Can you recommend a shotgun for a 12 yr Old?

C

Chaz88

New member
I am looking for recommendations for a slug gun for my 12 yr old daughter. I have never used a shot gun for deer but where we live now shotgun slugs are the main option for deer hunting. I am allowed to use a pistol but she is not. So any advice would be appreciated, but I don't want to break the bank on it.

Thank you in advance.
 
Thanks I think that is just about what I am looking for. Do you think the recoil is manageable for a skinny 12 year old?
 
A 5lb 20 ga would be nice to carry, but would have a good amount of recoil.

My personal preference would be to look for something heavier like a 20ga semi auto and clamp some sights on the vent rib. A 6-7 lb 20ga gas gun would be a nice soft shooter.
 
Thanks I think that is just about what I am looking for. Do you think the recoil is manageable for a skinny 12 year old?
Click to expand...

Not really.

You may wish to add weight to the shotgun and add a beefy recoil pad, or see if you can find a reduced recoil slug.
 
Don’t have her shoot it from the bench or prone and the recoil will be more tolerable. Teach her to hold the stock tight to her shoulder so she takes the recoil with her body.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions.

I am going to have to be careful how I go about this. She wants to hunt but I don't want to scare her off the first time she finds out about recoil. She loves her .22 rifle but recoil dose not come into play. Maybe I should have her shoot my .223 first it does not have much recoil.

She is a kind of ruff and tumble girl and does not think she will have any trouble shooting Bamby. But I do not want to go about it the wrong way and loose what might turn out to be my best hunting buddy.
 
20 ga gas operated semi-auto.

I actually started my son off with a 12 ga semi-auto when he was 10. I was looking for a 20 but found such a great deal on the 12 I bought it. I cut the stock down to fit him and only used very light loads until he got a little older. Even with the 12 ga it had much less recoil than the lightweight 20 and 410 single shots and pumps everyone thinks they should start kids out with. The guns are so light that even the 410's beat up the kids too much.
 
The HEAVIEST gun she can handle safely, no matter the bore size, coupled with the lightest load that will do the job, in a gun that FITS will give her the least amount of recoil - that's just simple physics

Getting the fit right is the trickiest part.

A gas gun, mentioned above, will help in alleviating felt recoil to a little more degree than a pump or single shot, but weight and fit are the keys
 
+1 on OneOunces comments ---

and get her to a Trap, Skeet or Sporting clays operation ...and some time with the gun ( and some light loads ) ....so she can have some sucess hitting clay targets and build her confidence / and ability to handle the gun ( safety, etc).

I've started all my boys and grandkids at around 10 or 11 shooting clays ...but every kid is different / different upper body strength ...how long their reach is ...and picking a gun is really difficult / and the kids change so much, so quickly, that what they shot last yr - may not work this yr....
 
Had a similar issue finding a slug gun for 9 year old twin grand daughters....went with the Mossberg 20 gauge Bantam pump. Stock fits kids with short arms well, comes with drilled and tapped receiver for optics. Below is a comparison with a full sized pump. So far it's working fine....one of the girls just got her deer yesterday with it.

While the girls were proficient with .22's, shotgun recoil and flinching had me concerned. Let them practice dry firing at deer decoys and getting the dot in the right spot. Never fired a round with it until she shot the deer.....the blast and recoil startled her, but quickly got over that with the excitement of getting her first deer. I've done this technique on three youngsters so far, each one has gotten their deer and no regrets.

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I wish my dad woulda come onto a forum 12 years ago when I was 10 to find a good sized shotgun for me. I fired my first shot out of his handed down winchester 1897 12ga, however, I wouldnt take it back for anything
 
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