Chambers Lengthen?

[Pastor Ray]

My newest toy is the 20ga Trojan it has 26" barrels...IC/IM chokes...IT KICKS! I have BAD AUTHRITIS IN MY BACK and this little LIGHT gun just seems to KICK a little more than is comfortable. I shoot only sporting clays...and not really very good...LOL....7 1/2 lead shot shells from Walley World...Rem. or Fed. which ones they have. Was thinking about having the chambers lengthened? Will that take any value from the gun? Will it help with the perceived recoil? I can RELOAD...Just found a recipe...Win. AA Shell 7/8 Load, 1250fps, 17.5 IMR 20/28 Powder, Windjammer Wad @ 8690 Pressure.
Maybe this will help? ANY ADVICE?

[Ed Blake]

If you can reload, shoot 3/4 oz. loads. Clay buster sells the wads. Recoil is minimal and the targets really break.

[Joe Wood]

IMO lengthening chambers won't help significantly with the recoil. Ed is correct, just work up a light load for a light gun. It'll still kick and be noticeable on a round of SC but maybe be bearable. I have a 0 frame 16 with 26" barrels that is a great field gun but when I shoot a round of skeet--steady shooting--it just knocks the stuffings out of me. And that's with light short hulled hand loads. Welcome to the undisclosed world of light guns!

[Joe Wood]

Oh, meant to mention--if it wouldn't make the length of pull too long, buy a leather Galco slip on pad even if your gun already has a pad. It has about 30% more surface area to contact your shoulder and will really help reducing perceived recoil. On a twenty gauge the size will be either a medium or a small. Measure the butt and order accordingly. If the added length is too much you can easily remove the rubber insert in the Galco pad and then you won't be increasing the length more than 1/8".

[Gerald McPherson]

Me too. I feel older than my guns looks. LOL

[Holeshot]

Reduce your velocity and that will reduce your recoil.

[Big Friend Ten (BFT)]

Gentlemen,

Short chambers and/or very short forcing cones can cause a significant increase in perceived recoil in SOME guns. I experienced this with a Lefever DS 20 gauge and another well know PGCA member recently had a similar experience with a Parker 10 gauge. Lengthening the chambers tamed the recoil in both guns.

In most cases short chambers won't cause any noticeable increase in recoil. To verify if the perceived excessive recoil is caused by short chambers first try shooting the same equivalent load (shot load weight and muzzle velocity) in the appropriate length shells for the chambers. Also have another shooter or two try both short and standard loads in a blind test.

There is also the possibility that different shell/load of the same equivalent will NOT cause excessive recoil. Try a few different brands and find out. The thickness of the case/hull walls can be the cause of excessive recoil. Winchester AA and Remington RXP have thinner walls than lower cost shells. A thicker case wall may cause the payload to be forced through the combination of extra case wall and sharp forcing cone. A raise in pressure may occur in this example. In rifle cartridges seating the bullet into the lands rather than allowing a short "free-bore" increases pressure. If measured, the same may be true of a standard shotgun cartridge being shot in a short chamber WHEN excessive recoil is perceived.

If necessary, rather than lengthening the chambers the forcing cones could instead be lengthened. I occasionally shoot 3" shells in 2 3/4" chambers for which I have lengthened the forcing cones with no . This insanity caused no excessive recoil other than the increase from the heavier shot charge and velocity of magnum shells. Lengthening chambers or forcing cones can reduce perceived recoil IF excessive recoil was experienced. Before you modify anything, first conduct a controlled blind test as described above.

Respectfully,
Mark

[Pastor Ray]

Thank you very much....GREAT ADVICE! I will give these a try. I do enjoy the "CARRY" weight...It just is not enjoyable after 50 rounds...I catch myself "Flinching" THANKS!

[Bruce Day]

The recoil formula has three components: 1) weight of gun; 2) weight of everything that shoots out the end of the barrel, e.g. shot, wad and gas; and 3) the speed at which they go out.

Increase (1) or decrease (2) and/or (3) to reduce recoil.

Parker recommended the following for 20ga loads for pattern and gun efficiency:
1) 3/4 oz shot at 2 1/4dre.......this runs about 1130fps
2) 7/8 oz shot at 2 1/2dre.......this runs about 1150fps and would be Parker's heavy load.

You will see that at 7/8oz and 1250fps, you must be shooting close to a 3 dram load, and in excess of Parker's recommended max , see Parker's "The Small Bore Shot Gun" p. 9. The load probably kicks like a mule. P. 9 identifies what I believe to be a custom load of 7/8oz at 2 3/4dre, probably about 1220fps and states" Not recommended by us and not loaded by leading companies". This is at least what you have been shooting.

If at some time you really feel a need for a kick in the teeth, try a 1 oz load in a Parker 20, what commercial manufacturers call a standard 20 ga hunting load.

Winchester AA 20ga standard fired length for 2 3/4 marked shells:

[Pastor Ray]

I was hoping to get away from the 3/4 oz shot...I love my 28ga Hulu....just thought with this light 20ga gun and increase the amount of shot just might give me another clay or two. I know there are just a few more shot in the 7/8...but was hoping they might be WELL PLACED...LOL. Thanks again. What a great place for info. You folks are GREAT! Thanks