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Help my nephew

Gashauler
I am taking my nephew hunting on Monday. He says he can handle the kick of a 12 gauge (he is 5' and 140 lbs), however his arms are too short to operate the pump efficiently. I have access to my fil's Remington 1100 the problem is that it won't eject regular bird shot. Is there somewhere or something that can be adjusted to make this work with the cheaper shells or am I stuck buying the high brass stuff. My only other option is a .410 single shot. This is his first time hunting (won't be his first time shooting a gun). We will be hunting quail and rabbit and I want this to be successful (at least one animal) so hopefully he will want to go again.

Any info will be of help.

As a side note looked at a youth 20 gauge that fits him well but will have to wait for a few months to get the funds for a new gun.
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • montanajoe
    • Community moderator
    He's to got to be able to properly use/handle the weapon, whichever one it is,to be sucessful and want to do it again. I say get some high brass that the 1100 will eject and have a great hunt. Good luck. Hope he gets something. But remind him a safe hunt, the fellowship, and the hunt itself will still make it a sucessful hunt, even if he does not get a animal.
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  • brotus2
    First, get the 1100 fixed. No reason not to eject 8 or 9. Or get the best shells if that's the problem, it's your nephew you're taking out.

    5 foot 140 is stout enough for a 12. It may be a suprise if he's never shot one.

    First timer kids are probably not going to shoot lights out with a 410. But you never know.

    Start looking for a Browning Sweet Sixteen.
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  • mike_02
    A successful hunt should be time afield with those that care...Not the I 'got' one syndrome....

    M
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  • Fatstrat
    Buy him a single shot 12 ga. It's not having a great gun that's important. It's learning what to do w/a gun. One shot/one kill. That's how you make a marksman. Don't start him off w/the idea he he has another shot. Teach him to make his ONE SHOT COUNT.
    Graduate to repeaters later.
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  • mike_02
    An edit to my previous post....

    When I took my children to the field, (woods or lake), I taught them 'if you "had" to "take" an animal to !feel! that you were successful, you would not be permitted to go afield again with me. The object is the skill learned not the taking...

    M
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  • Gashauler
    I have taken him shooting several times mostly his .22 or my 10/22 until this last time. He shot my 835 and seemed to handle it fine, but his hand is at the very back of the slide. With the 1100 since the forearm comes all of the way back to the reciever I figured it would be easier to shoot. Guess I will head off to the store tomorrow for shells. I will be taking the .410 as well just in case it is too much for him to carry.

    I never thought about the other stuff. It is mostly me that wants him to get something. Now that you guys mention it I can't remember the number of times I went hunting with my dad that we didn't get anything and had just as much fun as when we did.

    Thanks for the replies
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  • BGHillbilly
    Used an old winchester 1200 for my then short armed son. The forestock extends farther back and you don't have the exposed action bars and pinch points of the mossburgs and others. Just a possibly cheaper alternative to a youth gun he will outgrow.
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  • _bruno_
    If his arms are too short to operate the pump I'd be worried that the gun is too long for him to enjoy himself. I do a lot of rabbit hunting and when I was younger I could never get the gun up quick enough before the rabbit disappeared. Especially if it is cold out and he will be wearing alot of clothing. Having a gun that was too long for me to handle nearly ruined me forever.
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  • Fatstrat
    I think you're on the right track. I would be leary, for safety reasons, of handing a repeater, especially an autoloader, to a young inexperienced hunter. Even more so if it didn't fit him.
    And IMO a single shot is the best way to train young marksmen. When you have a repeater, you have it in your subconcious that you have another shot, another chance. And therefore people tend to,perhaps unknowingly get sloppy. Hurry their shots etc.
    Even tho the game takehome might be smaller, teach them w/a single shot that they have one shot. And must do it right to make it count.
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  • nononsense
    Gashauler,

    Please forgive my bluntness with regard to your questions:

    - "I have taken him shooting several times mostly his .22 or my 10/22 until this last time."

    Shotgun shooting requires practice and a properly fitted shotgun for any person trying to shoot with any degree of accuracy. Simply deciding to take a youth hunting is a great idea which I support completely. But with little or no preparation, you might be looking at a failure in progress. My hope here is that I'm wrong and your nephew has some success including most importantly, a great day with his uncle.

    - "He says he can handle the kick of a 12 gauge (he is 5' and 140 lbs)..."

    I told my uncles and Dad the same thing and their solution was to head out back of the farmhouse and let me demonstrate. I shot the 20 ga. that year and the next for obvious reasons but I was not the size of your nephew either. I was 6' and 140 in high school...

    - "...fil's Remington 1100 the problem is that it won't eject regular bird shot."

    There is something wrong with this shotgun, get it fixed. There is no difference between high brass and low brass unless the load itself is different. This is a common misconception.

    - "This is his first time hunting (won't be his first time shooting a gun). We will be hunting quail and rabbit and I want this to be successful (at least one animal) so hopefully he will want to go again."

    See my first response. He should have been practicing for a few months before heading into the field.

    He should have a shotgun fitted to him even if it's just a 'youth' shotgun with shorter buttstock. Not being able to reach the forend of a pump shotgun will not work. Shooting a semi-auto is not my first choice either. Single shots (cheap ones) are usually brutal in recoil because of the atrocious design of the action to buttstock. They hurt some adults and will ruin a youngster.

    No matter what you decide, make the day an adventure and full of all the fun things that revolve around hunting. Cherish the day and remember to take pictures so he can relive the day and all those to come.

    Best.
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