Need advice for an 8 year old

widetoed01 · Jan 19, 2012

My little girl will be shooting this year after about 5 years of watchn birds. She has shot nothing more than a 22. Thought about getting her a 410 but decided not to. Was thinking about going w the 870 youth express. Basically is that to much for her? Last thing I want is for her to be gun shy. Would appreciate everyones opinion. Thanks guys.

ssm · Jan 19, 2012

Let her practice with the .410 a god bit before moving to the 870.
My kids always practiced this way, some 20 gauges will cross your eyes when you pull the trigger.
We have a New England Arms 20 gauge that I bought to be just a truck gun several years ago, now it is what my kids use for turkey hunting. It hurts me with a 3" shell in it.

Borrow a .410 first and let her practice with that, then move to the 20.

Kevin Farr · Jan 19, 2012

Get her 20 ga. Limbsaver recoil pad. 2 3/4 Fed hvywgt 7 shells. Full choke. Keep her shots 25-30 yds max. Automatic gun will have less recoil than others. If necessary, get her something like the truglo scope with the circle reticle to help her aim. Good luck and I hope she kills a monster.

I forgot to suggest a monopod or steady stick to help support the gun while waiting on the bird to come into range as well as hold it still for the shot.

dhsten · Jan 19, 2012

Borrow a .410 and pm hawglips about a tss load for it. Minimal recoil and a bonafide 40 yard turkey pattern.

icdedturkes · Jan 19, 2012

Gobble & Strut said:
Get her 20 ga. Limbsaver recoil pad. 2 3/4 Fed hvywgt 7 shells. Full choke. Keep her shots 25-30 yds max. Automatic gun will have less recoil than others. If necessary, get her something like the truglo scope with the circle reticle to help her aim. Good luck and I hope she kills a monster.

This is good advice and if I may add a Knoxx Tactical stock.. Not only does it have adjustable LOP, but firing numerous rounds through both my GFs 20 inch standard stock 870 and mine with a 26 and the Knoxx with same ammo and choke, the displacement of the recoil from the stock seriously tamed recoil.

Dudley Do-Wrong · Jan 19, 2012

I wouldn't try any 40 yard shots with a .410

hawglips · Jan 19, 2012

David Mills said:
I wouldn't try any 40 yard shots with a .410

I get about 40% denser pattern with my .410 rig than I can get with my 12 ga rig and #4 copper plated lead. With no drop in penetration energy on target.

I had a buddy over last week to load up some .410 for a young girl to use on turkeys. Here was his report on how the patterning went head to head against a typical #6 lead 11/16 oz .410 load.

I shot those shells yesterday, I kind of had to rush before it got dark, but here are the results:

With the .410, my brother shot it and has open sights. I guess his point of aim is off just a bit. First he shot at 20 yards with the TSS shell, had 196 pellets in a 10" circle and his shot was slightly low and left. If we adjusted the circl to his pattern would probably have 250 in 10".

With the .410 and TSS at 40 yards he had 42 in 10" circle, but once again his shot was low and left. If we were to adjust the circle to his pattern it would be 120 - 130 in 10".

Very impressive and completely satisfied with the results. Just for comparison we shot at 40 yards with the .410 with regular number 6's. Only 3 in 10", and even if we adjusted the circle we would get at most 5 or 6 in 10".

...definately gives the girls a chance to shoot a turkey. He said the recoil actually felt less than the number 6 shot.

Huntinfool · Jan 19, 2012

Take this as just my two cents.

Let her practice with a .410. Let her get the feel for how to hold it, where to shoot the turkey and how to get used to shooting while sitting on the ground.

Let her hunt with a 20 gauge that you've sighted in for her. When she pulls the trigger on a 20 gauge with a turkey in front of her, she'll never feel it.

Kevin Farr · Jan 19, 2012

I forgot to suggest a monopod or steady stick to help support the gun while waiting on the bird to come into range as well as hold it still for the shot.

Buck Dropper · Jan 19, 2012

I killed my first turkey with a 20 gauge. When the adrenaline kicks in, she will never feel the shot. Heck, I hardly even hear it. Shoot the .410 a time or two, then move to the 20.

Need advice for an 8 year old

widetoed01

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ssm

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Kevin Farr

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dhsten

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icdedturkes

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Dudley Do-Wrong

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hawglips

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Huntinfool

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Kevin Farr

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Buck Dropper

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