My son has a maverick 88 20 gauge pump and I have an older sears model 3 shot pump 410. The 410 has a scope the maverick does not. I am not a hunter and he is wanting to go deer hunting next season. Which would you suggest for a 12 year old who is not very big and why?
I'd have to second the 20 gauge. I know they've got .410 as deer legal now but... I"ll never be convinced it's a responsible choice. Plus 20g slugs should be equal or cheaper to .410's in cost, and recoil probably be more comfortable in the 20 (though my perception isnt from a small'ish 12yo so that's debatable.)
He can shoot the 20 about 30 yards or so and keep a good cluster. He is a bit more accurate with 410. Kept a 4 inch grouping from 50 yards. He said he feel comfortable with either. Like I said I've never hunted so don't know what distance is range for deer hunting.
Been deer hunting for years and have harvested probably half my deer with a Remington 870 20ga. with rifle sights....I limit my shots to 50 yds or so with the iron sights.....if you put that slug through the heart/lungs area, you will have meat in the freezer. Have seen a lot of deer harvested by other's with the 20 as well.
Not a believer in the 410 for deer....not saying it cannot be done because it certainly can...but I would feel a lot better equipped with the 20.
Ok thanks to all for the replies. I wasn't sure about the 410. I have only shot it a few times was purchased by my grandfather at sears back in the 60's. Went squirrel hunting with the 20 and he did ok. I guess just put the 410 back up to hand down and let him hunt with the maverick. One last question is there a big difference between the maverick 88 and the Mossberg 500 I know the barrels and accu chokes are all interchangeable.
I also can't imagine shooting a deer with a .410 but shot placement is more important that size to some extent. I use a H&R 20ga single shot with a cheap scope and it does the job just fine. It's an inexpensive gun too.
I've taken at least a half dozen white-tail with a Mossberg 500 in .410. All of the shot were less than 60 yards, most less than 40, but none of them, NOT ONE DEER ran more than 20 yards.
I've also seen a deer hit (badly) with a 12ga that ran 75 yards, not mine, thank god!
A .410 will easily take a white-tail. Just do your part.
I say the 20 gauge if for no other reason than you can find slugs for them easier. The key is to buy a few different brands of slugs see which the gun shoots better. He should have no problem inside of 60 yards with it.
My nod would be to the 20. Both my boys killed their first deer with .410's, but they were 9 when they did it and could not handle a 20 at the time. I limited their shots to 20 yards and under. You have to factor in extreme buck fever on a kids first deer, most of the time. A .410 will cleanly kill a deer with proper shot placement, but a 20 will give them a little more margin for error and in my opinion extend there range.
I would say that a 12 year old could handle a 20. My youngest started shooting skeet with a youth 20 at age 10. Kids can learn to handle recoil if you work into it by limiting the amount of shots at each range session. You basically have a year until deer season to get him accustomed to it. Take your time and shoot a few more slugs each time. By deer season he will be good to go.
500's have dual action bars (steel pieces that attach from the pump handle to the bolt carrier) and top tang mounted safety. 88's have single bar and cross-bolt safety, down in front of the trigger.