Youth Shotgun Tutorial

[mike braden]

After a lot of internet searching and talking with people that I know and respect, I purchased a Remington 11-87 youth compact in 20 gauge for Kyle. I chose this gun because it has an adjustable length of pull so the gun will literally grow with him. When I received the gun, the length of pull was still a little too long so I took it to a gunsmith (well known). After a month and $64.20, I threw out his "idea" and started over.

I purchased a Remington 870 youth stock from Remington since this stock is about an inch shorter without the pads attached.

For those of you who do not know this, the Remington 11-87 does not have the usual bolt or screw to attach the stock. The stock slides over a permanent shaft attached to the receiver.

Now the first problem was when placing the shorter 870 stock on the receiver, the shaft stuck out past the stock.

So...I took a 3/4 flat drill bit and marked up the pad and drilled a hole to allow room for the shaft.

I then added a rubber washer and two copper pieces to act as spacers between the stock and the nut.

Now screw the pad back on and it's a nice fit.

Now I have a happy kid.....

Try these shells for your kids. They are $9 a box but real easy on young shooters. 2 1/2 inch shell. 3/4 ounce and 1100 fps. They are just what my bad shoulder needs. The gun doesn't readily eject all the shells but we are only loading one at a time anyway for proper gun safety teachings.

 

[Al Hansen]

I sure enjoyed reading this and then being able to look at those great pics of a job well done. Best shot of all was look that your son had. He is ready!
By the way, I shoot 2 3/4 inch Dove loads/1oz. and they eject just fine out of my pump-----By the way, Mike, it was a safety issue that made me buy that pump.
Al

 

[mike braden]

I hear ya on the pump Al but I felt that the semi would be a better choice to further help dampen the recoil. He will not have more than one round in the gun until he has some "time" under his belt. Last thing that I want is him popping away. Hopefully Kyle and I will have many years of turkey and ducks with the gun. Turkey and duck loads can have more recoil and I didn't want him to be sensitive to it, which he's not so, so far so good.

I have an H & R 20 gauge break action single shot which was my first shotgun that he is going to shoot as well. I was my first gun as a kid and actually forgot about gettimg him to shoot it. The length of pull is longer but the receiver length is shorter and it actually fits pretty good so we will test that too.

 

[Rod VanZile]

Mike, that is a great choice for a young shooter. I bought a youth 870 for my son years ago and purchased a full size stock for it at the same time. He has long outgrown the gun and it is now my favorite go to gun for close in decoy hunts. Enjoy the time with your young hunter. They grow up fast.

Rod

 

[Anthony A]

Good stuff

 

[Tom Scholberg]

Mike, Nice job on the gun. The choice of an auto and very reduced loads for a 20 gauge is in MHO the way to go for a new shooter. I am a very dedicated 20 shooter after moving "up" through the gauges and then back "down". He can grow into the other stock and some very potent loads as the years go by. The one shell only and very close supervision plan is begining to replace the "single shot .410 and go get em" theory. As a Firearms Safety Instructor I have to ask if he has taken a class. BTW what was the gunsmiths plan?

 

[mike braden]

Kyle has had some one on one training with certified NRA instructors who are friends of mine. They are all impressed with his safety skills and knowledge of the gun.

The gunsmith took the pad off and made a hard plastic butt plate since Remington doesn't offer one for the gun or so I was told personally by Remington. What annoyed me was the corners were not rounded off so it would dig into his shoulder when fired. A little buffing would have been nice and the paint on the butt plate was rudimentary at best. I was pissed to say the least.

 

[Dave Diefenderfer]

Mike, I am concerned that that threaded rod is now just below the surface of the pad as you releived the pad to fit over it? That will then be a sharp impact point on his shoulder? Maybe i missed something? Can you push the pad and find the post? Can we cut more threads in the post and then cut if off shorter? I'll bring my tap and die set up in September if you remind me... what is the thread size?

 

[Capt Rich Geminski]

Great smithing job. I usually get a used, cut stock from vintage sporting or elsewhere and install a good pad. Later Dad will have a nice gun to shoot. A friend of mine had a short 1100 done with 24" bbl for the kids. Now the gun has been lent around to 4-5 families and always comes back, cleaner and nicer.

 

[mike braden]

Dave,

I was waiting for you to ask these questions :0)

When you look at the LOP of pull pic it shows that the pad is an inch thick. I only went about half way through the pad. You have to push down pretty hard to find the shaft through the pad. With the low recoil and velocity loads I don't feel that it will be a factor. With 3 1/2 I am sure that it would be. We will find out tomorrow. We will fire the gun first before allowing Kyle to shoot.

These are very valid questions and I did ponder them before doing so. I do have an extra pad that I bought with the shorter stock. These pads seem over built but I am sure that the extra thickness helped me here. I do not want to cut the shaft shorter since that will compromise the gun later when I put the original stock back on when Kyle gets bigger. If this turns out to be a failure, I can always put the original stock back on with the extra pad and make Kyle eat more ducks to promote a growth spurt....