i would look at the local stores for ammo prices and check them out. by the way prices of ammo is, you can usually tell whats popular and whats a hard to find... but everything else i wouldnt know. never been around shotguns very much.

I think you will find that 20 gage is easier to find and more afordable at least it is here in Canada.
F.K.

Although I an a diehard 16 gauge fan, I must admit that the 20 gauge is a more practical buy. There is a much greater variety of loads for the 20 than for the 16. For example, there is no 3 inch 16 gauge loading, Non-toxic 16 gauge shells are quite expensive, if you want to hunt waterfowl.

thanks for all the replies, good info. I will be looking for a 20 in some type of youth gun. I am thinking that a 20 might have less kick which would alloy my son more shooting, as far as practice and such.

A 20 gauge is the simpler option, more ammo and models are readily available. If it was me, I'd consider getting a used remington 1100 12 gauge or similar soft recoiling semi auto and cutting the stock to fit him, that way when he grows in the very near future a simple change of stock will allow him to continue shooting it effectively.

get your son a remington 870 20 gauge youth...ya cant go wrong with that choice!! last him a lifetime and he'll give it to his son someday maybe!!

This is my choice for my oldest son in a couple years. He's the oldest of 3 so I figure it can be passed down to the next and move him to a 12 ga in time

turns out that wholesale sports has the remington 870 on for 329 bucks. Looks like a pretty nice shotgun from the pictures. Now I just need to take a 90 miles drive to get it.

As far as pump actions go, definitely skip the Rem 16ga. It's built on a 12 ga frame, so the benefits of a 16 ga are minimized. Browning makes its 16 ga on a 20 ga frame. So, that's probably the best option among readily available pump actions.

16 ga is a specialty gauge and I'd expect it to stay that way. Go to Cabela's and Bass Pro shops online stores and look at the selection of ammo. What I found was that the prices for 16 ga weren't any more expensive than 20 ga, but there were fewer options. Similarly, go to Remington's website and browse the ammo selection. Again, you'll find that 16 ga is offered in far fewer loads and options as 12 and 20.

With that said, if I were buying a shotgun today, I'd opt for the Browning BPS 16 ga Grade III. Felt good in the hands and was pretty:
http://www.gunblast.com/Browning-BPS16.htm

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IMHO if it's between the 16 and the 20, no question the 20 is the better choice. Due to it's being popular mainly in europe the 16 is expensive and sometimes hard to find. It's a great choice but probably not for a beginner. Recoil is more comperable to a 12 than a 20 and there are fewer loadings and choices in ammo and options. Now having said that if it were up to me I'd probably get him a good 12 gauge and modify the stock to fit him. The 12 can be loaded up to take anything you can legaly shoot with a scattergun or downloaded to nearly duplicate the 20 in performance and recoil. Light target loads are plentiful and inexpensive and hunting loads are endless. The best part is when he grows out of it you can replace the stock, keep the gun and your grandkids can shoot it when they come along. Either way he has a gun he can actually still use when he grows up.