I have a 6 year old that can actually shoot a .22 decent enough to make me want to try to put her on one this spring. Problem is even the youth shotguns I’ve come across may have too much LOP for her at the moment. I looked at the Steven’s 301 because it’s cheap but I think that’s more for grown folks. I really like the Mossberg Mini Super Bantam because it’s the shortest LOP I have found in my research. Anyone have experience with those or have any other suggestions to look into?

I’m looking at 20 gauge, but not opposed to .410. I don’t have much experience shooting TSS .410 so I don’t want her to get discouraged if she starts missing due to less pellets, spread, etc.

Please advise…I’m trying to create an addiction here!

Youth model 20s pack a pretty good wallop with turkey loads. Sounds like she’s small statured too, so I’d go for one of the single shot 410s with tss and a red dot. That’s all you’ll ever need.

Definitely start with a 410, cut the stock if you have to. Plenty of pellets with tss

Check out the tristar viper g2 compact in a .410. Awesome little gun with minimal recoil with TSS. I put a jebs choke and a ff3 on one and it is a great little gun for a kid.

My son turned 7 back in May. He killed his first turkey in April with my 1187 20ga. It has a vortex venom on it, and shot with TSS handloads.
We cheated, we were in a blind and had the gun in a death grip tripod. All I did was call and he done the rest. After that I bought him a mossberg SA28. It is compact with a lot shorter lop. Very light and shorter barrel. He loves shooting it but is very loud due to the barrel length. I make him wear hearing protection anyways, I figured this out when I was shooting it. It will be a while before I think he will be ready to hunt in the open or without some kind of good cover bc he can’t be still…
Good luck with your search

My twins started when they were 7 with the Mossberg. 0 complaints. Didn’t kick to bad. Just get some 2 3/4 turkey loads and she will be fine. My shot them for year dove and duck hunting

Hacksaw can fix any LOP issue. You can kill them at 20 yards with a dove load if recoil is an issue … and if he hangs up outside of that it’s a decent excuse for dad to long-gun him. Your welcome 🤗

Rossi tuffy has the shortest lop

The youth Steven’s 301 has a Length of Pull: 12.8 in. in 410

I’d suggest a .410 and tungsten. I carry a youth 870 20 and it’s a little snappy with 3” loads even for me.

single shot best way to go . a pump or auto shifts the weight forward , makes it end heavy .

I agree. The youth model 870 with tss wills whip ya. I think my experience was the LOP was so short I couldn’t get in the shoulder pocket and cheek weld secure so the gun was a floppy loose cannon.

Put a sure shot stock on an 870 20 gauge with my handloads and it’s almost violent.

Hes 6 years old more than likely a pump or auto gonna be long for him to free hand. Pumps and auto are just more end heavy.

Thanks for all the intel. I was watching YouTube videos on 28 gauge TSS patterns and even the 28 gauge is thumping. I’m definitely going 410 but now it’s about which one to get.

Whatever you do get the lightest loads you can find for that gun.

Once you get it set up and patterned and ready to hunt, let the 6yo shoot those light loads to get familiar with the gun.

Only shoot the hi brass tss loads at gobblers.

She is 6 just let her go with you and watch. She will have a ball, when she is 10-12 you can get her a nice 20 ga that will last til she is an adult.

I bought my youngest son a Rossi Turkey Tuffy .410. It comes with a modified choke and a turkey choke. It has an short length of pull to begin with, but you can shorten it by 3-4 more inches by taking out the removeable part of the stock (very easy to do). I put a Venom red dot on it. I shoot Apex TSS, and I get a heck of a pattern at 40 yards. I would not hesitate to shoot one at 50 with it...but that's me. So I would recommend this set up to anyone for any youth...it's just a single shot, but you only need one shot anyway...right? lol. I believe I bought it brand new from Academy somewhere between $199-$250. So it's reasonably priced too.

Thanks for the info. I e been looking at them for my grandson.

i've got a collapsible stock/pistol grip on a 20ga 870. it's the shortest LOP you'll get. it also kicks like a horse with 3" TSS.

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