First Upland Hunting Gun

For Young Hunters

We’d just come in from a day of upland hunting and already I had to repress a shudder.

This guy was bragging about the great deal he’s just gotten on a shotgun for his son. Seems his 12-year-old was ready for serious hunting. The kid, who’d walked at daddy’s side on many an upland hunt, had successfully completed the hunter safety course and now, quite naturally, wanted his own gun.

“I was down to a flea market and saw an old single-shot Winchester,” the old man was saying. “They wanted $55 for it, but I got them down to 42 bucks. The gun cleaned up like new.”

Like innumerable others before him, this guy mistakenly believed that a single shot was the best choice for a youngster when upland hunting. Hell and damnation, the manufacturers of such guns even promoted them that way. But, in actuality, it’s probably the worst choice for a young hunter.

When I was guiding at an upland hunting club we had two firm safety rules. First: When the birds go up, the guides go down. That’s because you never know who, through excitement or carelessness, would fire before the birds gained safe altitude. The second rule: If someone showed up with a kid and a single shot, we’d ask him to stow it and lend him a club gun instead. Naturally, we pointed out, there’s no reason you can’t load just one round in a repeater.

What’s wrong with single shot guns? Not much, for an older shooters with more upland hunting experience. But to give a kid a gun that, essentially, has no mechanical safety is asking for trouble.

Let’s say the dogs are on point while pheasant hunting. You have the kid cock the hammer and move in for the flush. The pheasant comes up in that classic towering rise we see so infrequently nowadays. Just as the bird levels off, the boy mounts, swings through, and pulls the trigger. The bird drops like a stone, and it’s all over but the backslapping. This is a perfect upland hunting scenario.

What happens, however, if the pheasant cuts sharply to the left, flying barely even with the top of the stubble top? If you’ve taught him (or, increasingly, I’m pleased to say, her) right the young’un doesn’t take the shot.

We now have a situation where an 11-12-13-year-old is expected to lower the hammer on a live round by holding it back with his thumb while pulling the trigger---all the while remembering to point the muzzle in a safe direction.

It’s unreasonable to expect a kid to have either the coordination or muscular strength to do this safely. The youngster may do everything right, but the gun still fires accidentally because the hammer slipped.

Contrast this with a magazine or double gun. If the boy declines a shot, the most he need do is flick the thumb button or crossbar back to the on-safe position. Surely he’ll continue obeying all the basic safety rules, and always remember that the best safety is the one between his ears. Mechanical safeties can, and do, fail. However, if the only time the young gunner touches a trigger is when he’s prepared to shoot, there are no accidental discharges.

So, what should you get your young hunter as a first upland hunting gun?

Obviously, a magazine or double gun makes more sense. I would not, however, recommend either a double or a pump. These are youngsters, after all, with developing bones and muscles. Because of their recoil-reducing nature, gas autos make the most sense---especially for girls. It’s easy enough to find such a piece on the used gun racks.

Lightweight doubles also work fine for kids. But the operative word is “lightweight.” Most of them really are too heavy for a youngster to lug around all day when upland hunting.

By the same token, I would look for a 20 gauge rather than a 12. You want your children to become fond of shooting---not afraid of it. Even an autoloading 12 gauge has enough kick that it can hurt young bodies.

Do not go too far in this direction. A .410 does not make sense for children. Kids need the reinforcement of hitting something. The .410 is a gun for experts, not beginners, and I guarantee they’ll be doing more missing than hitting with one. .

What about a .28 gauge? Two problems with that. First, as with the .410, there isn’t enough of a shot charge. Unless the bird is perfectly centered in the pattern it will be a miss, and the child will get increasingly frustrated. Besides which, if there’s a .28 gauge in the arsenal---trust me on this---you’re going to use it yourself