JT> Does anyone here have any suggestions for a starter shotgun for a 10
 JT> year old? Saw a rem. 870 in a 20ga that was a youth model, didn't look
 JT> to bad. any other similar guns in the youth market??
How's this for a suggestion?  Get your 10 year old a Remington
870 Express in 12 ga. with the 26" barrel.  Have a gunsmith cut
down the butt-stock to fit him (or her). When the youth grows up,
you can add back on an adjustable butt-stock, with a
cast-on/cast-off adjustment thing to make it fit even better than
a standard stock.
The other main thing is to have him start out shooting only 7/8
ounce or 1 ounce loads, which make it the equivalent of a 20
gauge. 7/8 ounce is the standard 20 gauge target load. And 1
ounce is the standard 20 gauge hunting load.  If you see "24
gram" loads, those are approximately 7/8 ounce.  Remington makes
factory 7/8 loads, and Federal/Remington/Winchester make "extra
light" 1 ounce 2-3/4 dram loads.  The lighter the amount of shot,
the less the kick.
When buying factory shells, remember that the "Dram Equivalent"
has an effect on kick, too.  Dram Equivalent is like a power
rating. It is the weight, in drams, of black powder that it would
take to propel the same amount of shot at the same velocity as
the load in question.  Therefore, for the same weight of shot
(say, 1 ounce), a 2-3/4 dram load will kick less than a 3 dram
load.
The benefits are:
1) You have one less caliber/gauge of ammo to worry about.
2) You lessen the possibility of a 20 ga shell getting into
   your 12 ga shotgun, which would result in catastrophe.
   A 20 ga shell *will* go far enough into the barrel that a 12
   ga shell will completely chamber on top of it.
3) The kid has something to both use right now, and to "grow
   into" instead of something that he will grow "out of".
4) The kid has the prestige and cachet of having a "grown up"
   caliber/gauge.
If you reload shotshells, you can easily make light-kicking 7/8
ounce and 1 ounce loads.
There's a kid, about 12 or 13, at our trap club who shoots just
as well as most of the grownups from the 25 yard line.  As far as
I know, he shoots the same target loads as the old(er) farts.
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 þ SLMR 2.1a þ Beauty is in the eye of the Beer Holder.
(1:231/875)
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