New Rem 870 Youth model—I feel like a kid

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Dave R

New member
My wife works with our Church’s Young Women’s program. She told me they wanted to try shooting clays. Color me happy.

So I got to thinking about which shotguns to bring. And it occurred to me I didn’t have a small 20ga. In the safe. I also have some grandkids who are getting to be that age. What better excuse to shop for a new gun?

Checked out several small 20ga, and I settled on an 870 Youth Model, synthetic. I liked the adjustable stock, the light weight (5.4 lbs), the overall balance with the shorter barrel, and the similarity to my main pump. The molded in traction on the grip and pump were nice. It was small, and light, but it didn’t feel like a toy.

Fitting all the spacers to the stock made the length of pull just barely long enough for my 6’ frame to handle. It actually seemed to nestle in the shoulder pretty well. Surprising for a gun so small. As I handled it, it seemed like the bead was always where I expected it to be.

Tried to get someone to go with me Sat afternoon to christen it. Couldn’t find a buddy (or wife) free. So I packed some clays and a plastic thrower in the car, and headed out to the desert. Threw for myself.

Whaddya know…broke the first clay I threw. There’s a nice beginning. Went on to break about as many as I usually break with my 12ga. Throwing for yourself, you don’t get any close-in shots.

Dang—it’s handy. Did I mention light? I think I’ll take it out for Dove and Quail this fall. We work some hilly terrain, and generally make a pretty good hike of it. It’ll be nice to have a couple pounds less gun to carry.

We’ll see how the smaller Young Women like it. I already do.
 
Have fun but keep a close eye on the ladies. I teach hunter education and run the shotgun station on test day. I can't count the times I have told new shooters to plant their feet in proper position and they move them together just before shooting. To remidy this I stand directly behind them about 1 foot back. I can catch the ones that fall. It also puts me in the best position to stop them from turning with a loaded gun and covering the croud of people behind us. It also will help if you take a frame with you that creates a window for the barrel to be inside of when firing. PVC pipe works well as does wood 1x2 it doesn't need to be super strong it is only a reminder not to swing beyond the safe zone of fire.

Good luck and I hope some of them stick with it and become shooters.
 
That 20 gauge is a canon. There was a kid shooting his new .410 Mossberg 500 pump with me last week and while I have seen them a long time ago I was amazed at the teensy size of those shells.
 
Big Al, thanks for sharing your experience.

Klaw, it may be a cannon compared to a .410. But its a lot lighter than a 12ga. Recoil is a little less than a 12ga. with lite loads, but still significant in a gun this light.
 
I like the 870 Express Youth, but a caveat.....

The one here now wears an adult stock and weighs 6 lbs, 2 oz. With the Youth stock, about the same.

With standard loads, kick is emphatic. With 1 oz loads, punishing.

Find the lightest loads you can for starting those new shooters off. The Winlites aren't cheap, but they are easy on new shooters.

Being a reloader, I can load up some 3/4 oz stuff that's an absolute joy to shoot.
 
Are any of the ladies at your church single :D just kidding, but that's great that they want to go shooting.
I love the 870 express 20 ga youth. I've had mine since I was 7 or 8.
The only problem with a youth 20 gauge, is that it still kicks pretty hard because of it's light weight (the weight of the gun absorbs the felt recoil, so the lighter the gun, the harder the recoil), and that might scare some of the ladies away from it. If your budget allows, you might want to look into getting the Blackhawk Knoxx recoil reducing adjustable length stock. I have one on my youth 20 gauge, and it drastically reduced the kick. Plus, you can adjust the length of pull for different sized shooters. My nephew dropped his gun and cried when he shot his youth 20 gauge for the first time, because it kicked too hard. He has Asperger's syndrome and is sensitive to stuff like that (he wont even wear blue jeans, b/c the denim scratches his legs too much). Then I talked him into shooting mine and although he was still scared, he was ok with it and said that it didn't hurt like his 20 ga-- mossberg 500 bantom youth. The next morning he got his first black buck antelope. Anyways, good luck with everything, and safety first!!

btw for the youth 870 its model # K04400-C

Also, also-- I would stay away from the cheap winchester super x target loads, I know they have been known to jamb up in 870's (at least 12 ga) after firing them, because the heat from firing the shot causes the cheap aluminum on the shell to expand and get stuck in the chamber. There's a lot of info on this subject in plenty of other forums.
 
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When I started shooting my 870 synthetic 12 gauge was killing me. Most likely because I was holding it all wrong but you will be there to show the ladies what to do.

Still, the guys suggested that I could reduce some of the felt recoil by adding weights. One way to have some spent hulls filled with shot loaded into the magazine on the cap side of the spring. That should be balanced by the same number and weight placed in the empty space of the stock. those should be wrapped and taped somehow so as not to bounce around inside of the stock. I never got around to adding weight to my 870.

I did, however, spend $22 on a Super Cell Recoil pad that seems to be in all the gun stores and can be ordered from the Reminton Contry Store. It was much better than the stock pad.

Firing Winlights as Dave suggests also helped.
 
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