Help me with a new turk gun...

[AT Hiker]

So, I have a 6 year old little girl. Ive recently discovered that as a father you can use your child as an excuse to upgrade your gear

Never thought I would be looking into the TSS, red dot scope mess. However, after I realized these little single shot break action .410 exist on the cheap, its got me thinking. "If I can upgrade to something that is lite weight and packable (for future backcountry type hunts) and get something that will benefit my daughter, its a no brainer"

So, what would you guys suggest? What would be your realistic ideal set up, staying well under the $500 range (including those pricey shells). .410 or 20? Im a up close hunter, 20 yards with 30 being the absolute max and a rarity. Keep recoil in mind for a tiny framed girl (I'm not a tiny framed girl).

Appreciate any help.

 

[Rockhound]

I'd go with a yildiz single shot in whatever gauge you decide on, they will fold completely up and would be perfect to put in the back of a vest

 

[TN Larry]

From what I've read, the Stevens or Savage 410 are really good shooter sand can be had for around $200. You should be able to set one up with a red dot for around $500 with shells and have a 40 yard, lightweight turkey gun.

 

[Boll Weevil]

From a recoil perspective I'd characterize a 20ga w/TSS turkey loads as sharp...might be a little much for your daughter.

 

[AT Hiker]

I'd go with a yildiz single shot in whatever gauge you decide on, they will fold completely up and would be perfect to put in the back of a vest

From some quick reading it appears the choke is hit or miss on this gun, other than that I really like the idea.

 

[AT Hiker]

From what I've read, the Stevens or Savage 410 are really good shooter sand can be had for around $200. You should be able to set one up with a red dot for around $500 with shells and have a 40 yard, lightweight turkey gun.

These seem the most popular and have appropriate chokes.

 

[deerfever]

The Savage 301 turkey is an absolute shooter. I hunted with the 20 gauge version this season some and killed two with it in its first season. Light and fun to carry! The choke that comes with it will pattern the federal TSS really well as Savage got together with Federal on the choke tube. You can go to the pattern section and see mine. I am sure the 410 would be really good as I have seen some great pattern pictures from that gun also. I just don't know about the recoil for a 6 year old as I pay no attention to it so I wouldn't want to say. I have a Tru glo gobble stopper on mine but my favorite sight is the swampfox kingslayer that I have on a couple others. You can get it in red or green dot and they always have coupon codes for a discount. Something that helped my son with recoil when he was that age was the limbsaver recoil pad but that will change lop a little. I wish you the best in your search for the gun that fits both of you!

 

[TDW05]

Stevens 301 .410, lightweight hardly any recoil and stock choke with federal shells(TSS) you'll have a great turkey gun all around. Fun for you and your daughter will love it as well. It will be both my sons first gun no doubt. I would put it just a hair over a 22 mag on recoil. No lie.

 

[Southern Sportsman]

If you know anyone who hand loads, I would recommend a 1 - 1.25 oz 20 gauge load with whatever low-cost 20 gauge gun you have or decide on. I'd go with a youth 870 in a wood stock and I wouldn't hesitate to cut the stock down to whatever length she needs. Keep the cut-off section and you can reattach it later as she grows. If you can't get a tuned-down load, you can always let her practice with target loads and slide in a TSS load when hunting.

I like .410s and I hunt with a .410. Recoil is incredibly light and they are a joy to carry. But they can be finicky patterning and even with a good uniform pattern, they are not as forgiving. You'll have a ~10-15" lethal diameter as opposed to a 20-25" swath with a 20 gauge.

Although it will eat up a good chunk of your budget, I can't say enough about a good reflex red dot like a burris FFIII. They have a no-questions-asked fully transferable lifetime warranty, so there is really no concern with buying a used one on ebay. Keep an eye out and you can get one for $175ish. They are great for kids. Unlimited eye relief and parallax free. So if she can find the dot and put it on the target, the gun is aimed true even if her shooting form or head position are a little out of kilter.

 

[tnanh]

Whatever gun you choose I would go with a 20 gauge. She wont need tss for a while in a 20 and the choices of ammo are a lot better. More than likely she wont shoot past 25-30 yards for a while and when she is ready for longer sistances she ahould be able to handle the recoil ok. Someone could load a lighter 2 3/4 tss load for her or more than likely any 2 3/4 7 1/2 lead load will kill as far as she will shoot. Also the 20 will probably be her go to into adulthood.

 

[Andy S.]

My thoughts align with the two posts above mine. I have a few 20s and .410s, but I don't ever see a .410 being my dedicated turkey gun, nor would I expect my kids to tote it their entire life. A .410 is more of a novelty in my eyes, just something to tinker with and say you did it as opposed to a true dedicated turkey gun. My .02

 

[TheLBLman]

Whatever gun you choose I would go with a 20 gauge.

x 2

The 20 ga can be reduce loaded to compare favorably to the .410's recoil.
And the 20 has many more load options, not to mention better range, better patterns,
so it could be more a lifetime gun rather than something with less recoil for a child.

A .410 is more of a novelty in my eyes, just something to tinker with and say you did it as opposed to a true dedicated turkey gun.

That would also be my 2 cents.

 

[AT Hiker]

Thank you all so far for the replies.
I have a youth 870 in 20ga and also a Winchester 1400 in a 20ga (which is definitely much longer than the 870). The 870 weighs a tad over 6lbs with 21" barrel, the 1400 in the 7lb range. Vs the Stevens @ 5lbs in the .410 and 6lbs in the 20ga with 26" barrel. The Yildiz in the .410 comes in at 3.3lbs!

I will ignore the Winchester, it can continue to collect dust in the safe. I like the idea of the Yildiz but Im unsure about the choke, I need to do more research. So, if Im really wanting to spend some money I could go with the Stevens 301 in .410. The weight should dampen the recoil enough for a new shooter that it would be of no concern, don't you think? Give me something to play around with for a while (in regards to Andys comment about a novelty) and once she is "ready" then get the 870 rigged. No-one has mentioned the Rossi?

IDK, its just a thought I had and its best for me to get them out of my head so to help with the decision. Maybe I should stick with my original plan from a few years ago and go with a Stevens 555 O/U in 20 ga for me and focus solely on something specific for her....or maybe the Yildiz Youth SPZ ME 20ga O/U!

 

[woodsman04]

I like the 20 gauge because it can also be a gun for dove shoots later on. Say what you want, but a 410 on a dove shoot isn't very fun to me.


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[Buzzard Breath]

Just buy the 20 o/u Yildiz and a roll of camo tape. Kids don't need all the fancy scopes and expensive shells. It's actually a hindrance for them. Modified in bottom barrel, imp modified in top. Find some 6-shot, low brass, game loads that pattern really well for the gun, and she'll be good to go.

I don't have kids, so that makes me an expert at telling others what's best for theirs.

 

[Stumpsitter]

I bought a 301 for my 8 year old son to use this past spring. Topped it with a tru-glo gobble stopper.
Patterned it with federal TSS #9. Let me tell you, it's bad medicine on a turkey @35 yards.
My son decided at the last minute he didn't want to do the shooting that he would just tag along &
Spectate. I was fine with that. I killed 3 birds with it at various ranges, 15 to 35 yards. I hunt the mountains and mountain side. It's a joy to carry. It's like carrying a stick of firewood. The only faults I could find with it was the mount that comes with it is too high and the spring on the hammer is pretty stiff for a kid, other than that it's good for a entry level turkey gun. It impressed me so much , I bought a tri-Star viper turkey edition. I found that I really like the light weight of a .410. In the woods it will make a turkey just as dead as a 12 or 20 gauge .

 

[Westnvol89]

https://palmettostatearmory.com/rossi-s ... 3a00+Email


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[stringtalker]

The Savage 301 turkey is an absolute shooter. I hunted with the 20 gauge version this season some and killed two with it in its first season. Light and fun to carry! The choke that comes with it will pattern the federal TSS really well as Savage got together with Federal on the choke tube. You can go to the pattern section and see mine. I am sure the 410 would be really good as I have seen some great pattern pictures from that gun also. I just don't know about the recoil for a 6 year old as I pay no attention to it so I wouldn't want to say. I have a Tru glo gobble stopper on mine but my favorite sight is the swampfox kingslayer that I have on a couple others. You can get it in red or green dot and they always have coupon codes for a discount. Something that helped my son with recoil when he was that age was the limbsaver recoil pad but that will change lop a little. I wish you the best in your search for the gun that fits both of you!

. What did you do about the trigger pull on your gun. The one I handled the trigger pull is awful, around 8 pounds, way to high when you are use to 3 pound pull

 

[deerfever]

I never really noticed the trigger pull stringtalker. I shot at two Toms and they both came home with me. So I really can't answer your question , I may just be used to heavy trigger pull or something because I never noticed it when I patterned it or when I hunted with the gun.