# Winchester SX3 20 gauge for youth- opinions ?



## shawninthesticks (Jun 13, 2010)

Looking to get my 9 year old son his first shotgun this spring (for his b-day in June). I have had a SX3 for several years and love the gun. Does anyone have any expierence with the 20 gauge model and youth shooting? Couple weeks ago we where shooting some clay's and he was doing a good job with grandpas 410 Stoger O/U ,but we ran out of shells, so his uncle handed him is 12 gauge Browning A5 and surprising to me he was able to shoulder and hit clays with it. Which got me thinking he is getting close to being ready to move up and start wing shooting next year. I do not want to start with a pump then buy another gun.We will only be chambering 1 shell at a time for safety and to learn that the first shot from a semi auto is not a warning shot.

Does the gun shoulder well for smaller framed people?

Recoil -light, medium extreme? 

Any info on the 20 gauge with youths is welcome.

Or other 20 gauge semi auto's around the same price.


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## tshuntin (Mar 22, 2003)

I am in the same boat with my 8 year old daughter looking ahead. I want something easy for her to hold with as little of kick as possible. She shoots a single shot youth 410 fine but I would like to keep the kick around that in a 20. I saw the youth/compact sx3 the other day and it looks nice. Another I really like is the Benelli Montifeltro Combo. It comes with a youth and adult stock. I didn't want to spend 700-1100 for a first shotgun, but it will last her forever so maybe it is worth it. I would just buy a youth 870 or something, which would be perfect but if I can get a nice semi that will kick less, that is kind of how I am leaning. The sweetest gun I think would be the Benelli Ultra light in a 28 gauge.


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## Huff (Feb 11, 2008)

I have a 10 year old son that I bought an auto loader for him last year to shoot. I still do exactly what you said, 1 shell at a time. I got the auto for reduced recoil. I bought a Remington but I would think that the SX3 would do the trick well. I am happy with the results so far he is a competent shot and all my hunting buddies have no problem letting him fire the first shot and then the adults cut em. 

Russell


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## TroyFeeken (May 30, 2007)

Get the kid the good standby 870. Helps to teach them shooting because they can't just keep pulling the trigger like they can with an auto. It'll also help teach the kid how to tear down and clean and take care of the gun. 870's are excellent for that with minimal effort and parts. That and they're damn near indestructible.


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## Jay Brown (Sep 14, 2009)

First thing to consider in choosing a shotgun for a young person, is their weight and size ( height,build). 80 pounds should be the starting point for 20 gauge or bigger. A 410 is the poorest choice for a youngster, due to lack of shot/payload. Any auto is going to be heavier than other actions, but as was noted gas operated guns offer less kick. Then there is the problem of stock length being to long and needing cut down. With an auto ther is just so much you can take off before you get into the bolt attaching the stock to the reciever. Having coached lots of junior/beginning shooters, I think the 28 Gauge has the best to offer with less recoil, excellent payload and offered in all actions. If you have not consideredthis look into the guns available out there in a 28 gauge !


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## Jay-Bird (Jul 5, 2012)

My wife got into hunting a couple years back. I have shot an SX3 for several years so i did not hesitate to buy her one. I went with the 20ga. My son who is 10 but can't hunt for 2 more years here shot it this summer at clay's and targets. He handled it very well. He is a very skinny kid and might and i mean might hit 65lbs. No i find my self using it more and more, i smash geese and ducks year round with it. I put a Wad Wizard power 20 choke on and shoot 3" BB's.


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## MooseGooser (May 11, 2003)

I'll prolly get beat up over this but ,,,,,, Since when have I cared

I dont agree with getting a young shooter a twenty guage gun in most cases...
it really depends on what others have said about the persons size and build, yes!,, but.......

I think the 20 kickslike a MULE.. Most cases the 20guage gun is made very light, so the felt recoil is more.. Also,, the 20 standard shell or round,, runs at considerably higher standard pressure, than even a 12.. Its just the way they are. So,, that makes felt recoil more...

If your son can handel a 12 guage auto loader,, (you have one) and,,,, Important,,,, you arnt going to expect him to carry the thing all day long on big long Pheasant hunts....then I would opt for the 12.

The 12 is heavier... If you reload, you can load shells that will make that 12 guage auto's RECOIL FEEL like a .410...

My 34 yr old son and I shot clays a couple a weeks ago... he has a 12 guage berretta urika. We decided to shoot on a last minute schedule.. he borrowed MY 20 gauge berretts urika... After about 30 rounds,, his comment to me was.."Man this little gun kicks ya to death!" he is 6'0" about 200 lbs...

20 guage guns are great to carry in the field all day. But when It comes to pullin the trigger,, the light weight, higher operating pressure of the round,, and a typically shorter barrels (will cause some to stop their swing) I just dont think it a good choice for young shooters..

If he can handel the 12 ,,I would opt for it.. He will be happy for a LONG time..


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## MooseGooser (May 11, 2003)

And those "Promo loads" for either 12 or 20 made by Winchester, federal, or remington,, Estates ect. that Ya can buy cheap at Walmart,, are just killers to have young folks learn to shoot with.
Their pressures and speed are up there,, and the fELT recoil shooting them is brutal IMHO.


It really is one of the true benifits of being able to reload... You can adjust the load you shoot for a specific purpose.
I shoot 3/4 ounce of shot out od my 12 guage Citori. its Feet per second hovers around 1100..
That load will break targets all day long,,, and the FELT recoil is very light. Lighter than shooting the comparable 28 guage..


Gooser


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## MooseGooser (May 11, 2003)

Maybe DAD should hand the 12 down,, and go out and buy HISSELF that perty little 20 guage,, so he can keep up with that Kid a his...

Ya Know you aint gettin any yonger,, or prolly pertier either...

Gooser


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## RookieTrainer (Mar 11, 2011)

I went to the range last Saturday to help my brother, and ended up throwing for a young man about your son's age. Maybe a little older, but 12 at the oldest. 

He ended up hitting a few, but the gun was too heavy for him. Instead of leaning forward slightly as I was trying to get him to do, he was having to lean back to be able to support the gun. In short, he is learning bad habits that may take him a long time to unlearn. 

I would be careful about getting him a gun that he can't physically handle with proper shooting form. If that means a 20, then that may be exactly what he needs. MouseGooser is right that it will probably have more felt recoil than a 12 auto, depending on shells, because it is so much lighter. But that should be manageable if he is only shooting one shell at the time - which is very wise IMHO.

Good luck. And for anybody who has ever seen me shoot and is wondering why I would be advising anybody, I was KILLING them that day.


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## Dale (Dec 21, 2003)

My take on getting a youth a shot gun is to go with an o/u. A couple reasons, the bigest being the safety. For the most part o/u's when broke open kicks the safety on. I have found that the biggest thing we tell kids when we are doing youth pheasant hunts is to put the safety back on after a shot. O/U kind of cover that on there own. Sight plain is basically the same as a pump or auto. You can argue gauge for ever. 410 is a good shell but not for someone starting out not enough pellets. 28 has the pellets but are kind of high priced especially for non-toxic(as are 410). 20 I agree does have a high felt recoil but i don't think many kids shooting at live targets are going to notice it.


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## Timber Dog (Sep 22, 2012)

If it were me and had a year to wait going from ages 8-12 expecially boys and girls growing at that age, I believe I would hold out for the New Browning A-5 in the 20 ga model. It will be a soft shooter if it is even made close to the old Beligum gun which I still have a pair of both. Just my opinion.


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## shawninthesticks (Jun 13, 2010)

Well so far you guys have only made my decision harder. Very good and different reasons /opinions on which to use.

With the information I've gotten so far ,this is where I'm at -

Gooser good points on the 12 gauge weight verses recoil.

Rookie also has a very good point ,which I seen the day we shot clays and he was shooting the A5 ,When the gun is to heavy they lean back to shoot instead of leaning into the gun,intern not instilling solid long term shooting technique. 

Goose, I'm assuming it would be possible to load the lighter loads in a 20 for clay shooting? Then it seems like a good compromise between gun weight and recoil. As I'm sure you know that recoil is always felt less when hunting due to adrenalin,focus and excitement.

I'm still not considering a pump for several different reasons.

Dale ,I do like the idea of the O/U auto safety,but in the big picture I question if that should be a way to start out as a youths everyday first gun,my reason for saying this is if it is instilled in them the safety is the guns job to kick on and you the shooter dont have to think about it ,compared to being the gun carriers responsibility to have complete conciseness about pulling the trigger is a 3 part sequence -safety off,pull trigger ,safety immidietely back on(Thats the safety order he has always been required to uphold from BB gun to deer rifle) but when they move onto other guns that dont have the auto safety ,it is not ingrained to put safety back on after trigger pull. I think in your case of several youths shooting together and some maybe the only time a year they shoot that that is the safest way to go. Only my opinion,I am not questioning anyone's safety system.


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