[blackducker]

lookin for an easy opening SxS or O/U in 20 ga. for youth shooter . . .i like the idea of break action for simplicity and safety reasons for my son . . .he will be 10 in Jan. . . .he weighs about 80lbs. . .stoeger o/u and youth side by side comes to mind . . .i don't want to spend too much if i don't have to since our primary use will be duckhunting and i will get him into a 12 ga. as soon as he can handle one . . .so . . . .again . . .the question is limited to break actions that are not a "Bear" to open and close . . . i have both types and although i have been told that alot of shooting "loosens" them up . . .my stiff guns have remained so sinve i primarily hunt with em and don't run thousands of rounds through em at the range . . .stock length is not an issue since my gunsmith will see to shortening whatever i get

 

[jlptexashunter]

Most of the "B" grade guns I've seen we're pretty hard to open.

Maybe a Stevens or Lefever used shotgun. About the same price. I'm a huge fan of the 311's, you can get them for a song and I almost guarantee they'll be easy opening. I bet if you hunted around you could probably find one that's already been cut off too.

http://www.sarcoinc.com/d130.html

 

[Guest]

i had a 311 in 12 ga. i bought for my dad . . .not too hard to open but never opened far enough requiring the shooter to hold the action open to extract shells . . .not a prob for you and i but for the 10 yr. old it is . . ."B" grade guns? . .i assume you refer to the less expensive guns right? . . . .thanks for your input

 

[JimfromTrafalgar]

Does it have to shoot twice? The reason I ask is that I just ran across an Italian made,20ga.,single shot,folding gun,with a vented rib.[I pick it up tomorrow.] It opens quite easily,but when locked in is absolutely tight. I'm getting it just because I thought it was a little unusual[the vented rib]. Anyway,you might try a few websites,local pawnshops or gunshops,etc. I've since found that 20ga. folders aren't all that uncommon.[ I haven't seen another with a vented rib though.] Personally, I think something in a single shot is perfect for teaching a youngster to make each shot count.
Just a thought.
Good Luck,
Jim

 

[Bird Hunter]

i still think the best advice i ever got about youth shooters is to borrow a their first firearm. they quickly grow out of the smaller framed guns then they just sit in the closet. i would find somebody that would be willing to lend you a gun to use for a while then when he gets ready he can buy a gun he really likes. we have a single shot 20 gauge that has been around the neighborhood, through my family in two generations and through my moms family.

 

[Guest]

Ruger Red Label opens very easily right out of the box. It is backbored, cones lengthened and recoils softer than any other o/u out there.

 

[blackducker]

well . . .i bought a stoeger uplander youth in 20 ga. for the boy and gunsmith is cutting stock to 12 inches for him . . .but i too want an easy opening break action . . my ugartachaea is a bear to open and it must be held open for the shells to clear the breach face . . not so with the stoeger . . go figure . . .anyway . . . i want a red label w/ 26 inch bbl but am having a hard time finding one used . . .i have a benelli nova special purpose, 18.5 inch tactical bbl with ghost ring sights to trade . .anybody see any used rugers out there i'd appreciate a holler . .

 

[javven]

My SSC Browning used to be just a pain to open. Here's what I did.

I sat down in my easy chair, gun open and unloaded. I took it down, and used a combination of Break-Free and graphite lube (makes a nice sludge) to grease the parts up. I reassembled it and worked it through about twice or three times a minute.

For quite a while (yes, my arms still hurt).

I then cleaned the gun again, I mean completely. You may want to put masking tape (the blue 3M kind) over your firing pins when you do this to help keep the junk out of your internals. You just want the mating parts massaged somewhat. The graphite should help keep you from overdoing it. Be careful you don't slam it, but hold the lever aside and close gently.

It may be that doing this 100 or 500 times by itself, the gun right out of the box would do it as well. I wasn't willing to try it twice.