Okay I'm tender

1

1Hobie

New member
Alright, I'm going to admit that my first 12 g. magnum experience wasn't pleasent. I got a Remington 870 Express magnum for a good price and shot it for the first time this afternoon.
I started with some 'light" 2 3/4 target loads. :rolleyes: Then I moved up to 00 buck 3" magnums. I guess I've enjoyed my rifles too much because as soon as I can use my right arm again....okay not nearly that bad but I was surprised at the recoil.

I'm not asking per se what's the best but what if any recoil reduction things do you use?

I bought this gun for a first venture(my first shotgun) with home defense primary in use. But I'd like to be able to shoot it enough to be comfortable with it without beating the poop out my shoulder.

Any want to share their equipment recommendations if any?

Regards,

Ol' wussy Hobie
 
All good suggestions, especially about sticking to 2 3/4".

But after checking your form, you still feel the need for the 3", check out/pattern some of the 'low recoil' SD rds.
 
The things that helped me were a Limbsaver pad and switching to a Speedfeed IV-S.

Also look up Rob Haught and the push-pull technique on YouTube.
 
Buy a Super Cell or Limb Saver, they work. Move away from the 3" 00 shells, try out some 2 3/4" #2 or #3 or even #4 buckshot. Or just stick with the regular old 2 3/4" 00. And do a lot of practice with field/target loads to really get familiar and comfortable with the gun.

If you really want to see how much that beast can kick, get some turkey or waterfowl magnums and hang on tight. :D Or for an even more expensive beating, get some sabot slugs or even some Lightfields..........knock your dang fillings out :eek: ......ok so not really but they DO have a bit of push behind them.

What ever you do just don't give up on that ol' scatter gun, there's nothing quite like one ;)
 
Sounds like it doesn't FIT you very well. Might want to take it to your local trap/skeet type of gun club and see if there is someone who KNOWS stock fitting. You might comb adjustments, or drop at heel adjustments, or any of a number of other measurements to be modified

And yes, for HD, stay away from 3" magnums - would you use a 375 H&H to defend inside your home? The recoil is similar
 
Alright! I appreciate your input.

I do agree with staying away from the 3"s of pain.:rolleyes: As far as form, I had the gun pulled in as tight to my shoulder as I could. Is this correct?

It's a whole new venture for me. I don't have anything else that recoils like that. It made me remember an outing with my brother in law where he brought a 7mm Rem. Magnum rifle and a 12 guage slug gun with him. He hadn't shot the 7 yet and wanted me to shoot it as he was apprehensive about it(it was his brother's who had gave to him). My first clue should of been that there was only 2 spent rounds in the box. I set it up on my benchrest and fired the first shot. After I re-located my shoulder, I looked at him and gave him a big thumbs up and fired one more round. He asked me "well how was it?" I said "SWEET". So he set up and fired the shot down range. The look on his face was priceless.;):D Payback time has arrived although I didn't realize it yet. I set-up the slug gun, fired a round, found my shoulder at the back of the bench, and looked at him. "SWEET" is all he said.:D

I'll take y'alls advice and look into the recoil reducers. Ain't giving up on this ol' gun!

Hobie....now where did I put that Icyhot?:p:D
 
There's the acclimation factor: When I'm shooting regularly I hardly notice the recoil; but, if I don't shoot for a while, I notice the recoil when I start again. Before you begin shooting those 3" loads, first give yourself a chance to acclimate with a few regular outings with 2-3/4" loads.
 
On higher recoil long guns, naturally, you are going to feel more felt recoil. But it should also be very tolerable. You just can't flex and try to combat/stop the recoil or your shoulders going to lose.

If you're shouldering your shotgun correctly, another possibility of you feeling so much recoil is if you where sitting at your shooting bench at an angle not letting your shoulder/body flex enough to absorb recoil. Maybe try standing while your shooting or re-positioning your body while sitting to absorb more recoil.

Shoulder your shotgun firmly against your shoulder but don't tense the rest of your body(shoulder/waste etc.) up so much the recoil can't be absorbed.

FWIW, you probably already know this but just in case. Whatever you do, never place your shooting shoulder up against a rigid backstop. Broken bones may occur.
 
Okay.
I was standing shooting off-hand. I may have started to tense up after the first shot, which was Winchester Light Target 2 3/4 loads. Since I have zippo experience with shotguns(not shotty, don't care for that)I decided to start off easy. They weren't too bad. It was the Remington(not Remmy for the same reason)00 buck that rocked my world. I'm going to get together with some Remmy Shotty shooters:p:eek:and get some hands on training.
I know that it is something I can get together.
My .357 686+ is looking better for HD.:)

Hobie, BTW my Garand tried to bite my thumb yesterday also.:D
 
I may have started to tense up after the first shot, which was Winchester Light Target 2 3/4 loads. ...00 buck that rocked my world.
Click to expand...
There's a quantum difference between lite target loads and buck shot boomers. Perhaps you should have worked your way up with some incrementally heavier intermediate loads.
My .357 686+ is looking better for HD.
Click to expand...
I use a .45 625
 
"There's a quantum difference between lite target loads and buck shot boomers. Perhaps you should have worked your way up with some incrementally heavier intermediate loads."

Oh now you tell me.:D

I'm going to just shoot the light loads from now on to get used to it.

Hobie
 
I shoot a lot of the standard 2 3/4 target loads almost every weekend, i'm use to it and a good recoil pad makes it all good. Today I shot some 3" turkey loads and I have to say the recoil was very stout, I won't be shooting them anytime soon.
 
Don't confuse pulling the gun in tight with a properly fitting gun. You could have it tight but unable to get it in the right spot due to a poor fit. When I first started shooting I was badly beaten up as I was hoding the butt to far out on my shoulder and not in the pocket.
 
"Don't confuse pulling the gun in tight with a properly fitting gun. You could have it tight but unable to get it in the right spot due to a poor fit. When I first started shooting I was badly beaten up as I was hoding the butt to far out on my shoulder and not in the pocket."

Please elaborate further as I was holding the gun with the butt resting at the area next to my armpit. And it's sore today.:p

Hobie
 
i got some great advice from shotgunworld last year when i started shooting skeet monthly. try kick eez recoil pads i have them on my winchester pumps. they greatly reduce felt recoil.

i havent shot any 3" magnums, but 2 rounds of skeet (50 shots) with factory recoil pad my pec would be somewhat sore for about 3 days afterwards. but after buying the kick eez, i dont feel any kick from the 2 3/4" shells anymore. its like shooting a 22.

edit: oh and some other tips/advice from sgw was to add weight to the gun. my skeet gun has a synthetic stock so its hollow. i got an old tube sock put about a pound of lead in it, rolled it up and placed it inside the stock. i do a lot of fishing so have a bunch of extra lead sinkers.
 
You don't need full power 2 3/4" loads to get across the living room or down the hall way. As part of the round compliment at my last 4 day tactical shotgun course, I shot 750 rounds of 12 gauge. Of that, 300 were slugs and 250 were 00 buckshot. The 1 oz. slugs were reduced velocity....the buckshot was a standard 9 pellet loading. I couldn't have shot that slug compliment, had they been regular slugs, and finished the course feeling "no pain".

Since you stated HD was the primary purpose of your new shotgun, were I you, I would strongly consider getting some reduced recoil loads for practice AND home defense. You will find your range time to be much more enjoyable....and I do mean MUCH more enjoyable. ;)
 
I guess to me the recoil comes with the territory. I hunt turkey and live to hunt waterfowl and those little 2 3/4 and 3 in shells feel like a 22lr round compared to 3 1/2 in turkey loads weighing in at more than 2oz. So to be 2 3/4 00buck is a walk in the park. Bit as mentioned above a good recoil pad in combination with a proper fitting gun will all you to shoot 3 1/2 mags all day with minimal pain.

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