Mossberg 510 MINI 20 ga (Now with Pattern Pics)

[Chilly]

I bought my sons a Mossberg 510 mini.  It has a 18.5" barrel.  I went ahead and bought a Tru-Glo gobble stopper choke for it.  Anyone have any good 2 3/4" shell reccomendations?

[goblr77]

2.75" Federal HW 7s should do the trick.

[beagler]

Just curious how's the recoil on the 510 for a young shooter? I was looking for one for my 7yr old daughter as well.

[surehuntsalot]

does it have a 3" chamber or just a 2.75"?

[Chilly]

The gun has a 3" chamber.  This little gun has a jolt to it but it does have a decent recoil pad.  The kids don't even know they have it yet.  My boy is 6yrs old and about 50lbs.  A friend of mine has one for his boy.  Both of my kids shot it the other night just shooting at cans.  My 4yr old even shot it.  He did notice that it kicked him.  He has never complained about the .410 3" kicking him but he did on this one.  I had them shooting AA 7/8 oz reloads. 
I have a 1100 youth model LT20 with a 21" barrel.  Both of my kids love shooting it because it does not kick as bad since it weighs 7lbs.  The LOP on the LT20 is around 11.5-12" which is a little long but the real problem is, they cannot hold up the weight of the gun and have to shoot it off of a shooting stick.  The 510 mini weighs 5lbs and has a 10.5" LOP.  It does come with stock extensions. 
I think I am going to let my oldest boy shoot the 2-3/4"  1-1/8oz #7's with the factory full choke.  I will try to pattern it at 30 yards this weekend if the weather lets me.  If i get to, I will post pictures.

[Chilly]

**UPDATE**

I shot the 510 mini this weekend using the Fed HW 2 3/4"  1-1/8oz #7s  56 degrees
I shot two different choke tubes and there was really no difference in the two chokes.  I shot the GSX and the Factory Full.  It looks like this choke \ shell combination in this gun is going to make it about a 35 yard maximum gun.  The gun put 14 -17 pellets in just the bone area of a turkey target.  I'm sure I could make it shoot better using different loads but I don't want this gun to be throwing a baseball pattern at 20yards either especially for a kid that has never shot at a turkey. 

Also forgot to mention, the entire pattern at this range is 19-20". 

[Chilly]

Factory Full .590" and GSX .570"
Both patterned at 33 yards 1 1/8oz FED HW #7

[gophert]

That's pretty much what my gun got with that load and is PERFECT for a young hunter that probably will never take a shot over 30.  I would go with that factory full and go bust a bird with it.

[Chilly]

I'm tickled with it.  I think it will do the job just fine.  My 6yr old is going to be able to go on his first turkey hunt with it this weekend.  He is tore up... 

[gophert]

I'm tickled with it.  I think it will do the job just fine.  My 6yr old is going to be able to go on his first turkey hunt with it this weekend.  He is tore up...

Set him up for success with some type of blind or something.  Get him a push-pin call and let him hit it a few times.  It won't matter if you see anything or not, because you will love every minute of it.  My daughter went on her first turkey hunt with me at the age of 9 and we called up a bird and I killed it.  She was automatically hooked!  1 year later she killed a huge 3 year old bird for her first and has killed one every year since. (and I have every kill on video  )  Turkey hunting took on a whole new enjoyment now that she is sitting next to me at the tree.  Good luck to you both!

[dirtnap]

I would be careful with the heavier "kicking" loads such as 3" shells.  I started my son with the same gun 3" shells.  I would let him practice with 2.75 inch dove loads and such.  But when we hunted I would slip in a 3". 

To make the long story short, that gun kicks.  And he got a little apprehensive about pulling the trigger.    And I am not talking about practice.  I am talking longbeards in your face hunting scenarios.  He killed his first one with it.  Winchester 3" Supremes at 7 years old. It didn't bother him at all.

He missed one several days later.  I think it dawned on him then that the gun really kicks.  By the end of the season, he was back to hunting with the .410.  He had opportunities to kill multiple longbeards inside of 25 yards with that Mossberg and would not pull the trigger.  Simply put, he was scared of the recoil.  It was driving me crazy.

Anyway, he is shooting a Remington LT 20 with 2.75" inch shells now.  That gun does not kick at all and is a pleasure to shoot.  I got some TSS 9's and some Federal HW 7's in 2.75".

[surehuntsalot]

some good looking hunting patterns
best of luck to your son
hope to be seeing some pics real soon

[Chilly]

My boy is only 50lbs and is just under 4ft tall...  He will only be shooting 2 3/4" shells for a while.  I've already been through the "scared to pull the trigger" thing and it is very aggravating.  I made the mistake of starting him out with a rossi .410 single shot.  That thing kicked as hard as a 12 ga it seemed.  He don't mind shooting AA shells... he shot several cans with it last night and loved it...

[jakesdad]

Thats the same gun I bought for my 6yr old son to use.He is also about 4' and 50ish lbs.he shot and handled a single shot handi shot 243 last year and killed a deer and didnt complain about recoil.Im gonna go with 2 3/4 7.5 lead loads and limit him to under 25.Ive also put a limbsaver slip on pad on it so I hope it doesnt rock him to bad,but he likes to shoot about anything and has never complained about recoil from the 243 or 410.

[beagler]

I just picked one up for my 7yr old daughter this past weekend.