Looking to buy a shotgun for my boys, 13y/o and twin 11y/os. They'll share it for now to shoot clays and learn how to use it and bird hunt. Need recommendations on auto vs. O/U and who makes the best value.

I learned to dove hunt on a New England Firearms single shot .410 and then graduated to the same in 20g until I bought my own 870.

That's not exactly what you're looking for but I'll say I learned to pick my shots and get efficient! In the early years my dad would give me one box of shells to last the whole weekend.

I started with a 20 ga. single shot (unsure of brand) then and 870, then 1100 12 ga. which I still have but it's just too heavy for them. Was thinking Yildiz O/U, I don't know much about Stoeger.

Benelli Montefeltro. They are about $1200 new but great guns.

I had one and both my kids shot it but quickly outgrew it. Sold it to another local dad with kids for $1,000 used maybe eight times. They love it.

Worth spending a little extra on a shotgun.

When my daughter was young I bought her a Tristar youth semiauto 20. She was pretty proficient with it on ducks and dove. Ended up replacing the buttstock with a standard size and she still uses it.

My 11yo twins have a Retay Masai Mara 20ga with a youth stock and a TriStar Viper G2 youth 20ga. Both go bang every time and I like shooting dove with both of them, but they're still a little much for them to handle for more than a few shots. They don't like shooting my 12ga Pigeon w/28" barrels but do tolerate my 694 w/32" barrels better than any of them, but it's obviously too much gun for young girls to shoot very many times. Think I might try a gas gun for them this year like a Micro Midas & let them grow into the inertia guns in a year or two. Dan Carlisle said he thinks 13 is the best age to introduce a shotgun to a kid and I think he may be right in my case.

Check out the Browning BPS 20 gauge pump. Great starter gun and worthy of passing on to next gen.

We end up using the 20 gauge semi more than any other gun every season.

I always recommend the daly 601 20ga youth because it's the cheapest short lop gas operated one I could find. My pretty average sized 10 year old shoots it really well but it's still a bit too big for him. Has cycled everything I've fed it without a hitch including absolute minimum 1/2oz reduced recoil hand loads. Very very soft shooting

Browning Micro 20ga

My son has a yildiz o/u and a beretta semi auto. He shoots the O/U 90% of the time. Hes tall but skinny. He thinksnthe semi is more of a "machine" and feels more "connected" with the o/u.
I started him at age 8 on a single shot .410. Hes 11 now

I bought my son's an 870 youth model, great guns... then once they outgrew it I replace the stock and forearm and made it the prefect turkey gun with some TSS loads!

Retired my Browning BPS 12ga...

If you get an auto - make them pay for their shells.

20ga on the o/u?

No love for the Beretta A400? I bought my son one for sporting clays but no reason it wouldn't be good for hunting as well.

My 16 year old started out with a Yildiz SA 20ga youth. I don't know why it fits but he kills everything that flies, shoots in clays tournaments and has sent thousands of rounds down that barrel. Recently he switched to my wife's Yildiz 20ga O/U and he kills everything with that one as well.

I'd get him something that is decent in a SA or O/U. I don't subscribe to the single shot 410 thing. Get something decent and that he'll be excited to shoot and want to shoot. You can teach all the same basics.

JILAS-79AG said:

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STRONGLY suggest single shot (410, 20, 12) so they learn to make 1st (& ONLY!!) shot count!! My dad, granddad, uncle, etc. did not hunt so mistakenly learned on Remington 12 ga 870. I would shoot "early" (before in range) to be SURE to get 3rd shot!! My 3 sons required to carry BB gun to learn gun safety for 1-2 years before allowed to shoot single shot then graduated to Remington 870.

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What I did. You had to make that shot count. H&R was the model, I think?

I will say you can also start with a semi, and give them a single round. Same concept. I still have the Semi from the 80's that I started with. Still going strong. Just keep it clean and maintained.

Weatherby SA-08 in 20 gauge is a lot of gun for the money. Pretty light recoil and yet something they will enjoy shooting later in life too.

I've never been a big fan of cheap O/Us for young shooters. They tend to kick like mules and not be nice enough to be excited about later in life if they really get into wing shooting.

If you think they will duck hunt then a pump is nice starter gun to work on the fundamentals. It's an easy conversion to make it a solid backup duck gun or dedicated turkey gun. Most wing shooters upgrade from a pump at some time in life.

Obviously nothing wrong with buying a higher end SA or O/U shotgun from the start, but sounds like you prefer more budget minded for the first go around.

BlueSmoke said:

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JILAS-79AG said:

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STRONGLY suggest single shot (410, 20, 12) so they learn to make 1st (& ONLY!!) shot count!! My dad, granddad, uncle, etc. did not hunt so mistakenly learned on Remington 12 ga 870. I would shoot "early" (before in range) to be SURE to get 3rd shot!! My 3 sons required to carry BB gun to learn gun safety for 1-2 years before allowed to shoot single shot then graduated to Remington 870.

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What I did. You had to make that shot count. H&R was the model, I think?

I will say you can also start with a semi, and give them a single round. Same concept. I still have the Semi from the 80's that I started with. Still going strong. Just keep it clean and maintained.

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There is no substitute for shooting a single shot for the first 2 years of wingshooting. It will train you to be a better shot later when you graduate to semis, O/Us and pump guns.

I wish Yildiz made a youth 28 gauge. My girls are tiny and I think even a 20 gauge might be too much for my 12 year old. Maybe I'll start her on the New England .410 that I learned on.

as said above, those O/U's kick pretty good cause they are light and have shoddy pads. i put a limbsaver on my sons and it helps. the kick is also a nice incentive to not miss so much.

aggieforester05 said:

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I wish Yildiz made a youth 28 gauge. My girls are tiny and I think even a 20 gauge might be too much for my 12 year old. Maybe I'll start her on the New England .410 that I learned on.

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My 10 year old shoots his stevens 301 youth 410 lights out. Like 50% on trap. When I got it he was 8 and I cut about an inch off the stock and added a slip on limbsaver, stuffed all the lead I could fit in the forearm then stuffed foam and big egg weights into the stock until it balanced just ahead of the trigger guard. Then I ordered a mod choke from stevens (because it uses something funny like an extended mobil choke) for like $20. It's a great first setup.

Charismatic Megafauna said:

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aggieforester05 said:

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I wish Yildiz made a youth 28 gauge. My girls are tiny and I think even a 20 gauge might be too much for my 12 year old. Maybe I'll start her on the New England .410 that I learned on.

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My 10 year old shoots his stevens 301 youth 410 lights out. Like 50% on trap. When I got it he was 8 and I cut about an inch off the stock and added a slip on limbsaver, stuffed all the lead I could fit in the forearm then stuffed foam and big egg weights into the stock until it balanced just ahead of the trigger guard. Then I ordered a mod choke from stevens (because it uses something funny like an extended mobil choke) for like $20. It's a great first setup.

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I might order an additional barrel and buttstock for my Mossberg .410 pump and cut them down to her size (keep legal lengths though). .410 shells are starting to get a little more reasonable. They were hard to find and expensive for awhile.

Semi auto 20 gauge would be fine