I heard that my childhood shotgun, a 16 gauge (Sweet Sixteen) is being manufactured again. It is a great answer to reducing recoild without having to go all the way down to a 20 gauge.
As posted elsewhere on FR, it would be great if the writers at the American Shooting Journal would pay better attention to grammar, form, sentence construction and word usage in their articles. It really does detract from their message.
When I was a kid in the late 50s and 60s Daddy had a Browning Auto-5. That shotgun really kicked. My best friend’s Father had a Remington 1100. It hardly kicked at all.
I never really understood the reasons, but gas operated autos really do reduce recoil.
Actually the Browning kicked even harder than Granddaddy’s old Essex single barrel which was light weight.
A soft recoil pad is the easiest way to make it hurt less.
I had a Benelli M1 Super 90 which I think is the most brutal kicker of them all. I understand they had done a lot of things to reduce recoil on their newer designs.
I shoot cowboy action. One of the ladies bought a 16 gauge model 97 winchester thinking 16 wouldn’t hurt. I did. We introduced her to a 12 gauge. 97 with FEATHERLIGHT rounds. It was night and day. Of course these are small pellets and not useful for home protection past a few feet. But most home invasion shootings take place at a few feet so…it may be a wash.
Buy a heavier shotgun. Shooters try moving down to a 20ga thinking recoil will be less. A 20ga shoots lighter loads (generally) than a 12ga, but a 20ga usually weighs less than a 12ga, so you still can have pretty significant recoil. No magical solution, you either have to shoot lighter loads, or get a heavier gun.
I own 2 seemingly identical 12 gauge Mossberg 500 shotguns.
They were manufactured 12 years apart. The newer one is guaranteed to bruise you with every shot and the older one has no more kick than a Ruger 10/22.
The only thing that appears different is the color of the stock. The new one is darker and the older one is light.
I’ve never figured out why one kicks and the other doesn’t/
Recoil Pad. The best $20 I ever spent on any of my weapons.
I can shoot 50 shells during skeet no problem.
https://www.amazon.com/Remington-Cellular-Polyurethane-SuperCell-Synthetic/dp/B00162MIZQ
My only complaint is the defective off switch.
I think all the major manufacturers—Remington, Federal, Fiocchi— carry low recoil 00 and other loads. I found the Remington shells in particular to be very controllable in my Mossberg 590.
It is loaded with Remington Express 3” magnum 00 nowadays, though. Ferocious recoil, but I’m used to it.
[[How do you Tame that Shotgun Recoil?]]
By having your butler shoot it for you
For home protection,
Change to an 18 1/2 barrel and a pistol grip.
Practice, practice, practice in a gauge you are comfortable with.
Cheek and butt pads but mainly just ride the recoil and don’t fight it.
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
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.