As I said before, I started at age 7 with a Harrington & Richardson .410 single-barrelled hammer gun. My next gun was a model 42. The 42 was a good squirrel killer. I'm pretty sure most of the quail I "killed" with it were actually killed by my dad, shooting at the same time. Minimizing recoil, especially for a girl, is very important. But, so is being able to have some early success breaking clay targets, hence my recommendation of a 20 ga. I still own a .410 and shoot it frequently. I just don't believe it's the best starter gun for a kid.

> Jim Legg <