My 14yr old son and I are going through this excersize right now. Years ago I bought him a Remington 1100 special field 20 - nothing on earth as easy on a new shooter than a gas operated 20ga. He shot it a few times, but knew I prefer a double and I guess felt slighted by shooting the repeater. Right now he's shooting a 20ga sxs in the 6# range with a leather covered pad. It's more brisk than the 1100, but manageable and he hits clays in the back yard with it. I woulld hesitate to put a 12 in his hands too soon. Especially a light one. Most young men won't dare say it kicks too much and are more likely to lose interest or, almost as bad, develop bad habits.
This is the rationale that has lead us to a fairly interested young teenager asking to shoot clay pigeons every chance we get.
