First shotgun recoil trouble

J

JAYSAYSGOBUCKS

Inactive
I want to go deer hunting this year and i am just getting getting into guns. I shot a single shot 20 ga with 3 inch slugs and kicked my butt. I was black and blue for for 4 days. What any i doing wrong? Ohio is a shotgun only state for deer. :( I looked at maybe a 410 single shot but worry if it would put down the buck or doe. I like to stay around $150 or less so i am stuck in the single shot price point i think... Any idea would be great guys and girls... :)
 
Greetings JAYSAYSGOBUCKS and welcome aboard.

Cheap single shots are literally the lightweights of the shotgun world. The laws of motion dictate that they will have the harshest recoil. Toss in a poor fitting "fence board" stock and 3-inch slugs and you're asking to get beat up.

You're not going to get much of a deer gun for $150 -- if you wanna get the bucks, you gotta spend some bucks.
 
Single shot shotguns are generally very light and will therefore recoil more than a pump or semi-auto. Semi's are generally easiest to shoot...obviously part of the recoil impulse works the action and that mitigates what the shooter feels. But hunting is different than the range. Especially deer hunting. You won't be shooting nearly as much and you won't notice it nearly as much either. Your options as I see them are: 1) put a good pad on your current gun...a limbsaver or other high-end model. Also look at the Past vests. 2) look for an older pump gun that is in your price range...if not a Remington or Mossberg, perhaps a Savage or High Standard. I just saw several at a gun show a couple of weeks ago that could have been had for $200 or less OTD. 3) Recoil response is as much a mind-set as anything. When I think about it, I guess my unconscious approach to any gun...10 gauge singles, .458 Win. Mag, .458 Lott, .378 Weatherby, .454 Casull, & many others I've had the pleasure of shooting is "I'll be damned if I'm going to let this little SOB get the best of me". I just don't worry much about it. Black and blue goes away quickly, IME.
 
Last edited:
To add to all of the good advice about light guns above, lose the 3" slug and go with something softer in a 2-3/4" load.

Light guns with heavy loads that do not fit will kick your butt up one side and down the other
 
Look at a Maverick 88

Consider the Maverick 88 pump, it is the same as a Mossberg 500 with the exception of the location of the safety. On the 88 the safety is located on the trigger guard where the 500's is on top of stock( my personal preference ). It will handle both 2 3/4 and 3" shells. I just bought one for my son a couple of months ago at my local Walmart, $ 200 and change out the door.
The heavier the gun the less it will kick you. As an example a couple of years ago I bought a Chas. Daley youth 20 ga pump for my 11 year old grandson. About 6 months ago he got up nerve enough to shoot my Maverick. His comments were" It doesn't kick as hard as my 20 ga". As a result I now own a Mossberg 535. He doesn't flinch when shootin 3" 00 Buck while hog hunting.
With any shotgun if you think it kicks to much, try adding 6 or 8 oz of weight inside the stock. That is what I did with my 535 which weighs 12 oz less that the Maverick 88. Made a big difference.
Also Maverick Arms Co. makes all of Mossberg's shotguns except for the O/U.
 
Like has been said, 'just never seen the need for the 3inch'.


Go with the 2 3/4" and a limbsaver.

FWIW,

On your $150 budget, you can pick up a 50 cal. Black Powder rifle and use it in shotgun season.

Also, Welcome to TFL.

What part of Ohio are you in?
 
Try this to reduce recoil:
Put as much lead shot as will fit in the stock, in the hole in front of the butt plate.
Add a real good pad, even an inexpensive slip on style will help.
Buy a lighter recoiling slug load, the deer won't notice.
Use the isometric technique of pulling the stock tightly against the shoulder, at the same time push forward at the fore end, with the support arm, as the trigger is pulled.
Done properly, this does help reduce recoil.
There's probably a youtube video on how to do it.
 
Start doing pushups. I'm not kidding! It's free and it helps. Build up the chest and shoulder mass and strengthen the connective tissues that hold your shoulder joint in place; and the recoil will do less damage.

If you can already do 40 pushups, well, never mind.... ;)
 
Don't hold it loosely, pull it into your shoulder hard.
Click to expand...

A good recoil pad (Limbsaver, et. al.) helps. So does a bit of physical training.

Make sure you have a good "cheek to stock weld" : have as much of you, cheek included, in contact with the gun as possible. If you have empty space between you and the gun, then it gets a run at you, and will smack you.

Above all, have a positive mind set: If you beleive that the gun is going to kick you hard, it most certainly will. If you believe the gun will recoil, and you will manage it because you are doing all of the above correctly, then that will happen. Practice with reactive targets will help you focus on the target and not on the recoil.........

I have an 80 lb niece that shoots a 12 guage single shot with game loads ...... she has a crappy stance but keeps a death grip on the gun ..... she is far more interested in knocking over the steel plates or busting water jugs than noticing ny recoil.....
 
As others have said, a recoil pad like this could help. The SMALL size fits most of the H&R single shot shotgun if that's what you've got.

Someone mentioned filling the stock with lead to add weight. Another possibility is to use a neoprene* shell holder like this on the stock. If it's full of cartridges, it'll add nearly half a pound of weight (the slip-on pad adds about another 1/4 lb.) This added weight would decrease free recoil by more than 10%. then of course, the cushy pad would help, and using 2-3/4" slugs as others have said would make a noticeable difference.

*There are also elastic shell holders, but they may slip more than the neoprene types.
 
Last edited:
low recoil is simply achieved by adding gun weight, add recoil pad, and less powder charge(low-recoil rounds). Pick all or at least one. I like a light shotgun to comfortably lug it along with me in the woods. Got a recoil pad and use both high and low recoil loads.
 
Thank for all the ideas! ! ! I think i am going to see if i can save up for a pump in 12 ga then add a recoil pad and weight to stock... I ordered a recoil pad and looking and steel washers as walmart to put into the stock of the 20 ga single shot, Tried a 2 1/2 inch shell is a little better on recoil but that little of a gun with a slug just hurts! Once again thanks every one ! ! !



:):D:):D
 
If you have a friend who reloads, see if they will take a fe empty hulls and fill them with lead shot. Install them in the buttstock so they do not move. That should get you 4-6 ounces at least
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top