Looking to purchase a youth shotgun for my 8 year old, what do y'all suggest?
He is small so not wanting something that kicks hard.
I was looking at a mossberg youth model 20 gauge.

Id go 11-87 remington youth model

Can't speak to the mossbergs, but I grew up on a Remington 1100 20 ga. Having now used an 1187 for a few years, I'd suggest either of them (if the 1187 can be had in 20, but I haven't looked so don't know). My aunt picked up an escort in 20 to learn to shoot, she's a duck season and a LOT of skeet into that gun, and hasn't complained once. I texted her a few minutes ago, and she said she's bought and shot at more than 20 boxes herself, so I'd say the escort is at least decent for a starter gun.

The youth Tristar is also another decent gun for the price

Ftr the 20 ga 870 youth kicks like a mule.

My son is also 8 and for his birthday I bought him a New England arms single shot cracked barrel 20. He is tall and built like a green bean, burly shooting skeet and a few steel shots this season he hasn't cried once about his arm or shoulder hurtin. It isn't the lightest gun in the world but doesn't kick to bad either.

Bought my 10y/o daughter the youth escort auto last yr. The gun feels really good and she's killing ducks with it.

I would not start him out with anything other than a semiauto if he is small, the youth pumps will kick the arse out of them and scare them, happened to my daughter but she never told me the first season. Once I got her a semiauto she loved shooting.
My oldest shoots a Browning A5 light 20 and the youngest shoots a Weatherby youth model 20.
The Weatherby is a very small, light weight gun but does not kick bad at all.

I like the single shot because it limits the holes in the boat lol.

Good old single shot 12 for the little guy. He will appreciate the pump or semi more later on.

crack barrel .410 is the ticket for the little ones. Teaches em not to waste shots.

My son has been using the little Rossi .410 single shot. He is 9 and could probably handle the .20 guage but he likes the small .410 and it's really light weight.

Cool thing about this particular gun is that you can cock the hammer back and it still has a safety.

A buddy of mine just bought his son the Mossberg Mini and he seems to like it pretty good.

Remember to be careful wit them short barrels....its easier to swing em in a bad direction.

Single shot 410 or 20ga. Alot less can go wrong and teaches them to take their time and make good shots. I was raised on a 410 single shot and still have it today. Shot many squirrels, dove, ducks, deer and even a pig with it. Semi auto is a bad idea at a young age. At least you know when a single shot goes off nothing else is in the chamber.

I sell a ton of the Mossberg mini 510 pump shotguns. They come in either 20 gauge or 410. They are very small but not to light. And they come with a 1"stock extender so they can grow with it a little bit.

Look into escorts. They're the number 1 seller for youth models at the local gun shop. They are semi auto, have enough weight to where the kid can hold it up but doesn't kick the day lights out of them, and they have an extremely good shoulder pad on it. It's a semi auto also so you won't need to buy him another one when he gets a little older and wants something that shoots 3 shells.. Also it has spacers so the gun can grow with him as he gets bigger. My neighbor has one and my 9 year old sister can shoot it and it doesn't hurt her like the youth model 870 that I have. She's getting one for Christmas and I'm sure it'll last her till she turns 15 or so. http://www.legacysports.com/youth-20-ga-semi-auto

Bought a youth escort semi for my little man last year . Being a semi it soaks up a bit of the recoil . No complaints so far .

Thanks for all the replies.
I am going to go put my hands on a Escort and see if I like it.

My father even made a longer plug so as a kid I wouldn't try to sneak one in there lol

I grew up on an 1100 20 ga., the old man cut the full stock down and put a 20" bbl on it. Frankensteined the stock back together as I grew and eventually put the 26" barrel back on it. I grew up on the skeet field so a single shot would've been a waste of time in a hurry.

My great nephew is 13 and very small for his age. He has to stand on a platform in the blind to see over the decoys. He started hunting with us last year when my brother found him a 20 gauge 1187. Gas operated guns will always be softer recoil. Its like shooting a 410 breach. He has become a duck killing machine. Passing shots are no trouble for him at all

I got my 9 year old a Browning BPS Micro Midas .410. It's a little spendy, but a great gun. You can lengthen the length of pull as the kids grows. No recoil and he's smashing clays pretty good. Not a duck gun though (although he did fold a pheasant with one shot a couple weekends ago..)

Anyone have any experience with the Benelli M2 compact, or the Montefeltro compact? Specifically, the recoil. Both in 20 gauge. I like these because you can get them with a 24" barrel, and I think the Montefeltro comes in 26" also in the compact model. I held a Benelli M2 compact and that thing was LIGHT.

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Franchi affinity youth. It comes with stock shims so the guy can grow with them. The full size stock is an exact fit as well. When I got the gun for my kid, I got the full size stock as well.

Benelli Montefeltro also has a youth model that comes with the full size stock.

Any 28 gauge will be hard to beat. My son always wants to use mine.

The 410 pumps a day single shots kicked the hell out of him. He said his mother's 20ga Montefeltro kicked way less. So he shot it for a while until he got the Franchi.

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I purchased my son a Franchi Affinity...He is 10 and can shoot and hold it fine!

I found it very close to build quality of the Beneli M2. One thing to consider, is the Benelli M2 has the spring in the stock, which makes it light on the front end. The Affinity has it in the Forestock, which makes it a tad heavier up front.

^^ Thats what i liked about the M2 was the fact that a smaller child would have no problem holding it up. I have a Remington 1100 20 gauge that I got when I was 10 years old and I still shoot it to this day, only problem is it would be too heavy for a small child. I would like to do the same for my little girl, buy her something she can use forever. I would like to start her out on a 20 gauge with 1 shell rather than 410 crackbarrell. At least with the 20 gauge she will have a fighting chance to kill whatever she is shooting at.

I just think some of these kids are spoiled. When I was 9 I got handed a full size smith and Wesson 20 gauge pump that had about an inch removed off the stock, and if I couldn't shoot it I couldn't go hunting. I know for my little sister I would never do that to her and always try to baby her in the blind. Maybe our dads were just all tougher on us back in the day

My son did start out on a Mossberg pump 410. At 7 he shot his first limit of divers with it. It took a box of shells, but he did it. He got into competitive sporting clays and the pump wasn't cutting it. That is when he started using his mother's 20ga benelli. Later Santa got him the Affinity. He is 12 now and he saw an older Ruger Red Label 20ga in the safe. He asked to shoot it and has pretty much made that his goto gun. His grandfather gave him a camouflage Ruger Red Label 12ga, but he is not ready for that yet. He is only an 80 pound 12 year old.

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20g synthetic tristar. Takes a beating, shoots good, floats 4, low recoil and light weight for the youngsters. My 10yo has had one for 2 yrs. Great buy at $350.

I bought a 20 ga Tristar for my gf from academy and I think it was in that 350 range if I remember right

In all honesty, the main reason I bought it is that no matter how hard he could try to take care of it, he was gonna drop it, scratch it up, hell he was 7. And I couldn't see buying a high end name brand gun for a kid who would give 2 shits about it. Now that he's 12, the gun is still in mint condition and I'll eventually get him a good 12 ga.