I have two shotguns, one is a 23/4 or 3" mag pump 30" fc bbl the other a single shot with a 19 1/2 " bbl and niether of them kick like the one I had many years ago. It was an old Ranger single shot with a 36" full choke bbl. It had lots of range but kicked like a mule. I used to go duck hunting back then with my brother-inlaw and after about 6 shots I would start saying ouch after each shot and after about a dozen I said ouch before I pulled the trigger. Many times it knocked me onto my back when squatted in some tall grasses and firing as the ducks flew over us. By the time I shot a dozen shells my shoulder was black and blue and hurt something awful.

It seems the moral of this story is dont buy single shot shotguns

Dimitri

Dimitri:
I had a 20 gauge Browning BPS I got as a performance award from my company, and couldn't hit a thing with it! Recoil was not bad, and my son took it, and broke 20 clay birds the first time he shot it. I guess I am just not a shotgun person.

BUT! A couple of friends and I were shooting one day near where Bushy lives, and one handed me his 12 ga. pump, saying; " I have a rifled slug in it, give it a try! "

Two words: THAT HURT! Wow! I was black and blue for a week, and I held it really snug against my shoulder.

But If you can do it, more power to you! It's just another facet of shooting/hunting.

Yep! a 12 ga loaded with a three inch heavy load has more momentum than all but the biggest guns out there. Copmbine that with a lightweight gun and you end up with self abuse. I have held worse though - try a lightweight kever action in 45-70.

Dimitri... I shoot a lot of trap & skeet. I agree with the comments I see here...autos have little recoil...single shots have a lot of recoil. Loads in 2 3/4 inch shells rated at 3 drams equivalent (DR. EQ.) & less are low recoil & 3 1/4 DR. EQ. & up get stiffer. 1 oz. of shot or less again is lite recoil & 1 1/8 of shot & up is again stiffer. Like a rifle, you expect more recoil from a heavier bullet. 3 inch & 3 1/2 inch shells generally get nasty. I took my 12 year old grandson dove hunting this last season & let him use my Stoeger side-by-side coach gun that has 20 inch tubes, double triggers, & handles 3 inch shells. I started him off with light 2 3/4 inch shells & he commented on how he expected more recoil. He was fearless. When his back was turned, I stuck the heaviest 3 inch magnum turkey loads in it I had in my arsenal. He started to swing at some passing doves, & pulled the trigger before the gun reached his shoulder...it got him in the upper rib cage. I asked him if that's what he thought a 12 gauge should feel like...now the poor kid has a flinch. Now I gotta train him all over again. You want felt recoil? Try that combination like my grandson did & you'll feel different about shotguns...
Keep it coming...

Dimitri, if you really want to compare the shotgun to a rifle recoil sit at a bench and try sighting it in (so to speak). The felt recoil when swinging a shotgun is not at all like shooting a rifle at a standing target.

Try touching off a Breneke 3" slug out of an old single barrel shotgun...that will get your attention....

Its ok I'm ok with the little recoil, no single shots and slugs for me

Dimitri

Dimitri wrote:

Its ok I'm ok with the little recoil, no single shots and slugs for me Dimitri

Aw, c'mon Dimitri, a big strapping fellow like you shouldn't be worried about a little recoil, surely.

Remember mate...."Pain can't be measured, so it doesn't exist" ......well that's what our physical training instructors used to tell us when I was in the Army. :rofl2:

It doesn't matter if it is a slug or shot.....1oz of slug or 1oz of #7 shot weigh the same and the recoil is the same. There is however a "little" bit of a difference between a 2 3/4" cartridge and a 3" cartridge!!

Cheers, Vince

Vince,

I'll shoot slugs out of a non-single shot shotgun, Just not in a single shot as they claim the recoil is high

Oh and Vince your drill instructor is wrong Pain can be measured, how many days does it take for the pain to stop hurting, the more hurtful the pain is the more it will last

Dimitri

Dimitri wrote:

Vince, I'll shoot slugs out of a non-single shot shotgun, Just not in a single shot as they claim the recoil is high Dimitri

Dimitri, I have fired everything, except 3" cartridges, out of side-byside, over and under and single shot shotguns and haven't experienced much difference in felt recoil. What I will say though is that the lighter the firearm, the higher the felt recoil. This applies equally to rifles.

The single shot I used was a Mossberg bolt action with a shortened barrel and a variable choke fitted. It is a real nice shotgun to shoot. Definitely not a shoulder destroyer, even with slugs.

Cheers, Vince