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Santa is in the shotgun market for my 7 year old. He's the only left handed one in the family, so a semi is probably out and I'd like to get something that can grow with him. He shouldered a Mossberg super bantam 510 a couple weeks ago and it fit him really well but I've heard conflicting things about whether a regular 500 barrel will fit. I'd like to go this route but don't want to be stuck with the youth barrel forever and can't find any replacment barrels for the 510 over 20 inches. Anyone know if a 500 barrel will fit it?

The other option is a Stevens 555 28 o/u, but I've not been able to find one locally for him to handle and I'm worried about the two barrels making it too muzzle heavy. Anyone have any experience with this?

At 7, it's going to be hard to find a shotgun that will grow with him.....he's going to change a lot between now and high school. I think I'd get the Mossberg, and sell it when he outgrows it if you don't have any more young shooters coming along in the family. When he's older, another Mossberg, or an 870 if he still likes pumps, or a change to a autoloader or double depending on his preference. I bought a youth 870 express for my godson years ago, and I think it really helped him to have a shotgun that was balanced in LOP and barrel length, yet sized to fit him well. I think there is a pretty good market for youth shotguns.....that Mossberg shouldn't be hard to sell when the time comes. Regardless, you are going to have a pretty happy 7 year old on Christmas morning!