# Kids first



## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

Took my 8 year old shooting for the first time, needless to say he loved it as i suspected he would. He shot my buddies .410 and 22lr. I (Santa) wants to get him one for xmas. 

Are 410's still a thing? are shells available? I was at the Fin and they had some but at 40 bucks a box that's a hard no from me so loaded up on 22 to target shoot. 

Any input on 410 availabilities from the arms and shell standpoint? or should I just go with the 22? He will use it for squirrel hunting mainly at his grandpas in WV and target shooting.


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

Good job Kevin with getting your boy involved with shooting sports. I’d go with the .22 for reasons you have already mentioned. 410 prices are stupid. Nice auto 20 wouldn’t be a bad option. More useful shotgun as he gets older as well.


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## Morrowtucky Mike (May 2, 2018)

Even 20 ga shells are ridiculous. Needed some high brass 4’s and 5’s for pheasant hunting and they are basically $20/box now, if you can find them. Basic Winchester ammo that was $11-12 just a few years ago. Some places were $25 for exact same ammo. I’d stick with the .22 so you can afford to let him shoot as much as possible. Maybe this craziness will end one day.


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## mach1cj (Apr 11, 2004)

.22 for sure, I bought my granddaughter a Savage Mark ll and she loves it. I took her skeet shooting yesterday for the first time and she broke a 20 on the second round all from station 7 with 3 doubles thrown in. Shooting my 28 gauge.


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## Moo Juice (Jan 20, 2021)

I'll throw in my two cents. We have a savage single shot bolt action .410 that I started the kids out on. Light and easy to handle. Not having to deal with recoil makes for a good shooter in my mind. It worked for us. The price of shells didn't bother me too much. Skeet loads are still fairly cheap and the heavy game loads were used for hunting so not too many were burnt. Definitely get him on the 22. I just never liked them taking shots in the trees with a rifle. Too much chance for a miss, then you don't know where it's going to land. Good luck and enjoy all the time you can together. Your headed in the right direction whatever you choose to do.


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## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

I started my son with a .410 and a .22lr. For the .410, I put some balloons up in a tree wedged in and let him practice on them. The ballons popping when he was on target was great! 

I have a semi auto 20 gauge that he just didnt like shooting when he was starting out.

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## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

Thanks for the input sounds like the 22 is the right call at this point. Next one will be 20ga most likely ill wait till he’s 10 he will be stronger by then.


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## jmyers8 (Aug 2, 2013)

Rossi still makes a 410 22 combo that is great for the youths. I believe fin still Carrie's there. You want them to hsve success a kid shooting at a squirrel with a 22 is gonna be hard for success compared to a 410 

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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

You may have been looking at TSS turkey ammo for that price. Regular shot shells are nowhere near that, but they’re still tough to find.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

My son is 9 years old. I started him out on a youth model 410 single shot and a youth model Savage 22 Rascal when he was 6. At 8 years old we moved him up from the 410 to a 20 gauge youth model single shot. The 410 was great for squirrels, but it got expensive shooting doves with it. 410 ammo is kind of hard to come by, and the price is high. I bought him a 350 legend when he was 7 and he shot it quite a bit to get ready for deer season that first year and now he has killed 6-7 deer with it. The 350 is a Savage Axis with a removable stock spacer and and an 18" barrel . I took the stock spacer out and it fits him pretty well. The short barrel brings the weight and center of gravity in closer to his body. He also likes to shoot AR's which are great for kids with adjustable stocks and low recoil impulse. I think the main thing is to get a gun that fits a youth size person so that they can handle it and get the butt stock into their shoulder with their head on the comb in the correct position.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

I just saw this add for a Savage compact model 410 at Vance’s.


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## CFIden (Oct 9, 2014)

M.Magis said:


> You may have been looking at TSS turkey ammo for that price. Regular shot shells are nowhere near that, but they’re still tough to find.


Where are you buying your 410 shells at? Everything I have seen (when/if you can find any) have been $30 - $40 a box.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

Midway USA is currently the least expensive that I can find at $19.99 a box for Federal.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

CFIden said:


> Where are you buying your 410 shells at? Everything I have seen (when/if you can find any) have been $30 - $40 a box.


I don't buy many, but the ones I do buy are at a small local shop a buddy has. They sell about as fast as they put them on the shelves, so I haven't bought any lately. But the last ones were somewhere around $20 or so.


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## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

I got a 410 the other day on a deal. Nice old Bay State single. I’m looking for a nice single for a kid and I don’t think they make one. Before WW2 the major companies built 410s on 410 frames. After war they basically used small and large frame. 410-20g on small and 16-12 on large. The last batch of American made singles all made on 12g frame. The problem with the last two is that they are a little much for young kid to hold up. 
The new 410s on market today are junk. Actually last H&Rs, NEF, Sav/ Stevens and Win 37a were junk too. You want a nice 410 you got to look for an old one. The Bay State I just acquired is too heavy for most kids under 10. The old models were 4 to 4.5 Lbs. 
I would much rather pay $150-$200 for a good older gun than the junk they are peddling today. I look for ammo deal to level out in next few years.


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