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.
HA! My Dad had a Browning 12 gauge also when I was a kid. Kicked like a mule. Now we have a Mossberg 500. Same deal. But our Beretta 391 autoloader has almost no recoil.
I had a Browning 20 guage, that kicked worse than any
gun I owned. Maybe a bad recoil spring but it would leave
your shoulder black and blue, and give you a definite
flinch. I had a sweet 16 and that thing would knock down
the doves.
“...Daddy had a Browning Auto-5. That shotgun really kicked...even harder than Granddaddy’s old Essex...” [yarddog, post 5]
“...My Dad had a Browning 12 gauge also when I was a kid. Kicked like a mule...” [Georgia Girl 2, post 45]
Browning’s Auto 5, Remington’s 11, Savage’s 720 series (which included many more model numbers), and various Italian autoloaders (Franchi, Breda etc) operated by long recoil:
On firing, the barrel moved backward locked to the breech bolt, all the way to the rear; then it was released to move forward while the breech bolt was held to the rear, extracting and ejecting the empty shell. Just as the barrel was coming to rest in its forward position, it tripped the breech bolt catch, allowing it to be driven forward, chambering the next round.
The mass of the moving parts in a long-recoil gun is much greater than the mass of the moving parts in any other autoloading design; increases the perceived recoil as everything comes to rest, bumping into the back of the receiver.
Long-recoil shotguns have a braking system composed of a friction piece (bronze in the Auto 5; the Auto 5 12 ga magnum has two bronze pieces) and a couple rings. These are slipped over the magazine tube before the barrel and forend are installed. The order of installation of these rings and pieces is changed to improve function reliability with different loads, increasing or decreasing the braking force as needed.
It’s very common for users to install rings & pieces in the wrong order, or to lose some entirely. Braking action can thus be compromised: if rings & pieces are set for light loads, and heavy loads are fired, recoil becomes much worse as the moving parts slam into the back of the receiver at higher velocity. The force can reduce service life of parts and will sometimes split the forend.
Lubrication of the magazine tube is essential: a small (very small) amount of petroleum jelly spread evenly will do the trick, or similar light grease. Most users think of automobile brakes (where any lube is not a good idea) when they reassemble their shotgun and do not apply grease: their gun may refuse to cycle.
Friction piece and ring sequencing is not intuitive. Follow your owner’s manual carefully to get it right. Browning used to put a diagram describing proper sequencing inside the forend, varnishing it in place.