How old before shooting 12 gauge?
 

I'm thinking 14 is the youngest I am comfortable with.

What is your opinion?

I'm talking about kids that have never shot a shotgun, and have probably only shot a rifle once or twice under supervision.

That sounds about right.

Probably girls could do it at 12. They're so much more mature than boys at that age.

We've always started the boys on a 12 gauge at 14. The 11-13 year olds could shoot either a 410 or maybe a 20 gauge, depending on how big they were.

can you realistically shoot clays with a .410?

Mike, I (and my brothers as well) started hunting upland game with a 12 gauge at age 12 and I see no reason to deviate from that with my own kids. As a matter of fact, my most successful bird hunting season, even to this day, was when I was 13.

That said, you mentioned kids that have never shot a shotgun and have little or no experience with guns, that could be different. It's hard to say. There was no question I was ready at 12, but then I'd been around guns my entire life.

yes.

have you done it? yahoo answers says it is very difficult to hit clays with a 410 because of the small pattern.

I did it all the time with my .410 when I was a kid. The size of the pattern depends on the choke, of course, but mine was a full choke and I used it for shooting hand launched clays.

As to the thread query, it would depend primarily on how big the kid is, not his age.

I was thinking about buying a $120 Rossi combo .22 / .410 single-shot, so that the boys could use it. I'm not likely to buy a 20 gauge.

several times. And it is difficult, but certainly not so hard to the point that it's not fun. As somebody who hunts birds with a 12 gauge, it definitely helps to shoot clays with a .410.

When I was 12 I received a single shot breech-load Ithaca .410 with a beautiful walnut stock for my birthday. That is still my favorite gun.

That is a good point. When a little older my friend made a sawed off 20 gauge that would hit naythign with about 10 feet but was not much good for antyihgn beyond that. It was a lot of fun, made you feel very powerful, but no good for much else except having fun. using the .410 for clay practice was very useful in improving my aim and reactions, I think.

I started with a 20 gage at about age 10 and moved to 12 gage at 12.

When I got older I used a 410 to see if I could hit anything. I barely could.

I just looked up the cost of .410 ammo, and it appears to be about at least twice as expensive as 12 ga.

I just lost all interest.

Get a 12 gage and make them tough it out.

A 20 gage ain't bad and learn to reload.

Maybe I could get this instead.

Combo .22 and 20ga

http://academy.com/index.php?page=co...351-03613-0002

You can buy a 20-gauge really cheep:

www.budsgunshop.com

I have bought a few guns from them and they are good.

What you want is for the guys to have a good experience, not knock their shoulders out of socket and for them to have some success. 20 gauges give a good pattern without the shoulder surgery. Try starting out using a 10$ hand thrower, those are much slower than the machine ones and easier to hit. Once they are really enthrawled with the sport and know how to shoot a shotgun safely, give them the option of using you 12 gauge and a mechanical thrower.
Here is a link for a 20 gauge Rem 870. 300$ (You are a rich doctor now!)

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/p...ducts_id/44034

The first shot I ever took with a shotgun was with a 20 gauge, station 7, low house, and I powdered it. I was 10. My first full skeet round was with a 410, and I got like 5 out of 25. You have to be pretty good with a 410 to hit anything, but at that age hitting stuff wasn't necessarily the point.

I think I am going to get one of these in adult-size 20ga:

http://www.remington.com/products/fi...ingle_shot.asp

It's only $98 at Walmart. Single-shot, break-open Baikal, branded as a Remington.