Suggestions for one youth gun to do it all

[No-Limit]

Son is 9 yrs old & on the smallish size (55 lbs). Looking for a youth gun to do it all.

Was thinking maybe a 20 gauge- perhaps with different barrels?

Deer hunting (less than 100 yrd shots).
Dove hunting / skeet shooting
Turkey hunting

They have a skeet shooting team that he can join in a couple years at school, so thinking in advance about that. Most of the kids use 20 gauge.

Price not really a factor- want to get him something nice & good quality that he will have for a long time.

Maybe a Benelli M2 that I could put a red dot sight on for deer/turkey & take it off for dove/skeet. I'm assuming they make a youth stock for the M2?

Any of the rifle/shotgun combo with changeable barrels worth looking at or to stay away from?

Open to suggestions- thanks.

 

[hikingthehills]

That’s the exact thing my father did, got me a 20 gauge and a rifled barrel. I still have both 30 years later. Mine were Mossberg 500.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

I have a Mossberg 500 "Bantam" 20 ga.
and it's got considerable recoil with any load, but the recoil with slugs are buckshot is intolerable to most women and teenagers that I've let use it.

Even many adults that shoot it say it kicks their shoulder too much for their liking.

and I have trained boys that weigh 100+ pounds to use it--teenage boys --and the ones that could handle it said it was a challenge. Others took one or two shots and never wanted to touch it again.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

No such "one gun" for a 55-lb. kid
.

It's better to get 2 inexpensive guns than one expensive one that will not adequately fill two or more different roles.

Turkish made over- under with interchangeable choke tubes, in 20 gauge, for sporting shotgun use. $400.


Savage Axis II or Remington 770
in .243 for the deer rifle. $400.

 

[Vaultboy404]

Yep . If money isn’t a concern I’d go ahead and get different rifles for different needs

 

[No-Limit]

Yeah that was another option I was considering. Something like a CVA Scout youth .243 single-shot & then pair that with a decent 20 gauge (maybe even a nice over/under that he would have forever).

That might be the way to go.

 

[87KJH]

A word of caution in trying to have one gun for many functions. You will likely introduce a gun that is too much for him to safely handle at that age/weight.
You want a positive first experience for your son.

 

[howl]

Start with 4H Bb competition. Do the rest when he's driving you up the wall begging for it. Otherwise, you'll rush it and find problems.

 

[87KJH]

General recommendation from 4-H or SCTP for youth to handle a 20 ga semi-auto or over/under is 75 to 80 lbs and be physically able to hold the gun up to shoot 25 targets.

 

[T. May]

Started mine with a Mossberg 500 Bantam. Small enough to be handled properly. Bought a rifled barrel for deer season.