[DML]

Over the years I have seen a lot of questions and answers about recoil. Earlier this year I got a call from a gentleman in Ireland who wanted to purchase a few specialized parts for his 870. We got into a short discussion on recoil reduction which continued via e-mail. Out of curiosity, I did a search on the internet on the subject and came up with some interesting stuff.

Shotguns kick!!! (Well Duh) Here's a bit of info to think about. A heavy 3" turkey load in an 8 pound shotgun generates about the same recoil your average .375 H&H rifle. A 3 1/2" turkey load generates about the same recoil as a 10 pound .458 Winchester. Heavy rifled slug loads would be right up there also. Now wonder it hurts. That's why I shoot reduced recoil loads only.

Check it out yourself. You will find some interesting stuff.

[DML]

Just so you don't think I made this up, here's a few numbers.

.30-06 165gr. bullet @ 2900fps 8# rifle = 20 fp recoil energy

.338 Win Mag. 250 gr. @ 2700fps 8.5# rifle = 34 fp

.375 H&H 300 gr. @ 2550fps 9# rifle = 42.3 fp

.458 Win. 465gr. @ 2220fps 10# rifle = 57 fp


12 ga. 2 3/4 1oz. @ 1125 7.5# shotgun = 16 fp

12 ga. 2 3/4 1 1.4oz. @ 1360fps 7.5# shotgun = 36.4 fp

12 ga. 3" 1 5/8oz. @ 1280 7.5# shotgun = 52 fp

12 ga. 3.5" 1 7/8oz. @ 1280 7.5# shotgun = 60 fp

OK, I lied. The shotgun shooting 3" and 3.5" magnum loads have more recoil then the .375 H&H and .458 Win.

Of course, there are other factors in felt recoil such as stock fit and the size of the butt pad. Most large caliber rifles have a lot of surface area on the butt to spread out recoil energy. A Remington 870 3.5" magnum 870 uses the exact same stock as all the other 870s. That has got to hurt.

[MbuckH]

Wow, interesting facts.....I would have never thought the recoil of a shotgun was so high.....well, I know a shotgun shooting slugs has a TREMENDOUS amount of recoil.....I've shot a 3 inch slug at paper this year....dropped to a 2 3/4 :p.....I seen that lightfield makes a 3 1/2 inch slug:| .... Gotta be nuts shooting it.

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks for typing all that out.Light loads are looking better all the time.

There's little out there that we hunt with shotguns that need a teacup full of shot to fold.

In my youth I killed a fair number of Canada geese with a 1 1/8 oz of lead 3s or 2s, over decoys. Bet the same amount of Hevi Shot would do it right now.

And my informal research into light loads shows them amazingly effective for trap singles, a game where clays are broken around 35 yards out.

Even turkey loads of 1 1/2 oz are quite effective inside 40 yards.

[DML]

I should have put the URL in my post.

http://www.chuckhawks.com

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/shotgun_recoil_table.htm