Lowest recoiling semiauto-shotgun & how compare to pumps?

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Old Mossberg 9200

The Remington 1100 is one sweet shooter to me; but the lightest kicker I ever shot in 12 ga. was the old Mossberg, I believe model 9200, which is not made anymore.
 
The Franchi 712 or 912 are both low recoil and have a gas ring you turn around for heavy or light loads, but Benelli, their owner has discontinued both except the 720 20 gauge. They were quite a bit more affordable than a beretta the parent company to Benelli. Gas guns reduce recoil substantially over recoil or manually operated guns. Reliability of any weapon is largely dependent on the owner but gas guns typically have had more cycling issues especially when not properly cleaned. The U.S. Marines chose a gas gun from Benelli that passed exhaustive testing proving that a properly designed gas gun is reliable when your life depends on it.
 
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Just in case you change your mind about a smaller gauge.... think 28... not 20.... really really light recoil and still kills small game well... better than it should even... something about being a balanced load where the shot doesn't get strung out...

The shells are more expensive unless you reload though...
 
Mossberg 9200 & remington 1100

If you can find a Mossberg 9200, you will have the lightest recoil of any semi-auto shotgun. This was proven by tests years ago and my brother bought one. I have shot it on several occasions and it is lighter in recoil than anything I have ever shot. They are reasonably priced on gunbroker.com, However they are not being made anymore, but for the price it is something to consider for the recoil conscious shooter. I have a Remington 1100 20 gauge I bought for my wife and I end up breaking more clays with it than my 12. To me the inertia type guns kick too much as they are too light, in my opinion.
 
I have a Remington 1100 in 28 gauge - once I added an 8oz weight to the mag cap for better balance, it became one sweet shooting gun. Finding empties can sometimes be a challenge, especially using Remington's where there's grass around, but you get to the point you where to look. The Win AA sporting loads at 1300 fps do get flung pretty far, but my 1200fps reloads fall about 4-5 feet away and behind. Great for someone recoil sensitve.
 
I've got a 20" HK Fabarm and an 18" Mossberg 930. The difference in weight and recoil between the two is very substantial. The Fabarm is more fun to shoot. For hunting hogs with slugs I'd probably choose the 930.
 
The new shock absorbing stocks do help as well as the heavy gun, light load.
The 1100 is good if you don't mind the weight. The 1187 Remington is better
but heavier. A Past shoulder pad or shock absorbing recoil pad will help too.
I would try the Benelli.
 
The Benelli is lighter and not a gas gun, so actual AND felt recoil will be higher. They also can be finicky if shooting light loads. Not saying a bad gun by any means,but not as light-recoiling as the Beretta or Remington
 
+1 for the 1100; It not only soaks up recoil by being fairly heavy, the gas system utilized has a fairly slow operation, spreading recoil energy throughout the cycle time.

I own a Benelli Montefeltro as well, and with a recoil operated system it is much lighter and much faster to cycle. It also has significantly more felt recoil as a result. My 20 gage Benelli kicks far worse than any 12 gage 1100 I have used.

Any heavy, gas operated semi is going to provide the low felt recoil you are looking for, with the 1100 being the best IMO. (not necessarily the best shotgun; but the best in having the lowest felt recoil IMO)
 
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I understand the new Maxus from Browning is a dream but I have not shot it yet-just reading about it!
 
See my post re: Benelli Vinci
Have you tried a Limbsaver recoil pad? I don't care about actual recoil since that is largely dependent on the gun weight and load. What I care about is perceived recoil.
The limbsaver pad works wonders, but it does add a little to the kenght of pull. See if one fits a gun you already have.
The Benelli Vinci shoots soft, probably because of the stock. I assume it would be harder kicking if it had a standard stock.
 
Thanks Instincitveshoot for the suggestion. I would appreciate it if you could provide the link as I haven't see it. I totally agree with you about preceived recoil. If we are talking a few rounds at home for self defense, any shotgun is fine. However, for training and taking out to the range, the preceived recoil does make a difference really quick.
 
I don't care about actual recoil since that is largely dependent on the gun weight and load. What I care about is perceived recoil.
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The ACTUAL recoil is what does the damage, the perceived recoil just doesn't seem to hurt as bad - analogy - dentist doing root canal - with novacaine, pain isn't there until later. With reduction in perceived recoil, body is still getting the internal damage, just doesn't feel as bad.....at the time.

If you're sensitivity is due to a physical malady, then you need to reduce BOTH - heavy gun, light loads, proper FIT and some form of softening pad or system
 
The ACTUAL recoil is what does the damage, the perceived recoil just doesn't seem to hurt as bad - analogy - dentist doing root canal - with novacaine, pain isn't there until later. With reduction in perceived recoil, body is still getting the internal damage, just doesn't feel as bad.....at the time.

If you're sensitivity is due to a physical malady, then you need to reduce BOTH - heavy gun, light loads, proper FIT and some form of softening pad or system
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Taking a push instead of a punch greatly reduces the damage, as does spreading the focus of the blow. It's when the body is stressed too close to or beyond its elastic limits that damage results. For me reducing the peak pressure on the shoulder during recoil is a lot more important than reducing the total recoil force.
 
And if you can reduce both, why wouldn't you? The force is still the same without added weight - spreading it out over a few milliseconds may SEEM nice, but the force is still doing the damage to nerves, tissue, and joints.
 
Sheepdog1968 click on my name and go to "find more posts by ...." it will take you to my other post.

Perceived recoil is the main point. Distribution of the recoil force over time (i.e.- decrease in peak pressure against your shoulder) is what makes aftermarket pads work. As noted by another poster, the difference between a punch and a push. (I don't have scientific data to back this up, only my shore shoulder).
 
Perceived recoil is the main point. Distribution of the recoil force over time (i.e.- decrease in peak pressure against your shoulder) is what makes aftermarket pads work.
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+1. Even more so with a gas autoloader. The recipricating mass of the piston, the reward motion of the bolt, the backwards redirect of gas through the port all take a significant amount of energy that would otherwise be converted into recoil. That, and the amount of time all that energy takes to be dispelled further reduces the jolt.

A martial artist may be able to bench 300 pounds, and he can easily break boards with a punch delivering a near instant amount of that same energy. Take that same amount of weight and SET it on the same board, and it will not likely break.
 
Any of the guns being built with beneli's inertia blowback recoil system will be the smoothest shooters and have the fastest recovery time . You can identify by the camlock on the front of the bolt face . Beretta extrema 2 , some of the franchi s . Beretta bought beneli and is using the patent on several different makes and models . If the m4 is the auto/pump combo I dont think it will have the same recoil system .
 
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