My son is pretty young, but he hunts with me every time I go and he is very well mannered. Last year he started asking about shooting a turkey so I bought him a Mossberg 510 in 20 ga. I like the gun and he does too, but the recoil is punishing, I should have gotten a .410 but I wanted something more effective.

So I was talking to him this morning asking him what he liked more, deer hunting, turkey hunting, fishing, etc... He said deer hunting because he likes that gun better, his turkey gun hurts. So far he has only shot it at paper so he is feeling the kick. What .410 should I get, the Mossberg 510 only comes in a modified barrel, and I would really rather a full. Also does anyone make a turkey load for a .410 (I have not seen anything, and I'm not set up to load and tss)

Hopefully I will get him his first bird this year, we have been close a few times. But not quite been able to seal the deal yet.

It's not what you asked about, but have you tried a different recoil pad on the 20 ga? I know that I can feel a difference in my rifles.

I would stick w/the 20ga & see if you can do 2 things - 1) get a better recoil pad put on it, and 2) find a "reduced recoil" shell... Hevi-Shot has a reduced recoil MagBlend shell that might be a little less punishing. I would also have him practice with dove loads & not turkey loads.

I did all this w/my daughter when she was young & she hung in there for a lot longer w/me before deciding she just didn't like to hunt LOL I did this w/a Winchester 12ga pump shotgun, too ...

I will try a different recoil pad. We are shooting low brass dove loads. I have it patterned with #6 2-3/4" high brass pheasant loads and it does pretty well.

The reduced recoil mag blends are terrible, I can't tell a difference in recoil and they pattern just awful. I have been looking for some federal HW #7's in 2-3/4" but nowhere has any on the shelf.

Have you considered a low recoil tss load?

I knew there was a good reason for not buying them LOL ... That's disappointing to hear b/c the "real" ones pattern like a champ...

Sell the 510

Option 1:
Buy a Tristar Viper 28 gauge and have the stock cut down by a gunsmith with a sims vibration recoil pad.

Option 2:
Buy a compact semi auto 20 gauge (like a franchi affinity).

There are many tried and true tss loads for the 20 that are low recoil. To be honest, the modified 28 gauge my daughter shoots has a decently sharp kick with the 1.5 oz loads, but she shots it and doesn't complain. If I had it to do over I'd just buy her the 20 gauge compact because there are many more options for loads and better choke selections.

Option 3:
Find a 410

Shells are more difficult to load. A light 410 still kicks.

That is your best option. There is nothing to loading them, and you can make a shell with very little recoil that will still be an excellent turkey load. I loaded some 1 oz loads for a little cousin and he killed his first with one.

I would love a low recoil .410 TSS load, but no one sells them. I may get to where I can load them before next season.

When he gets a little older I will get him a compact 20 ga. semi. But right now the LOP on every youth gun is to long (except the 510). I'm a stickler on proper form and don't want him trying to shoot a gun that's way to long. I could end up getting a youth and having it cut down further, but then when he out grows it there is no use for it any more.

I shot a snake charmer years ago that had a nasty kick for just a .410, that wouldn't really help anything. I read up a little on the .410 single shot guns today and none of them come drilled and tapped. I have a reflex sight on his 510 now I want to continue to use that for turkey hunting. To me a single bead on a ventless barrel is not a recipe for success for a youngster.

Started letting my 6 yr old carry a gun this season. He shot a CVA scout 44mag this deer season and handled the recoil OK. He is toting a .410 snake charmer, the pistol grip allows him to hold it easier. At 15 yds the pattern is great with #4, 20 yds it starts to really open up. I keep the range in mind when setting up. Had one come directly behind us Sunday afternoon and gobbled to within feet of our set up. His legs were shaking each time that gobbler sounded off! Dad screwed up and didn't set up a hen decoy. Gobbler couldn't see the hen and walked off.

An idea that was given to me by some guys who put on a hunt for kids:

They let the kid practice shooting a gun with regular bird loads so they are not trigger shy when they put a turkey load in while hunting...The kids never feel the difference due to all the adrenalin

Gobble4me had some good advice there. I'll second the previous recommendation on the Franchi Affinity. It's an inertia gun which has a little more felt recoil than a gas gun but it's manageable. Get him the compact model and you have yourself a gun that can grow with him as he grows. It comes with spacers to lengthen the LOP as he matures.

MidwayUSA has them.

://www.midwayusa.com/product/451522/federal-premium-mag-shok-turkey-ammunition-20-gauge-2-3-4-1-1-8-oz-7-heavyweight-shot-box-of-5

Hosscat, I don't know where you live but Shotgun Sports in Saks (near Anniston) has them. I asked them to order me some HW #7 in 3" and when I went to pick them up they had accidentally ordered the 2.75" shells so I didn't buy them. They ordered the 3" shells for me and I went back later and got those.

I'm near Troy so not much is close by unless I drive an hour or more. But I checked Dicks, Academy, Gander Mountain, and Bass Pro a couple weeks ago on my way back from a work trip and non of them had any.

I have to go to Stevenson, AL next week so I will try to check a couple stores along the way.

I replaced the battery in his reflex sight after finding out it was dead this past Sunday. Which of course we had a jake and a gobbler walk straight up to us 20 yards away and that would be the morning that we did not bring his gun since his sight had low batteries.

Anyway I changed them and wanted to verify that it was still on after the new battery was in. I shot one of the mag blend shells I had and it threw a great pattern. I don't know if the first one I shot earlier was a dud or what.

We will probably finish this season with the gun we have since I will be gone most of next week we really don't have much time left. I will try to get a .410 and some TSS loaded up by next year. I want to go the TSS route anyway.

I'm not sure what .410 I will end up with, I do want to something that is drilled and tapped so he can use the reflex sight. Wonder if I could drill and tap the barrel/chamber on a H&R?

ATA makes a youth semi auto that comes with interchangeable chokes in the 20ga. The recoil isn't bad and you can also put a better recoil pad on it. I'm pretty sure academy imports the guns from turkey.