot stout 20 gauge discarding sabot handloads with a cantilever rifled barrel we got off eBay. (We hunt in a State that's shotgun only during the primary seasons).

The nice thing about handloading slugs is we get to shoot a lot. At 40 cents per loaded round we practice with hundreds of rounds. Would never be able to afford that with factory ammo (which are like $3 a pop).

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

I just sold a Winchester model 120 youth gun... in 20 guage. It was really nice. Action really slick... sold it for 200... I think its a sold gun, built very well.

 

[41magsnub]

I just sold a Winchester model 120 youth gun... in 20 guage. It was really nice. Action really slick... sold it for 200... I think its a sold gun, built very well.

My Dad bought me a 20ga Model 120 youth when I started hunting about 25 years ago and I still hunt with it it from time to time. I bought a 28" barrel and adult stock for it a few years ago (20ga Model 1300 parts are compatible). It looks a little ghetto with the adult size parts because none of the finishes match (gloss on the forearm and satin on the stock, gloss paint on the receiver and matte finish on the barrel) but I don't care.

Currently it is back in its youth config for a 13 year old I am teaching to hunt. If he takes to it, I'll buy him a shotgun... he can't have my 120 permanently.

 

[InertiaDriven71]

A Browning BPS is not a more reliable gun than an 870, sorry. The Brownings that cost more are due to nicer wood and nicer bluing. Plus, there are other reasons why a shotgun (or any other product for that matter) can be on backorder other than being the most commonly-purchased shotgun.

As for the youth shotgun--There is something about the firearms industry today, few companies have a clue how to make a youth shotgun... My son is 8 years old and I got him a Rem 870 Express 20 ga YOUTH with 21" barrel-- but it had a 13" LOP, so I had to have it cut down to 12" to fit him. It fits him perfectly now, and the 21" barrel is the perfect "ratio" for his LOP (perfect balance, well--for a pump anyway).

For the future, I have been looking for an "intermediate size" (halfway between his starter gun 12"LOP/21"bbl and adult sized 14"LOP/28" barrel)-- 13" LOP with about a 23-24" barrel, but The Remingtons that have the "adjustable length of pull" system have a stupid-short barrel length (18.5 inches). Talking about a worthless shotgun once the kid grows into the 13- and 14-inch LOP. Too short for anything other than home defense.

I am rambling a little, but my point is that a shotgun has to FIT CORRECTLY(length of pull) and BALANCE (barrel length that is not too short that would make it "whippy" like Remington's brain-fart 18"-- AND ALSO not 26-28" LONG with a short length of pull that makes it hard to swing and hard to hold up).

If anyone has any suggestions on a good shotgun (auto) with 13-13.25" LOP and a 23-24" barrel, they are welcome. The one I think I did find while browsing online was a Browning SILVER MICRO MIDAS, but to the point of my first comment above, it is relatively expensive ($1179 MSRP = probably $900-1000 sticker). However, if it balances well, and doesn't require gunsmithing to make it fit right, why not? That may be what I get him after all (and my younger son who will eventually shoot both).

 

[41magsnub]

The Remington adjustable LOP 20ga has a 21" barrel, not 18.5", or at least not in the model I linked below. Not the 24" you were looking for, but is fine. That is what my youth win 120 barrel is and it works well. I don't see any 24-25" 870 20ga smooth bore barrels, but once the kid could handle a 13" LOP of this shotgun with all the extensions in it a 26" barrel (which is out there) really ought to be fine.

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/compact/shotguns/model-870/model-870-express-compact-jr.aspx

 

[drcook]

If anyone has any suggestions on a good shotgun (auto) with 13-13.25" LOP and a 23-24" barrel, they are welcome.

As long as you buy a shotgun that has interchangeable barrels, and such barrels have enough meat in the tube walls, you can alway buy a barrel, have it shortened and rethreaded for choke tubes and make it any length you want.

You can even shorten barrels with vent ribs and the fees are not terrible. Much less expensive than a new shotgun.

Do a google search on the subject, lots of posts about people doing this.

If my daughter keeps shooting, or one of the grandkids shows an interest, that is what I will do with the 870 youth guns we have.

If you go the 870 way and decide that down the road that you want to get another barrel and have it cut and rethreaded, an 870 barrel is not an 870 barrel. What I mean is that there was a design change in the size of the barrel lug and I have read that Light Weight 870s's are different also.

Maybe some the of 870 knowledgeable folks can jump in here and discuss the design aspects of it. I know Ithaca 37s, not 870's.