Q: Over the last three seasons, more of our syndicate members have switched from 12-to 20-bore guns. They’re nice and light and I’m thinking of following suit. Or does the 12-bore still have advantages? Do 20-bore guns recoil less? A: My word, you’ve opened a can of worms here! Entire…
Recoil
Second-hand small-bore shotguns – what to buy?
A second-hand 28-bore or a .410? With more than £1,000 to spend on a small-bore shotgun, either a 28-bore or a .410, our reader has plenty of scope. In fact, he could buy a new gun if he so wished, particularly if he looked at the Turkish market. If he…
Struggling with recoil using a 12-bore?
Q: I’ve started struggling with recoil when using my 12 bore: what can I do to reduce it? Is it time to change to a 16-bore? It’s really strange as my 12-bore fits me well. A: I come across many people who suffer with this and usually it’s a combination…
How to avoid getting a bruised face when shooting
Q: I am emailing out of frustration and wondered if there was any advice you could give me. I have been a competitor in trap shooting, on and o ff throughout my life, but now find it most uncomfortable to shoot any more than 50 targets due to a very sore…
What’s the right shotgun bore for you?
I have received a letter from a reader wishing to buy a shotgun which will be used mainly for vermin control (pigeons, crows, magpies and rats), together with rough shooting and the occasional crack at clays. He recalls that a lightweight Baikal gave him a hefty whack on his shoulder, which…
Six things to know about gun recoil
Many shooters consider that a 20-bore has less recoil than a 12-bore but in fact, the recoil depends on the cartridge load being used and the weight of the gun. Having a light 20-bore and a heavy load, like a 28 or 32 gram cartridge will result in stronger recoil…
A look at three second-hand, low recoil guns
It surprises me that sensitivity to recoil seems to have little to do with physical build. I’ve met guys built like Jack who find recoil painful, and also skinny guys like me who don’t seem to suffer at all. It’s not that I don’t bruise when shooting heavy loads, but…
Recoil bruises my face!
I have a Browning B325. It's a big improvement on the Spanish over-under I had, except I'm constantly getting bruised on my face and lower shoulder. I've never suffered from this in ten years of shooting!
How to reduce recoil
DTL and Olympic skeet champion Jim Sheffield has had great results with the Gracoil recoil reducing system
What’s a good low-recoil cartridge for pigeon shooting?
Pigeon shooting: I am getting recoil-sensitive in my old age and find a long day in the hide quite tiring. I shoot with a lovely boxlock 12-bore side-by-side and 1oz trap cartridges.
Should I start my son shooting with a 28-bore?
Starting shooting: I would like to teach my 12 year-old son to shoot clays and wondered if I could get him started with a 28-bore O/U.
How to set a recoil operated semi-auto for different loads
Some of the older recoil operated semi-automatic shotguns based on the Browning A5 have a simple method of friction ring adjustment to allow for different amounts of recoil.