Posted on 09/05/2018 4:56:55 AM PDT by w1n1
Having a 12 gauge shotgun should be on your list for home defense.
However, for shooters that are not well versed or are timid with the 12 gauge notorious recoil.
That kick can intimidate many gun enthusiasts.
There are some ways to managing this recoil.
The first is coined "hardware" which means modifying the gun or using a special accessories design to reduce the recoil.
The second is using sound technique-based means utilizing good techniques while holding and shooting the 12 gauge shotgun.
Hardware Solutions
One of the the first “hardware” of the many ways to reduce the recoil to save your shoulder is to use low recoil shells.
There are reduced recoil versions of birdshots, buckshots and slugs to choose from at your local gun stores.
Recoil Pads
If you want to cushion your shoulder, get some extra cushion for your stock. They come in thick rubber pad, can help your sore shoulder.
20 Gauge
Instead of using the 12 gauge use a 20 gauge because its smaller, lighter which makes it easier to handle the recoil.
Unfortunately, getting defensive ammo is more expensive than 12 gauge and the availability is limited. Read the rest of the taming shotgun recoil here.
I inherited it from my g-mother.
My uncle helped me to fix it, clean it and trained me on it.
The techniques and methods he taught me have served me well.
I have never had a recoil problem, even when I ventured into 10 gauge mags for Turkey hunting.
I now use a Versa Max, which is so soft in comparison to any other 12 gauge I've ever used, it simply amazes me that anyone can complain about recoil.
But, even as user-friendly as they are making them now, if it isn't used correctly...it will recoil and the kick can be unpleasant for those with a low pain threshold...i.e., wimps, nerds and townie-wannabes.
There, I said it.
I got a JTS M12 AK which has an adjustable gas setting for various shells cycling the AK-like action. Closing it all the way greatly reduced recoil, but turns it into a bolt action. I’m looking for a muzzle device for a 12 gauge barrel that’ll knock out at least some of the recoil on the highest gas setting
Some people (like me) have automatic actions and light loads shortshuck. Some of us need heavier, higher velocity loads as a mechanical necessity
Same answer as “...how do you get to Carnegie hall?”
PRACTICE.
The firearm is a tool. There are folks that take for granted that a tool designed for a purpose will magically perform without any skill imparted by the tool user (similar to the hoplophobe’s “guns’r bad” mentality).
Solid platform, grip, weld, and time on the gun....no substitutes please.
YMMV
KYPD
CLICK BAIT
In a high stress situation your adrenaline levels will prevent you form even noticing any recoil. A muzzle brake will break your eardrums if you are in a hallway.
Shoot the bum any way you can. Hearing loss and tinnitus are better than what a murder will do to you.
Solution was to get a Mossberg 20 gauge specifically built for home defense. Problems solved. Gun is a lot of fun to shoot.
or buy a .410 and learn how to shoot, with a lot of practice you can shoot 90 out of 100 at sporting clays,trap and skeet but forget long bird contests.
Yeah, but they’re illiterate.
The Aguila mini-shells are light loads, and come in home defense loads such as buckshot and slug. (Although to your point, light target loads with number 8 shot are still very formidable defensive loads at close range.)
As a bonus, you can load approximately 1.5 times the number of normal 2 3/4" shotgun shells in the magazine, so a 5 shot shotgun become an 8 shot.
At home defense distances, the lighter load will still do more than enough damage to the intended target.
Recoil isn’t pleasant, but it’s always a lot worse for the guy on the other end.
Yeah, but as shown in post 33, no shouldering either.
If you’re going to drop to a .410 for home defense, why not just get a Taurus Judge/Public Defender? It would be a LOT easier to wield in tight quarters.
You can find good recoil absorbing stocks for most shotgun.
I have an 870 that hurt like a mofo with buck or slug using the standard stock that comes with it. Literally had me anticipating the pain from each shot. Swapped it out for a Blackhawk SpecOps Low recoil stock and its great now.
Another possibility is to use a .410 which has almost no recoil at all. As for lethability, penetration tests in plywood sheets and water cartons yielded travel equal to buckshot from a 20-inch 12-gauge riot gun barrel at the same distance. Wound ballistician Dr. Martin Fackler ran close-range (10-foot) tests into gelatin and found the .410 was effective for self-defense use. You’re going to use this for the extreme defense of yourself and property. You don’t need to blow the wall out behind an intruder. If you need that get yourself a 2 gauge punt gun. For those who don’t know these, they were hunting shotguns designed to drop entire flocks of game birds commercially. They would take out a couple of walls in your home. And if you lived in an apartment, the next two abodes as well. Overkill.
rwood
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