12 gauge side by side shotgun RECOIL, Parkers, etc.

[Ian Civco]

This can pertain to Parker shotguns, any side by side shotgun, or any 12 gauge, for that matter…

How does RECOIL factor into the unpopularity of 12 gauge shotguns?

Do folks avoid them because of the RECOIL?

As for myself, I’ve never found a 12 gauge shotguns to have punishing recoil, and any references to recoil relative to a 12 gauge are what I’ve read. For me, it’s a non issue.

The literature suggests that a 12 gauge recoils similar to a .308 or .30-06, and, as I have fired a .30-06, it doesn’t seem as much. I’ll also fire a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum at the range on occasion and don’t sweat that, either.


BUT…

Maybe younger generations just aren’t that rugged. Folks in my parents and grandparents generation and earlier were tough, rugged. I am in the twilight of my working years and engage with some folks almost young enough to be my grandkids and that toughness or ruggedness just isn’t there.

If these folks are afraid of the recoil associated with the 12 gauge (if they aren’t afraid of firearms as a whole, which is fairly commonplace), is this a big reason for the stubbornly persistent prejudices against a 12 gauge shotgun?

[Andrew Sacco]

Ian I may be crazy but I don't think it's old vs new generation, it's about how shooting has changed. I think if you look back shooting shotguns was a field sport and the infrequent shots weren't bothersome. We shoot a lot more than they did in 1950. But go shoot 200-300 rounds of sporting or trap and sure, it becomes noticeable. My 28g repro with factory 28g shells was much more punishing than a 6.5lb 12g with 1 oz 1250 Fiocchi shells so there's a lot of factors. I don't think recoil plays a role at all in the stagnation of the 12. I think we'll see it come back. I was having a blast shooting 3/4oz 12g skeet yesterday and that load in a well patterning SxS that is light to carry would be a grouse destroyer due to its patterning if you do your part to sort it out. I happen to love all gauges so I'm trying to be objective here. I am not of the mind to start selling all my 12's because the market is flat. I'm in it for the long game. Personally there are two sides to the coin: 12's are priced a bit low and small gauges have gotten a bit out of hand. I can afford to buy what I want, I just can't bring myself to spend used car money for the sake of having a small gauge gun. Not that important to me but your mileage may vary.

[Dean Romig]

I prefer smaller gauge guns because they are typically lighter to carry in the field (read brush, gnarly abandoned apple orchards, blackberry tangles, steep wooded slopes) so give me a six pound gun every time. I’ll gladly suffer the consequences(?) of the smaller payload thank you.
I simply don’t need a 12 gauge gun… but I have a few that see daylight during turkey season.




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[Andrew Sacco]

I agree Dean that's why my bird guns are 16's on 0 frames or a 28 O/U. But not everyone is a bird hunter (thank God). I think 90% of the guys I shoot with have never bird hunted and carrying a 12 g from one station to the next isn't a big deal.

[Daryl Corona]

It was a long, slow, learning curve (learing curve in if you're in MN) but recoil is manageable by reducing your payload. Having a gun that fits you reasonably well and shooting lighter loads that still accomplish the same results on target applies no matter what gauge you shoot.

[John Davis]

If a gun doesn’t fit (think LOP and pitch), you’re going to feel the recoil no matter what gauge it is. I shoot a 12 gauge about 95% of the time these days and I go through a lot of shells. Recoil is not a concern. Smaller gauges are the “in thing”, but for my purposes I’ll stick with my 12’s.

[Dean Romig]

Some of the worst kicking guns I have experienced were light 20's with off the shelf ammo.





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[Donald F. Mills]

It also seems that 12ga ammo is very different than when I was growing up up in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The ammo has gotten faster 1300-1400fps or more, 2 3/4” seemingly being replaced in popularity by longer 3 and 3 1/2” shells with heavy payloads. I am sure this plays into the recoil issue for the modern generation.

[John Davis]

When I was helping coach the high school clay target team, I would tell the kids that more wasn’t always better. They wanted to shoot heavy, fast loads. I don’t shoot anything faster than 1145 fps, light target loads. The hardness of the shot is way more important than velocity. Talking clay targets here.

[Andrew Sacco]

I'm not a reloading guru and I wonder why some shells are just "snotty" and not fun to shoot. I know payload matters, but powder burn rate? I'll give you an example, shooting AA 1 1/8oz "light" target loads at 1170 (I think don't have the boxes here) they are just not pleasant to shoot at all. A 1300fps Fiocchi Spreader is easier to shoot, and a 24g 1350 bunker load from Clever is just heaven. I'm not sure why some are just not fun and punchy while others are easy. Top Gun are also a bit punchy so I wonder how much powder has a role. These were in a Beretta 694 not a SxS.

[Dean Romig]

They’re made to cycle the modern day semi-auto bolts and ejection systems with no chance of failure… more is better, right?





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[Mike Koneski]

Ian, the majority of my clay shooting is done with 12g guns. Multiple 12g guns. Recoil isn’t an issue for me. I reloaded my hulls with 7/8 oz at 1160 FPS, just because I like practicing with a smaller payload. If you can break the targets with 7/8 oz you’ll definitely put XX on the card with 1 oz. I’d also say that unless we have a handicap sub-gauge shoot or a multi-day SxS shoot here, 98% of our shooters are using 12g guns, even our “new” shooters. Some are beating themselves up using a pump gun, but that’s their choice. Some can only afford a pump. Keep on shooting those 12’s, we have to be an example to the new breed.

[Chuck Bishop]

Recoil to the shoulder has never been a problem for me, it's the face slap that hurts. After shooting 111K registered trap targets and probably quadruple that shooting practice plus shooting multiple shotguns, all but 2 of them didn't burse and bloody my face. The first to not hurt my cheek was a BT-99 high rib when it was first introduced. Problem was that it shot extremely high, the 2nd was my Krieghoff 2 barrel trap combo but only after I had a custom stock set made. The stocker said the problem was all in the way the pitch was cut. After that, the gun recoiled straight back and was a pleasure to shoot. Oddly enough I figured that I would have recoil problems when I started shooting Parker SxS's but that wasn't the case. I wish I had all the money I spent on recoil devices over my lifetime!