5 Ways To Reduce Recoil 

David, here in the USA the simplest solution for recoil is to shoot a smaller caliber. I shoot 4 Gun Skeet and most of the competitors use sub caliber tubes to fill out the 4 gun requirement. The end result of tubing a 12 gauge shotgun for 410 is a 10 lbs. gun sending 1/2 ounce of lead at the target at about 1200 fps. Note, Skeet shooters don't really need too much speed for the sport so we spare our shoulders and wallets by loading to a 1200 fps standard but some do like 1300 fps shells. Me, I discovered in 2021 that I'm too old to shoot a 4 gun match with 100 rounds for each caliber while swinging a 10 lbs. shotgun. So I shoot 3 different guns, a 12, 20, and 28/410 combo. The result is a 6 1/2 lbs. gun for 410 and at the end of a match I still have plenty of Pep. I'll also note that due to the cost of reloading components the 410 is now my primary practice caliber. It does force one to become a more precise shooter but it's a lot of fun when I'm hitting well and it's a lot more responsive when it gets windy.

Having a gun that fits, ie stock length/cast/comb height etc is right up there on the list of reducing felt recoil.

Missed the most important factor that is responsible for felt recoil- gun fit, recoil pads etc do bugger all, the lop, pitch and drop are the main causes for an excessive felt recoil, pick a gun that fits and mount it properly and doesn't matter what pad etc you have

Heavy, gas operated semi auto ,ported barrel, mercury recoil reducer, limb saver pad, extended forcing cone with over bored barrel,parallel stock. The system has little or no recoil even with 3 1/2 inch duck loads. I shoot an old Beretta 391 Teknys with this system for sporting clays.

David thanks for another video. There are 3 variables that determine measured foot pounds of recoil. Firearm weight, ejecta weight, and ejecta velocity. Change any of those up or down and foot pounds of recoil changes up or down. The recoil that we feel is changed greatly by gun fit, stock shape, type of load, and firearm action. A fixed breech gun will almost always have more felt recoil than an automatic with a gas gun having less felt recoil compared to a recoil operated gun. I own a few examples of guns that due to how they're setup are PUNISHING to shoot for me. The example that comes to mind is an Ithaca model 37 in 20 gauge with an aluminum receiver. It weighs just over 5 lb and is very light in the front end. That little thing is wonderful to carry in a hunting situation but SUCKS with just about anything I send down range. I also own one gun that due to it's light weight and such SHOULD be a hard recoiling gun but due to how it fits me and several other shooters at my local club is surprisingly soft to the point where we all shake our collective heads. That particular gun is a 1937 Superposed Trap gun. The original owner ordered it with non standard stock dimensions. And although the gun weighs just 7 lb 5 oz which is light for a target gun. It is just easy on the shoulder and face regardless of the loadings I've put through it. It's a very cool subject and a deep rabbit hole that you touched on!

Don't forget that 21gram cartridges have less recoil, cost less and will still break any clay on any ground. You don't need 28gram it's just currently the most used.

I have a Browning Ultra XTR which I bought secondhand in 2014. It came with a solid hard rubber recoil pad and it hurt! Two years ago I bought a new Browning recoil pad and it totally transformed the gun. It is now so soft in the shoulder so as to be not even thinking about.

Great content again. Keep up the good work! Would love to find some skeet vests for a 12 year old, with a pocket for a recoil pad. My son has a 20g 525 with a new browning pad which helps a great deal, and this is used with 21/22 gram Hull Pro Twenty.

I’m kind of surprised that one factor hasn’t been touched on and a lot of manufacturers have changed this over the last few years, and that’s forcing cones and internal dimensions. Several years ago I had the forcing cones lengthened in a 12 guage and it tamed the recoil greatly. Reading up on it I found that doing this reduced felt recoil up to 40%. What it did for me was soften the punch and make that gun much more enjoyable to shoot. Browning now makes some of their guns with vector pro forcing cones or barrels and I notice the difference in them. As you said, porting also has an effect and helps a lot with muzzle flip. The back bored barrels that were advertised years ago have become commonplace, giving the charge more space to travel in. All these adjustments along with the extended choke tubes have generated a more uniform pattern , seemingly as a by product of the technology. I’m now 66 and recoil can leave me sore for a few days with the wrong gun. Thankfully, I’ve found a recent manufacture browning CXS that is comfortable to shoot and I enjoy my time with my friends at the club.

A friend of mine had neck surgery and could not shoot a 12 ga with 24 grams Beretta 868 because of the pain. He is now shooting a Beretta A400 Xplor with no disconfort. In extreme cases, semiautos are a solutuion.

My problems with recoil comes from gun fit i now shoot semi autos for everything cartridge wise i would say 21 or 24 gram cartridges are all you need for practice. poor gun fit and cheap 28g cartridges are probably always going to = recoil and a bad experience for people starting out i use to use a lot of gamebore velocity + when i started shooting clays i soon learnt less is more or to use a more premium cartridge.

I have the browning recoil pad and have to say it works !! More so when using heavy loads

The wad type is a point I haven't considered before. Thank you. A very good discussion. When I want to run a 12-gauge, I use a IWI TS12 bullpup shotgun. While it's pretty far removed from a traditional skeet or trap scattergun, the soft shooting nature of it is impressive for a 3" magnum 12-gauge. It's a gas-operated semi-auto, which helps bleed that extra gas from the barrel after the shot/wad has moved down the barrel, similar to ported guns (or even Metro Guns which take that concept to an extreme for silencing/suppressing the report of the shot)... that's definitely a useful feature to reduce recoil. I'll admit, a 10-pound bullpup does dampen that impulse fairly well from the added weight (especially with 17 shells loaded to go), but the Benelli/Beretta Mobil choke threading also allows for muzzle breaks that help moderate the recoil pulse from the gas thrust out the front of the muzzle (the claims are that 20 to 50% of recoil is from this jet-engine-thrust like effect from the gas leaving the muzzle, even after the shot/bullet leaves the firearm). Using a muzzle break choke in tactical shotguns has a noticeable recoil reduction (maybe almost 10% or so?). I know it's not an option for most trap or skeet, but this isn't lost on makers of extended chokes that can incorporate ported/muzzle break angled holes for turkey or other hunting chokes. I appreciate you're comments about proper shoulder pocket placement as well, that my biggest concern with padded jackets (and padded inserts)... I'll definitely check out the flexible one in your video. Thank you.

In the US we have the Limbsaver butt pad. The Limbsaver Air is the best. Around $35 US. Made a big difference on my Beretta A300 Outlander.

According to a top UK manufacturer Longthorn. The reason their ligh guns have reduced recoil is because metal to metal fit and double lock, is excellent, tolerances are very very fine. Hence a lot of manufacturers can adjust the fit, when metal wears.

I just switched from an Akkar game gun to a Beretta DT11 Sporting and there no real recoil...totally awesome! Another less expensive solution would be to switch to a gas gun such as Beretta A400.... No recoil at all!

Hi David I am surprised you didn't mention a gas semi auto for reducing recoil. A good review anyway.

Good video too by the way

Wow, its amazing this vidio turns up the very day i am off to the gunshop for a new recoil pad on my spanish side by side!

I believe also barrel length effect on recoil and check ring shape.

Don't forget about the mercury tube that goes in the butt stock adds a little weight and drops recoil quite a bit. Along with limbsaver recoil pad I believe I've dropped recoil 50 percent

Eley Amber 24gram are excellent low recoil shells.

Man I have a stoeger 20 gauge coach sxs gun it was never a problem before but I was welding farm equipment slipped off the jack and crushed my shoulder and now I'm recoil sensitive it sux because I love that gun but having trouble finding low recoil ammo I'd sure hate to have to switch to 410

I have extended ported blackened stainless steel Turlock chokes on my Browning Feather 12 gauge with 26 inch barrels. One in improved cylinder and one in improved modified. And the Browning Inflex recoil pad.

Every time I've experienced bad recoil is when I've not mounted the gun properly. That can be 46gram 10 gauge or 21gram 20gauge.

Who makes the vest in the video that you recommend.

I've shot for over 40 years and I do not like recoil. I recently bought a Zoli Kronos and it's the softest shooting over/under shotgun that I have ever shot. It's all due the boring of the barrels, a brilliant shotgun.

With the sole exception of when she used a semi-auto, every gun my wife has shot (instructors at game fairs) has led to her to have a bruised chest and cheek. She’s petite, narrow shouldered with a large bust and not the strongest; is it that standard dimension guns just don’t fit her? She’s been totally put off by the whole experience!

What's the range of pounds? Light range? Heavy range? I just put 3 pounds of ballast weight in a 12g with plastic hollow stock and haven't fired it yet. It was 8 pounds now it's closer to 11. Can't wait to try it out. The 8 pounds was messing me up, even with a nice cushion.

Why do you not recommend 21 gram for young beginners. On a previous video you stated that the 525 light had a special recoil reducer, still waiting for the system as would like to install it on my 525

do you have advice on shooting in a wheelchair?, i have strength issues and can't lean forward either

What are your thoughts on mercury tubes?

Semi-Autos are low recoil also! 👍🏻

Thear is nothing wrong with black gold cartridges i shoot black gold and dark storm in my browning and my k 80 no recoil problem 🤔

ported chokes that works.

hy uncle I am facing 12 Guage recoil so much please tell me how to reduce

If the shotgun fits you properly then there is no recoil problem. That's all.

bought a xs pro 30" shot it sunday 100 esp reg enjoyed it but sunday night neck ache and headache gun weighs 8.0 oz i was using fiochi f blues 28g any ideas ?

Gas operated semi auto will reduce recoil more than any of your suggestions .

i have a yildiz spz me any recommendations to reduce recoil for this one?

In the UK can you only own single and dou le shot shot guns or can you own pump shot guns also.

Teaching with plastic wad cartridges? i thought your ground was fibre only, i suffer with a rotator cuff injury so to solve the pain problem I use a beretta a400 xcel with 24g cartridges recoil what's that then 👍😁

Gun fit. Fundamental. Everything else mentioned in the video is secondary.

The "push pull" method. Pull with trigger hand, push w support hand. Get into it, only do it when you're about to shoot and when you shoot tho, as it can get tiring.

so my son struggles with bruising on his shoulder,he wears a shoulder pad and we only use 21gs which has helped,i have been told a semi auto has less kick to it but i was thinking of getting a 20 bore?which one would you say was less kicky????

After heart surgery I started shooting a 28 gauge 686. Great little gun, light weight, low recoil.

Porting barrels does make the gun a lot louder to all persons on the station 🙉

the best to reduce recoil is to shoot rifles that have cartridges with lighter bullets and less powder in the cartridge. Ta Da!

If you can have any 3 shotguns in the world, what would you have?

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Intro music yuk lol

Avoid Sub-sonic Grounds? I’m sure the owners of those grounds will be delighted to hear of your advice to new shooters! A ridiculous suggestion!