Question about recoil

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CuriousJ

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Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me make an informed decision. Here are the facts: Although to date I've only shot handguns, I'm currently looking for a home defense shotgun, to be used exclusively for that purpose. I've got a serious shoulder injury that is somewhat dormant, but would definitely flare up and incapacitate me with standard 12 GA pump gun recoil.

It seems to me that my choices are either going with an autoloader 12 GA (Mossberg 930) or moving down to a 20 GA pump gun (500, 870, etc.). I realize that recoil is somewhat subjective, but I'm just looking for broad-brush opinions on which option (or some other option unknown to me) has the lesser possibility of re-injuring me while preserving HD effectiveness. You should also know that my home is pretty small, so there may be little difference between 12 and 20 at the distance I would need to use the weapon, probably 20 feet at the most.
 
Where you get hurt with recoil is when you don't hold the stock tight against your shoulder. With the gun snug in against your shoulder the recoil pushes your whole body, if there's any looseness it takes a run at you and its like being hit. Best described as which hurts more, somebody pushing against your shoulder and moving it back a foot or someone hitting you in the shoulder and pushing it back the same 1 foot. The same amount of physical force is required but the hit sure hurts more.

Ammo choice will make a difference and there are low recoil loads sold in the 12 ga. Don't remember ever seeing 20 ga low recoil.

Semi auto's have less felt recoil, generally because they spread the recoil out over more time. A heavy gun recoils less as it moves slower for the same amount of imparted momentum as a lighter gun.

The softest shooting gun will be a semi auto with a good recoil pad. The new Benelli Vinci is being marketed as the softest shooting semi auto but its not being made in a self defense configuration. A Remington 1100 slug gun would be a good option but they're certainly not cheap.

Here is a recoil calculator that will give you how much recoil is generated for different loads http://handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp.

If your shoulder problem will not heal itself eventually then you could teach yourself to shoot with the other side if its good.

Personally, rather than injure my self using a shotgun to practice for self defense, a situation which in all reality is likely not to ever occur, I'd simply stick with a handgun.
 
Just some empirical experience talking here: A shorter 20ga can recoil as much or more than a longer 12ga. This comparison was done with a 24" Ported/Coned (aftermarket, not factory) Mossberg 500 as 12ga and 20" Remington 870 Express Youth as 20ga. Of course I am not talking about actual energy here but felt recoil.

Why?
Overall mass of the 20ga mentioned is much less than the 12ga. The 20ga has 4" less barrel, a synthetic stock and fore-end, and the 12ga has recoil reduction in the barrel with the porting and cone work.

What's the point:
If you look around you can find a 12 gauge gun that does not recoil much even being a pump. Proper form also helps very much with reducing possible wear on the joints in the recoil side. At this point when I go shoot a round of trap (25 target loads) out of my 12ga mentioned, my left arm is more sore from holding up a gun that long than my right arm is from the recoil. I should note that very few people have trouble holding up a gun for 25 clays, I am just weak and when I go out in May after not shooting all winter it's work for me.
 
First - stop thinking a 20 will have smaller this or lighter that.....

An equal payload from equally-weighted guns having the same velocity will impart the same recoil - that is ACTUAL recoil - the type that does the long-term damage.

How the gun fits, action-type, using a good pad, etc. all affect PERCEIVED, or felt, recoil - aka "kick" - this is the short term damage - bruises, soreness, hitting the cheek, etc.

The heaviest gun you can handle, coupled with the lightest loads, mixed with a gas action, good pad and a proper FIT will give you the best combination for shooting without pain.

I shoot a lot of sporting clays, sometimes 200-300 in one day. By using an 8-1/4# gun and a light 3/4 oz payload (the equal of a 28 gauge), I can shoot those shells all day with no fatigue or soreness.

Find the light buckshot HD loads and use the heaviest gun that fits you, and you should be good to go
 
I know this sounds like heresy in the shotgun forum but... why bother with a shotgun? Get some wimpy .223 rifle that won't bother your shoulder. The point is to have a long gun that you can shoot effectively and practice with it a lot.
 
Watch the weight. Going down to a 20 ga often reduces the weight of the gun enough that recoil is at least as noticeable as a 12 ga, and a 12 ga with low recoil loads might feel like it had less recoil.

The selection of ammo is much greater in 12 ga, also.
 
Steve C said:
Where you get hurt with recoil is when you don't hold the stock tight against your shoulder. With the gun snug in against your shoulder the recoil pushes your whole body, if there's any looseness it takes a run at you and its like being hit. Best described as which hurts more, somebody pushing against your shoulder and moving it back a foot or someone hitting you in the shoulder and pushing it back the same 1 foot. The same amount of physical force is required but the hit sure hurts more.

Ammo choice will make a difference and there are low recoil loads sold in the 12 ga. Don't remember ever seeing 20 ga low recoil.

Semi auto's have less felt recoil, generally because they spread the recoil out over more time. A heavy gun recoils less as it moves slower for the same amount of imparted momentum as a lighter gun.

The softest shooting gun will be a semi auto with a good recoil pad. The new Benelli Vinci is being marketed as the softest shooting semi auto but its not being made in a self defense configuration. A Remington 1100 slug gun would be a good option but they're certainly not cheap.

Here is a recoil calculator that will give you how much recoil is generated for different loads http://handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp.

If your shoulder problem will not heal itself eventually then you could teach yourself to shoot with the other side if its good.

Personally, rather than injure my self using a shotgun to practice for self defense, a situation which in all reality is likely not to ever occur, I'd simply stick with a handgun.
Click to expand...
Yes, I was leaning toward the autoloader option myself, so that's some confirmation. Re: that last bit, I'm in the position of having to purchase another weapon, so I would rather diversify what I've got (smallish caliber handgun < smallish caliber handgun + shotgun).
 
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