Effectively reducing recoil for HD 12 gauge.

[Warhawk83]

First,I understand if there were a break in,recoil wouldn't pop into my mind.

However, I would like to know a way to reduce recoil enough that I could practice with defensive loads instead of target loads.
With buckshot it kicks me like a damn mule and I don't even want to shoot more than once.I don't think practicing with target loads will do me any favors if push comes to shove.

Barrel porting? Is this effective in recoil reduction? I have a Mossberg but they will not perform the service on an 18.5" barrel. Anyone know why?

Muzzle brake? Haven't really seen anything in the way of this for my gun,just breacher barrels for the roadblocker. It costs more than my gun did.

Recoil Pad? The one on the gun is pretty much useless,any recommendations?

Tapco Stock? T6 model,recoil pad looks more substantial.

Suck it up?

Any ideas?

 

[CoRoMo]

Reduced loads.

You could also add weight to the gun, and a good recoil pad combined with a shoulder pad will do wonders.
I wouldn't totally forget training with target loads either. I train with target loads, buckshot and slugs.

 

[oneounceload]

A STANDARD stock, fitted with a goods recoil pad with the stock that FITS will help tame the recoil. If it doesn't fit, or you try to fit yourself to some stock configuration, then the gun is going to whack you. Lower-powered, low recoil shells is a good start also.

Muzzle brakes and porting, by themselves do nothing. A MB would ONLY help by adding weight - weight is your friend to tame ACTUAL recoil. Proper fit and a good pad will reduce the perceived recoil

 

[Narwhal]

Try a semi auto. To me, a semi auto represents at least a 30% reduction in recoil over a similarly sized pump. Granted some of that has to do with the fact that most semis are heavier. I still have a few 870's but they don't see much range time and are pretty much relegated to the safe now.

 

[Jon_Snow]

I'll second what oneounce said. As for recoil pads, I've used limbsavers and the remington supercell pads and both are great. If that doesn't help enough though, go out and shoot with target loads. Here's the break down in my mind. Training with defensive ammo> training with target (birdshot) ammo> not training at all. I wouldn't dismiss it as worthless, running failure drills, slug-selection drills or practicing reloads can be done equally well with birdshot. Take a look at the course requirements for Awerbuck's classes: http://yfainc.com/courses.html#shotgun1. I doubt he recommends loading you HD gun w/ birdshot when something goes bump in the night, but most of the shooting people do in his classes is with birdshot. Recoil fatigue is real and is a great way to get tired and start reinforcing bad habits.

 

[JNewell]

All the advice above is good. I have an 870 with a VangComp barrel and while it's a nice piece of gear, honestly I can't tell the difference between it and the original Remington barrel in terms of recoil (including muzzle flip).

 

[Youngster]

First up, get your shooting form right; pull that stock back hard into your shoulder pocket, then mash your cheek into the stock. The idea is to not let the gun get any kind of a run at you.

Any premium recoil pad like a Limbsaver or Pachmeyr Decelerator will help had a great deal also.

 

[Dave McCracken]

The archived threads on Proper mounting Techniques and shooting heavy loads will help you.

In the real world, an 8 pellet Reduced Recoil load of 00 will do everything you need and not rock you like the 12 pellet Testosterone Specials.

Adding weight greatly helps. The real reason many of us Manly Men have tricked out defensive shotguns is they kick less when they weigh more. My HD 870 has all the stuff and weighs close to 9 lbs.

The best stocks for comfort and control are standard ones that fit you and have a premium pad. The M-4 styles and folders are egregious when it comes to comfort.

THE best pad I know of for comfort is KickEez's Magnum Trap. Other good ones I use are the Decellerator from Pachmyer and sundry Sims/Limbsavers.

 

[Fred Fuller]

All good tips... to repeat some:

Assuming you are physically healthy, there should be no reason for a standard shotgun firing commercial ammunition to be unbearably painful to shoot. As is sometimes said about a certain other activity, if it hurts, someone's not doing something right.

Good hearing protection is a must when shooting. Eye protection too of course, but sometimes the louder a gun sounds the harder it seems to kick. Get GOOD ear protection- double up, use both plugs and muffs if necessary.

Keep in mind- every human is an individual and some people for whatever reason seem to be recoil sensitive. If this is the case, don't worry about it, just get on with solving the problem through whatever approach works best.

Proper gun fit is critical. And I much prefer a conventional or traditional style shotgun stock- not one with a pistol grip. Generally a too-short stock is easier to manage on a strictly defensive shotgun than a too-long stock. Depending on your individual physiology, you might possibly need adjustments in other dimensions too. Wood stocks are easier to work with than most all the synthetics.

Good form and a good gun mount makes a world of difference. The butt of the shotgun should be in the pocket of your shoulder. With your support hand, put your thumb in the middle of the collarbone of your shooting shoulder. Reach over and put your middle finger on the ball joint of your shoulder while you keep your thumb in place on your collarbone. Raise your shooting arm elbow to perpendicular and extend your support hand pointer finger onto your chest/shoulder halfway between thumb and middle finger. That's the shoulder pocket, that's where the shotgun butt should go.

One advantage of a shorter stock is that it lets you 'square up' on the target more, thereby helping you keep the gun butt where it belongs. Letting the butt get out onto the shoulder joint, or even onto the upper arm, is a recipe for pain.

Premium recoil pads are WELL worth the money. KickEez, LimbSaver, Remington R3 or SuperCell, Pachmayer decelerator- doesn't matter. Get one.

The heavier the gun the less recoil will be felt as a rule. Weight can be added in a variety of ways, but keep the gun properly balanced in the process or you'll be creating a problem where one didn't exist before.

Barrel porting and muzzle brakes aren't likely to help a lot on a shotgun. They might make it noisier though.

Reduced recoil loads can help, at close range they will still do the job.

Shifting to a 20 gauge, and/or a gas operated semiauto, may be necessary for some shooters who are recoil sensitive for whatever reason. But those are viable options and should not be dismissed out of hand.

Hope all this helps,

lpl

 

[bobelk99]

Maybe I am off base here, but it might be worth considering a recoil reducer such as Edwards. Brownells offers several brands.

I have used them with success in the past in long recoil weapons.

 

[Warhawk83]

Excellent advice guys, thanks a bunch. I'll be looking into the kickeez or pachmayer pad.

I hate that the MB and porting wouldn't be effective,cause it sure would look cool.

If the new recoil pad doesn't help,I'll try a semi-auto. I already know I can shoot a 20 gauge all day long so I may end up with one of those.

This Mossberg leaves me with the same feeling as my friend's 30.06 with hard plastic stock. After 3 rounds my exact thought was "*&^* that!"

 

[BCRider]

Reduced or managed recoil buck and slug loads are not much more of a kick than target loads. And for the sort of distances you're going to encounter in a HD situation I suspect few would argue that they will not be enough. From what I understand of even the reduced recoil rounds there's more than enough power to punch through a typical internal wall and do a number on the BG behind the wall.

I had some fun one day shooting up an old dryer with reduced recoil slugs. It went through the entire machine, two side walls plus the drum, and split open the far side like a jesters hat. I have no doubt that if a BG was hiding behind a metal dryer that I could at least seriously wound him.

 

[shockwave]

Never having fired a shotgun before, I took my Mossberg 500 PGO to the range for some patterning practice. Did that again 3 more times. Got to where I could kind of get it on target, but it wasn't easy and my hand was taking a fair beating.

Added a folding stock and now it's dead accurate and recoil is a non-issue. I'm convinced that the 12 ga. recoil gets people psyched out in advance, but if you scale back to it, it's really nothing at all and a lark to control. I can fire that puppy all day without worry. The recoil isn't the problem, rather, the issue is learning to be strong and authoritative with the pump. A smooth, quick and steady rhythm cycles the shells the way you want.

 

[Artiz]

Trust me, if some ****head breaks into your home, you won't feel the recoil, nor will you hear the boom.

 

[Warhawk83]

I know ,I just want to be able to hit said ****head accurately. I would like to practice.
Just looked up some Chuck Hawks info, apparently with a 3'' Magnum load (what I'm using),it's 60 pounds of felt recoil. The same as a .378 Weatherby.

I'm gonna buy the Pachmayr recoil pad and reduced recoil buckshot. I must be recoil sensitive, I don't even like a .410.