I am looking for a good 20 GA round reccomendation for my 10 year old son who wants to start trap shooting. He has shot a 12 GA semi auto using 1 oz 9's but he still fet the recoil a bit. I also like the idea of the 20 GA for small game use down the road.

Any of the 7/8 oz target velocity loads for the 20 ga will be about the same...and  more than likely all will have more felt  recoil than the 12 ga. Why? Because most 20 ga guns are much lighter than a similar 12 ga gun.  I know both my 20 ga 870 and Beretta O/U kick a lot more than their 12ga counterparts.

Have you tried any of the 12 ga low recoil target loads ? Winchester markets a Low Recoil  Win-Lite12 ga shell with just under an once of shot at about 980 fps, recoil is almost non existent. They also sell a 20 ga version with 7/8 oz  of shot at the same 980 fps (but don't forget about the gun weight having an effect of the guns felt recoil).

Get a Limbsaver recoil pad for your shotguns, they really help a lot. The factory recoil pads are terrible.

For ten year olds, the 20 guage is often the better choice, not so much because of the ammunition, but because of the lighter gun weight and usually shorter barrels than a twelve guage.
Smaller statured youths, females often do  better with less weight out front - arms don't tire out as quickly and shooting stances are easier to teach and maintain throughout a round of trap

I've taught my wife on a 12 guage and she doesn't have sufficient upper body and arm strength to handle it well for say, 50 targets, or two rounds of trap. When I switched her to a 20 gauge (same style gun) 1100
she can go three rounds and shoots better scores.

See GunCat's answer above.  20 gauge loads kick more than light 12 gauge loads.  1) they operate at about 2000 PSI higher pressure, 2) 20 gauges tend to weigh less.

Now since a 20 is a bit lighter and balances better it may be a better choice anyway.  Felt recoil is somewhat subjective, but the best way to mitigate it is to make certain that the stock is properly fitted.  If the stock is properly seated it makes a big difference in how it "feels"

I have shot both in a Pump Model 870 and the 20 ga was a pleasure to shoot vs. the 12. I want to shoot a lighter load in the 12 to see the actual diference. The lighter weight wil also help my younger guy in regard to the 20. I will let you know how he did. When my 12 year old went out for the first time he was using a borrowed Beretta 390 in 20 ga and intially hit 5 out of 5...then the instructor of his hunter safety course had asked what do you usually shoot...my older son replied...I've never shot a shotgun before. So the instructor asked if he thought he could hit 5 out of 5 again and he did...75 clays and 6 misses later he was invited to shoot at the local sportsmans club by the instructor. I brought my 10 year old along who also never shot a shotgun and hit 26 out of 30 clays but the same 390 was a bit large for him.

Who knows maybe in the near future I will be sitting in the stands at the Olympics watching them shoot for the US....but what matters most is that both boys love to be in the outdoors and have a great deal of respect for firearms in addition to a new passion for shooting.

I have a friend who was like that. He started shooting shotgun at Boy Scout summer camp and was good from the start. He has a scholarship to a university in Illinois and is under consideration for the USA Olympic team.



If he starts to really enjoy the sport, get him a good gun, good ammo, and good instruction.

This pretty much sums it up...although I think the recoil impulse is a little more sharp with the 20. A limbsaver recoil pad makes a huge difference though.