Idea for first gun

Thanks for all the feedback.
Pete, maybe you read an earlier post I made that refered to muzzle control being the rule that took care of most of ther other safety issues. Regardless of what the MN DNR says I teach that one as the overruling #1. Regarding the 28, you are preaching to the choir BUT a kid will have to shoot a bunch to devlop skill and the price of factory loads for 28's is a crime against humankind. I still respectfully dissagree on the issue of exposed hammers. If the action is open it is pretty visable too and then any gun is safe condition also. One of the gun clubs I shoot at has signs "Open or Out" and I think that covers a lot of ground too.
Nick , point taken about the issue of responsability BUT in case you haven't noticed it is not a perfect world and for a brand new shooter I still think a full length plug would set a lot of minds at ease. Kinda like training wheels. And not a big deal either way to use.
Thanks again for all the great discussion and it is interesting that for everyone having the same goal there are a bunch of solutions.
 
I'm going through this issue with my daughter right now. We've tried a bunch of guns and only found one suitable answer for now. We tried a 28 ga 870 youth with an extra short stock, an H&R single shot 28ga, a Rem 1100 20 ga youth. My daughter is only 7 and can't hold any of them. So, she is going to start off with a Rossi .410 youth with an exposed hammer. She may not be able to hit much with it unless I let her water swat them but she'll have fun getting started with it. I suspect that she'll move to the 28 ga 870 in less than a year and then on to the 1100 by the time she's 10.I doubt she'll burn enough shells that the cost will become a relavant factor.
 
12 guage H&R single shot loaded "down" to reduce kick. H&Rs/Rossi don't save much weight in smaller guages. When the kid outgrows the single shot buy a black powder and/or 20 ultra mag barrels.

A single shot makes you pick your shots.
 
I say a double. It's shorter action fits little bodies better, puts the weight farther back, and it's simpler to load. I hate watching some short armed kid trying to shoot with a gun that's too long, and not just the stock, I'm including the barrel in this.
If it's a hammer gun, the hammer spurs on a double are much easier to wrap a thumb over than single shots. You can always put a recoil reducer in the butt stock, I like the mercury filled ones. This also puts the weight where it easier to handle. I also say light loads unless the kid is shooting game. My dad had a limited number of guns for us kids to shoot. I know his model 97 had the most dangerous hammer of any exposed hammer out there. I learned to stuff my thumb between the hammer face and firing pin, and let the hammer down onto the thumb and slowly ease it out. the top of that hammer was too slick and small too control it well.
I learned to shoot shotgun with my mom's model 21,20ga, sxs, that my dad cut down to fit her. She's 5'2'', and it fit a 12 year old boy fairly well. Knowing what I know now about gun fit, I'd buy an extra butt for any kid gun, so you could doctor it up with tape, bondo, whatever, so it shoots where he looks. My dad didn't know how to fit a gun to somebody, but if he had, I would've probably learned to shoot alot faster. He couldn't afford to take us kids trap or skeet shooting, but we did have a clay pigeon thrower, and shot as often as he could afford to do it. He was real glad when I got big enough to cock the thrower, so He could shoot too.
 
tom, if money is no object, you can probably take the kid in and have an extrema 2 fitted--then you can let him use more than just one shell---i never quite understand why we expect kids to do well with one shell--as for a 410 or single 20, forgetaboutit!!
 
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