20 gauge too big?

[nc.hunter]

Hey guys, I was wondering do you think a 20 gauge shotgun is too big for a 14 year old? I am 5'5 and weigh 127 lbs. I have shot a 410 shotgun and it doesnt heart but its really small. I am just curious because if I buy a 20 gauge I dont wont to get home and find out its to big for me. Thanks,nc.hunter.

[Rem 742 30-06]

my sister started shooting hers at that age. 20 gauge doesn't kick that bad. I was shooting a 12 gauge at 15 but i was about 5 inches taller and had a good 25 pounds on you

[lefty o]

personally, i would recommend a youth model 12guage. the youth models have a shorter buttstock that will fit you better. secondly a 12ga has versatility in loads, you can get loads as light as anything offered for the 20, and also heavier.

[scoutman]

not at all actually i think you should get a 12 gauge because you will have more hunting possibilities like turkey hunting cuzz you can use all the knock down power you can get or you can use it for deer hunting shootin slugs if you choose when i say more hunting possibilities in general you can more efficiently take down bigger birds like goose. not that a 20 is bad cuzz thats all i ever used up until i was 18 until i just force my self to use the 12 just to get use to the recoil because i will say the recoil of a 12 is not very pleasant but like any gun it will take time and practice to get use to in the long run it will help you gain a better skill at shooting higher recoil firearms i use to flinch so bad with my 270 i would get very bad groups at 100 yards but when i got my sks and started shooting that i became more comfortable with my 270 and i dont flinch as bad is i use to

you should read a paper that i wrote a while back cuzz it seams to me that you are new to this not that, that is bad because it is people like you that keep this alive in the future

oh and i got so use to the 12 gauge that i can shoot it one handed no joke even a 30 06 practice makes perfect or better

[elmer fudd]

i was shooting a 12 gauge when i was 12 and it had 3 inch shells in it just keep it tight to your shoulder when it starts getting farther and farther away from you shoulder is when you will get hurt!

[scoutman]

Picking the Correct Rifle Caliber and Being a Economic Hunter


Hunting is one of America’s pastimes. Before you go hunting you should pick the proper rifle caliber to use. Let’s say that there is a person out there that is just getting started in the sport of hunting. He or she has absolutely no clue what to pick for rifle calibers or what name brands of rifles to get because this person has never been informed of any thing related to hunting. So lets get started this person would like to keep their cost down, and would like to only buy three guns. He or she would like to hunt rabbits all the way to deer only using three different calibers. In order to do this you need to some research. Picking the right rifle caliber is a necessary and proper thing to do to make efficient and humane kills. This is a necessary task to complete, because it could be the difference between the trophy of a lifetime or a disappointment on a hunting trip of a lifetime. Now picking the a rifle caliber to use a easy task with modern day rifle engineering there have been many new rife calibers that have been introduce to this day. All you need to do is some research and ask around to other hunters and you should have enough information to find a rifle caliber to use. Picking a good rifle caliber is essential to a successful hunt because it is the only thing linking you to a successful hunt. So when hunting deer a rifle that should not be use is a .22 rimfire because it lacks serious nock down power to take a deer. Now this can be done because I only have three guns and they are .22 rimfire for small game, 12 gauge for northland birds, and finally a .270 Winchester for bigger varmints like coyote, and deer hunting. Now this set up will work if but it needs to be fine-tuned.
Small game hunting requires a rifle caliber that will not harm the meat or fur. What kind of rifle should be picked? That would be one from the rimfire family. The .22 rimfire can be used for rabbits all the way to coyote but its not recommended for uses on coyote and other animals of that size because its lack of power needed. In that case you should not use it on coyote unless the distance is really close like 50 yards or less. So what gun to pick well there are lots of different ways to go when picking out a new .22 rifle being that there are so many different models and designs it should not be hard to pick one right. Well wrong it is hard because of the hundreds of different models. Two of the most successful .22 rifles in history are the Ruger 10/22 and the Marlin Model 60. I shoot the Marlin it is a semi auto, tube fed magazine and holds15 rounds. The model 60 is very reliable, and has better out of the box accuracy that the ruger 10/22. The marlin comes in many different setups also. Ruger 10/22 is has its own benefit its one of the most customizable .22 rifles ever. The ruger is a semi auto clip fed rifle.
However you are not just limited to the .22 long rifle cartridge for small game hunting. There is the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR), .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire (HMR), and the .17 Hornady Mach 2(HM2). These are the other calibers from the rimfire family. These calibers have there own benefits and disadvantages. The .22 WMR was the first successful rimfire cartridge introduce in the 20 century. Hornady teamed up with Marlin and made the new .17 HMR this cartridge revolutionized the rimfire family and became popular very fast. The parent cartridge is the .22 WRM. It has awesome flat shooting that has never been seen before in a rimfire and extremely good accuracy out to 150 yards. Then there is the 17 HR2 made by Hornady in 2004. The 17 HR2 is a .22 long rifle casing neck down to fit a .17 caliber bullet. Once again this new design performed as well as the 17HMR. The good thing is that both 17 caliber cartridges are all sons and daughters from the 22 LR and 22 WMR. So the guns that shoot the 22 LR and 22 WMR can just have barrel changes to shoot the 17 caliber bullets if available. I personally would not want to use the 17 because the 22 WMR has a bigger bullet 30 to 40 grain and has velocities very comparable to the 17 HMR. Therefore the 22WMR has more knock down power and can to more damage but not as accurate however you are limited to about 125 yards.
In all of that, the cartridge you should pick should be the 22 LR. Most .22 rifles are economically priced and ammunition is also priced very well. In my own personal experience I would get an autoloader rifle because the autoloader seems to be the stealthiest because you wont have to move anything after you shoot it. The auto loader is also quicker a person can take very quick shots verses bolt guns, lever, and pump action rifles. The rifle that a person would pick is completely up to them. The rifle should fit them, and the person should be comfortable shooting it.
Now that small game is out of the way how about big game like deer. Now for deer there are many different calibers I would not go any smaller than .223 Remington and no bigger than 30-06. Now before I mentioned that the 22LR is almost too weak for animals like coyote. This when the high-powered rifle should be considered to be use when hunting game like coyote. A good caliber to pick would be the .243 Winchester. This caliber is good for some of the biggest deer. Has many different bullet grains to pick from they are 55gr to 105gr. Pick the smaller grained bullets for smaller game and larger bullets for bigger game. The 243 is available in bolt action, pump, and autoloader. So there are a few action options for the caliber.
Now that is basically it for a high-powered rifle putting a scope on it is a must. Shooting at ranges of 100 yards or more gets very hard and it would make it easier to be accurate if a scope was mounted.
Bird hunting fun, challenging, and still requires a certain caliber or in this case a shotgun gauge. The most popular shotgun gauges used are 10, 12, and the 20. The 12 can be used for small birds like grouse but a small shot load is a must or the bird will be turned in to a puff of feathers. In this case the 20 gauge would be better choice because it shoots less shot and has less power. The 20 gauge is also good for young shooters as well. I would say that a person should stay with a 12 because of more hunting possibilities. One is you can hunt bigger sized birds like turkey and goose. If you live in a state like Iowa they don’t allow the uses of rifles so the state only allows the use of slug guns. Which are shotguns that shoot a slug. Before shooting a slug your shotgun could have a new barrel put on it. The barrel is rifled just like a regular rifle barrel is just that it shoots a different type of a slug a rifled slug which is more accurate. The slug is comparable to a muzzleloader bullet. The reason the use of only a slug is because the projectile does not go as far when the area is flat. This is a safety precaution. The shotgun benefits it two ways it is a bird gun, a deer gun, and they also can be used to hunt game like coyote. Just get a slug that has a lower bullet weight or in different shot ounce of the slug.
Now that you know that what kind of a shotgun gauge is recommended for such use. What is there to pick from when buying a shotgun. Remington makes the 870 and has many different models and setups of the 870 to choose from for the hunter. Another brand of shotgun is Mossberg. They have some different models to choose from the 500 and 835 models. Going with a pump or an autoloader is would be your own personal preference as they are both good choices.
One of the purposes my research is to have fun hunting and save a little money. Basically I am talking about the economic hunter who buys a gun for more than one purpose. For small game the 22 long rifle would work well. For hunting game like deer a 243 Winchester will work

good too and also benefits as a varmint and coyote gun. For birds the 12 gauge works well it is versatile to be used on small birds to the biggest of birds like turkey. The 12 can also be fitted with a rifled barrel for shooting slugs for deer and varmint hunting. There is no such thing as a perfect caliber or shotgun gauge, but more of a gun that can be used to hunt more that one kind of game. There are lots of guns that are that way. When picking your rifle it is always a personal preference what a person feels the most comfortable with. When picking your rifle caliber, the right caliber should always be picked because the taking your game the most humane way possible is one of the fundamentals of hunting.

[AKHunter]

I started shooting at 12 years old with a 12gauge and a .30-06. They didnt bother me any , I had about 15 more pounds on me than you at the time. I am sure a 20 gauge would no problem. A few years back I did buy my wife a youth 20gauge for her to shoot and she really likes it. She is 5'9" 140 and doesnt appreciate recoil all that much but will hunt with an 06 or .280 and shoots the 12 gauge at times.

I keep trying to get here to shoot my .338wm but she wont take the bait .

[cooker300]

i have to agree with every body else on this one. a 12Ga. would be your best bet in the long run.
i was just about your same size at that age.
my dad gave me his 1950's model H&R trooper 158 single shot to hunt with and with a 3in mag it kicked like a mule but i learned to use it very well. and now i can shoot most anything out there and dont feel it recoil.
and my first rifle was a 45/70 govt.
if you practice with it you will learn to become very comfortable and a better shot.

[stitchclimber]

I was shooting both 12g and 20g buy the age of 13. and I'm a small guy. If you are uncomfortable with a large shotgun, stick with the 20g, but we all think you can handle the big gun as well.

[sell33]

I was in the same boat as you, similar size, etc. I thought 12 gauge was too big so i bought at 20 when i was bout 12. Year later i stepped up to 12 gauge, difference isn't hardly enough to worry about. Get a 12 that fits you good and you should be fine even with that.

[big boomer]

I would move up to the 20 you can always move up to a 12 later, remember if its a semi auto the felt recoil is less so a 12 auto feels like a 20 single more or less. The 4.10 is a gun for experts you don't get much pattern out of them a 20 patterns almost as good as a 12. I have 3 12's and would like a good 20 to round out my stuff.

[Tater]

A firm grip on a 12 gauge, and you'll be able to handle it . I'm 17 and have been shooting various 12 gauges since the age of 12. I was a bit heavier than you at the time. Im 6'3 215 and recoil doesntt bother me ofcourse im much larger. In all it will improve your shooting capabilites in taking away a flinch in future situation with a decently sized rifle.

[sell33]

thats what i did^^ 12 gauge auto

[ArkansasHunter]

NO it is not to big, matter of fact you'll learn to be a good shot with that 20ga. and when the time comes to move up to one of the new modern 12ga.'s that have less felt recoil (because of your stature) You'll be one heck of a good shooter !

[nathangdad]

This is an excellent starting point if you will get a youth stock on the gun and shoot regular (not three inch loads). If you, or one of your friends,
has reloading equipment you can begin with some very mild loads shooting tin cans. Then slowly move up to regular loads and tossing the cans.

The most important thing is to make it a pleasurable beginning experience. It is not a test of macho to see how much can be handled.

As the youngster grows you can move to a regular stock. Later you can
go to a 12 gauge with mild loads. Take time and let the young shooter set the pace.

[meatloaf]

nope

[andrew cochran]

I had a 20 guage when I was 14. No problem even shot 3 inch shells. I would suggest you go try out a few different guns and decide which one you can handle best.
What does anybody else think?

[squirrelbaster]

i started off with a 12 ga, its not realy a problem. im a little dude and never have had any problems i say no shotgun is to big!

[Windwalker]

I agree with A.H. get the 20ga.. the recoil is not much more than the .410 and you can handle it easily. Learn to shoot it well and then when you are ready you can move up to a 12ga. Enjoy your shooting.

[Silent Shooter]

I think I was about 10 when I started shooting 12 guage shotguns (3 inch Magnums - Dad was a cop). I was MUCH smaller.