Shot an 18" barrel & slugs for the fisrt time today....

[ilmonster]

Another option is using Remingtons Reduced Recoil Slugger slug loads (Federal and Winchester make these RR loads too) which throws a 1 oz. slug downrange at 1200 fps, vs. 1300-1500 fps. of reg. power slugs. Certainly enough power for self defense purposes. Remember, recoil is made up by ejecta weight, speed and weight of gun.

 

[Chuckusaret]

I had the barrel on my Mossberg 500 Persuader 12 ga 20" ported. It reduced the barrel rise and recoil somewhat. But in the heat of battle, noise and recoil would not be noticed.

 

[ezenbrowntown]

Understandable for sure.........

I have a 12 gauge Mossberg Maverick I picked up several months back for home defense. 18 inch barrell, light weight, the whole nine yards. I went out and shot some of my defense ammo (00 buckshot), just to get a feel of the recoil. My goodness. After about 15 rounds, I was ready to the put the shotty away and play with my pistol. Granted in a home setting, I'm sure the recoil wouldn't even be noticed. But I doubt I'll be doing much "playing" with that toy!

 

[LoneStarWings]

Do pumps inherently kick more than comparable over/unders and semi-autos?

 

[RoscoeC]

Do pumps inherently kick more than comparable over/unders and semi-autos?

Well, yes and no. Any shotgun other than a GAS OPERATED semi-auto will seem to kick more than the gas operated semi-auto.

The reason for this is that as stated numerous times before, recoil is recoil. The laws of physics will not be denied. However, the way we human beans perceive things can be well very subjective. Brister in his definitive work on shotgunning, Shotgunning, the Art and the Science, discusses the subject at length.

The gas operated auto loader, because of its gas piston, the bolt moving back, etc. causes the recoil albeit the same as from any other gun to be delivered as a series of pushes spaced out over time (a very short time) rather than one sharp smack. Thus, while it is really the same, to the human brain, muscles, nerves, etc. it feels like less.

Now there are all kinds of factors at work here. Fit is certainly one of them. An ill fitting gas auto loader can be painful to shoot. A perfectly fitting pump can be a joy. Then there is technique.

If you don't have your body in a position to be a spring rather than a board any shotgun can be uncomfortable.

Gun weight is also a factor. Heavier gun, less perceived recoil.

The point is that PERCEIVED recoil is very subjective. That being the case, you will get all kinds of answers here. Some guys will swear that their Remberg 570 with no recoil pad is the softest shooting gun on the planet. Some will say that their uncle Jakes 12 ga 11-87 will tear your arm off.

That is their perception. Who am I to question it? I do know that x amount of powder behind x amount of load will deliver x amount of recoil. Strictly from a mathematical standpoint. How you perceive it from a particular gun can be totally different than the way I perceive it.

With all that BS out of the way, most folks find gas operated auto loaders to be the softest shooting of the various types of shotguns. I know I do.

 

[LoneStarWings]

With all that BS out of the way, most folks find gas operated auto loaders to be the softest shooting of the various types of shotguns. I know I do.

Well, if my Beretta A391 Xtrema 2 is any indication, I agree. The thing is a real softy, granted it is designed with low recoil as a priority. It's a pretty big difference from the 870, imho.

With that said, I enjoy the challenge of shooting my 870. I think i can get it down with practice.

 

[prc77]

I had a brake installed on my M500. Helps a fair amount with felt recoil and muzzle flip

 

[Cruncher Block]

I took a couple of bruising cheekbone smacks in a shotgun class.

I learned I could fix it by moving my cheek further back on the stock.

I think of a shotgun in recoil as like a lever with my shoulder pocket as the fulcrum. Putting my face further up the lever increases the distance the lever travels. That's more momentum driving into my face.

The change was free and made no difference in my speed or accuracy.

 

[Ian0351]

I have a Mossberg 500 that came with an embarrassingly large, soft recoil pad; and I must say that the perceived recoil is substantially less than I expected the first several times I took it out. I have extensively used Mossbergs in the Marines, both 500a and 590 models, and they always kicked a lot more than mine does now... maybe it was "full house" military #4 buckshot or maybe it was the lack of a recoil pad. Also, those guns had synthetic stocks, mine has a wooden stock. FWIW, this past week I went shooting with a friend who has a 535 with a knoxx recoil reduction stock that had considerably higher perceived recoil, especially shooting slugs. My best advice would be to buy a Limbsaver or comparable recoil pad and practice with shot and then move up to slugs. If your range is the problem, find some public land where you can safely and legally shoot shotguns. I asked my local county sheriffs office and they recommended a couple locations to me... it's pretty easy to find somewhere you can practice shotguns safely if you use shot (less backstop/space needed for public safety).

 

[LoneStarWings]

Great, thanks for all the advice.

My range is pretty shotgun friendly. They have a shotgun "pit" where you can stack up boxes, pin on targets, and "go to town" with patterning, in addition to a trap machine and clay throwers.

 

[G-Dub870]

just spend the 130 dollars and get a knoxx stock for it i have a 870 marine magnum short barrel extended mag basically the same set up it whopped me pretty good with the synthetic stock but now that i have a knoxx on both my 870s my little sister will even shoot it

 

[Whirlwind06]

I finally got to the range with my Mossberg 500 (20 inch barrel) last week. Started with some older 00 buck and low brass slugs. Finished off the day with some 3 inch magnum slugs. There some kick, I had installed one of those lifesaver pads and that seemed to help a lot. When I started shooting the magnums, every other person on the range stopped what they were doing after the first shot of those puppies, to see what the heck I was shooting

 

[LoneStarWings]

Something strange I noticed when shooting skeet with my 18" synthetic 7-shot 870 is that it didn't seem to kick nearly as much. I have no idea if this had more to do with the reduced recoil sporting clay loads or the fact that shooting a moving target tends to divert your attention from the pain.

I also realized that I was putting my cheek way to far forward on the stock the first few times I shot this gun, as a result of all the eye and ear protection I was wearing. With just ear plugs and small-ish glasses, the ergonomics are much better.

 

[GetYerShells]

Hotdogs...looks like you had a run in with a rattlesnake.


I shoot 2 3/4 inch slugs through my Mossberg all the time. Took some getting used to the recoil at first.

 

[MagnumWill]

I pound those remington Sluggers, and my girlfriend thinks they're a lot of fun too. If you really wanna go for a ride, go grab some 3" magnum 000. now THAT'S a flame!

Yeah Whirlwind, everyone immediately stops shooting and looks around and says "what in the HELL was that!?!?" Muahaha!