Low Recoil 12ga Advice Needed

[HMMurdock]

My father and I are opposite when it comes to shotguns. I like the knock-you-silly, high-recoil whompers and my father is... shall we say: recoil-sensitive. I only put 3" Magnum slugs through my 870, and he prefers his .410 with recoil pad. However, I want to get him a 12ga (preferably 3" capable so he can use some of my ammo should it ever prove necessary), but I want something that handles it well. He'll probably only put light 2 3/4" birdshot through it, which is great, but I want something CAPABLE. What, in your opinion, handles recoil the best -- stock. I know I could have anything ported or backbored, but if I were to buy him something straight out of a shop, what would handle the best?

I was looking at some of the older bolt-action Mossbergs with what I thought was a brake on the end, but I've heard they recoil badly. Any advice on what I might want to get him? And any suggested barrel length, too. Thanks!

 

[Virginian]

Gas operated semi auto. Nothing will deliver less felt recoil to the shooter. A Remington 11-87, which are available in good quantities and for reasonable prices used, will handle 2-3/4" and 3" loads with no problems.

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Wife uses a 20 gauge mossberg 500 and her Managed recoil buckhammers put the required energy onto the target at less than 20 feet. Beats my .45 ACP all day. (Not by much)

Eventually with recoil pad on her I had her up to the 1400 fps and 1600 feet loads and the little gun hits em hard.

When I shoot it I hardly feel it.

I like the Mags too in my 870 but learned to like the small stuff too. But wife sez the 870 is just plum too big. So I sneak in some brenneke short magnums into her moss. Same energy at the same distance or nearly so.

It is my belief that bird shot makes bad-guy mad-mad and triple ought is the word. If not that, then slugs.

I have feeling your paw wont be so sensitive anything when he gets riled and reaches for the weapon to resolve the problem.

 

[Will Fennell]

Beretta gas gun

Beretta Gas guns like the currently produced 391 or lower cost 3901[ great gun]. Also, if you can find the model 390 that these descended from, even better! They are VERY reliable, handle a wide range of ammo[very light target loads to 3" big boomers] with no adjustment needed, and VERY light recoil.

Walmart has a model of the 390 usually for under $600.

 

[Schutzen]

I'm familiar with the recoil sensitive shoulder (2 broken arms and a shoulder injury will cause that). What I use is a Remington 11-87 with the forcing cone opened and a Limbsaver Recoil pad. I also added 6oz. of weight to the butt stock. I find a wooden stock appears to have less felt recoil than a synthetic stock.

 

[atomd]

Gas operated semi auto. Nothing will deliver less felt recoil to the shooter

+1. Nothing else will come close

 

[Howaido]

Some 870s are coming with Knoxx Specops stock now. They make for a cushy shooting experience-pulling the pump gun into this century in terms of ergos IMO.

 

[bigalexe]

I fired a PUMP Remington 870 recently that just had a butt pad on it. I was shooting 7/8 oz. shot in 2 3/4 in. shells. That barely even kicked. I got more tired holding the gun up with my left arm as opposed to getting my right bruised up.

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Bigalexe L O L....

+1 on the tired holding gun up.

Had that happen to both of us when we had too much tacrail weights up front. One day we looked at each other and said, enough and tossed the barbells.

 

[PT1911]

if he needs a recoil pad on a 410, I dont think there is much hope with a 12ga... ANY 12 ga

 

[batex]

I strongly second the recommendation to get a Beretta gas operated semi-auto. I bought my 12 year old son a used beretta 390. It's the one Walmart sells for about $550, but I was able to pick it up at a pawn shop for $300. It came with a hard plastic butt plate so I installed a nice kick-eez recoil pad. Finally, I reload so he shoots it with my 1oz target loads (~1175 fps). I can honestly say, he has no problem whatsoever shooting it. It's recoild is extremely soft, I guess, due to the fact that it's gas operated and therefore working the action takes up a fair amount of energy...combine that with a nice recoil pad and light target loads and it's an extremely soft shooting gun. Hope this helps...

 

[Mike U.]

Some 870s are coming with Knoxx Specops stock now. They make for a cushy shooting experience-pulling the pump gun into this century in terms of ergos IMO.

^^^What he said.^^^

Want a more traditional look? Get the Comp Stock. He'll enjoy shooting a 12 ga. with one of those stocks on his shotgun.
I know I do.

 

[HMMurdock]

I'll look into the Berettas. Regarding the Remingtons, which is preferable: 1100 or 1187? I know the 1187 also takes 3" as well as the 2 3/4", but if you're putting the same 2 3/4" rounds through em, which is better? And is one more reliable than the other?

 

[Titan6]

Better? more reliable? I suppose the 1100. Unless you shoot a whole lot you won't notice much difference between the two. If you want to stay low recoil why bother with 3" shells? They cost more and don't do much of anything that the 2 3/4" doesn't already do. I shoot 2 3/4" in both and neither has an issue. I mostly shoot slugs in my 11/87 and it is dead set reliable and accurate out to about 125 meters. The 1100s have no issues. Come to think of it, neither one ever jams or fails to cycle unless the gas rings are going out on them. Compare that to the 870 where short strokes are pretty common among novice shooters and not unheard of among experienced shooters.

 

[HMMurdock]

How often do gas rings go out and how much does that take to replace?

 

[Titan6]

How often do gas rings go out and how much does that take to replace?

Well, that depends upon a lot of factors. If you get a rubber ring in your 1100 and shoot it a bit then they will go out about 2-3000 rounds or maybe 3-4 years. Dry rot can get to them faster depending upon storage conditions. The metal rings in the 11/87 are tougher and seem to last a bit longer so long as you don't use full power magnum loads a lot. Of course your mileage may vary, this is just what I observe.

If you buy your rubber ring at the hardware store they run about $1. The metal rings can be had for as cheaply as $3 on line or $10+ at the gun shop.

 

[firesafety3]

See if you can get your hands on a Winchester Super X3 and fire a few shots.

I have 12 gauge 3 1/2" and 10 gauge shotguns and I was looking for something for extended dove shooting and decoying ducks. I bought the Field Model SX3 and the light recoil was unbelieveable.

At first, I caught myself leaning into it too much at the trigger break (flinching, if you will). Toward the end of the session I even took a couple of one-handed shots to confirm the low recoil.