For those hunting with lightweight (<6lbs.) and compact/youth framed 20 gauges, have you experienced any issues with recoil? I don't mean on the shoulder, but getting popped in the face. I haven't been able to hold one yet, but it seems like those compacts force you to be kinda bunched up close to your hand.
Yup! I had to put a red dot on it to get my hand from hitting my nose after each shot.
yep! the first time I took my 510 mini out to pattern/sight in I took one shot and loaded up and went home to start looking for replacement stocks and put a red dot on it.
Not a problem what so ever with recoil from the 20 ga. with using a scope. When pulling the trigger on a gobbler all i'm thinking of is dead turkey.
No issues per se.....but 1 5/8oz out of a youth 870 is definitely what I refer to as "snappy" recoil. Not much fun to shoot a lot during patterning process but never noticed in the field.
Quote from: mullet dredge on February 22, 2021, 10:03:29 AM
No issues per se.....but 1 5/8oz out of a youth 870 is definitely what I refer to as "snappy" recoil. Not much fun to shoot a lot during patterning process but never noticed in the field.
This!! ^^^
My 20 ga is a single shot H&R Topper that weighs in at 4 lbs 12 ozs. Not much fun to shoot multiple times at the range, but no issues when taking a turkey, or as far as jumping up and smacking me in the face. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210222/a96677195483b9cc3d39511594fe156e.jpg)
Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.
Quote from: mullet dredge on February 22, 2021, 10:03:29 AM
No issues per se.....but 1 5/8oz out of a youth 870 is definitely what I refer to as "snappy" recoil. Not much fun to shoot a lot during patterning process but never noticed in the field.
Agree, I'm shooting a 1 3/8th oz. of TSS 9s in a 2.75" shell in mine. Its snappy but way better than my 12 gauge turkey guns. I installed a red dot and a Beartooth padded raised comb on it. That makes it much easier to shoot at the range.
Took my old 20 gauge single shot Stevens out for a pheasant preserve hunt a couple months ago. Shot some Fiochi heavy loads.I was suprised how hard it kicked, as i haven't shot it in quite some time, and then it was with low brass dove loads.
Thank you for the replies!
So, based on what I'm initially hearing, if I were to use a red dot (which is the plan anyway) and a 'standard' framed lightweight gun, the face popping should be mitigated?
To be clear, I currently hunt with a Remington-SP10, so, I'm not afraid of recoil. But I remember hearing wingshooters talking about all those super lightweight 20 gauge guns and they would mention the recoil as kind of a "hey, you should know about this....".
I was surprised at the "snap" from my 870 Compact with 3" loads. I used all the spacers to get the LOP the same as my 12 ga Wingmaster. That did help, but it did snap.
Not crazy on recoil, but no way I would should a youth length stock, never mind punching yourself in the nose but I am not trying to shoot all hunched up!
Get the proper length of pull, when you need to roll a tom that is getting out of town a properly fitted gun will help!
I installed a red dot and a Beartooth padded raised comb on it. That makes it much easier to shoot at the range.
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This plus a Limbsaver recoil pad will make the 20ga a whole lot more enjoyable to shoot.
Greg
Quote from: redjones on February 22, 2021, 02:54:45 PM
I installed a red dot and a Beartooth padded raised comb on it. That makes it much easier to shoot at the range.
This plus a Limbsaver recoil pad will make the 20ga a whole lot more enjoyable to shoot.
Greg
[/quote]
:icon_thumright:
I say this every time. Wheaties boys
Bought a 510 for my son, 1st spring he killed a gobbler. Next year he refused to pull the trigger with a gobbler standing in front of us. That was the worse kicking gun I have ever shot. I would never buy another, as I think they are plain out junk.
Engineered completely wrong, which causes the gun to jump into your face ever time you pull the trigger. For the men that call this gun snappy is the most mild summery you could possibly use to describe the recoil of a 510 mini bantam.
I had to upgrade the boy to a M2 to get him to start hunting again. If a pound and half bothers you, carry less shells and one bottle of water less.
Are they worse that a 12 gauge 3 1/2 magnum?
no problems at all with my Stoeger 3020
Weatherby semi 20 youth.
Shoots like a dream, barely kicks.
Use a pad between shoulder and the gun for patterning/sighting in.
When hunting, you won't notice the recoil when shooting a tom so it's all good.
Quote from: West Augusta on February 26, 2021, 03:07:34 PM
Are they worse that a 12 gauge 3 1/2 magnum?
No, at least my Super Bantam 20 w/ 3" load doesn't kick nearly as hard as my Super Mag w/ 3 1/2" load. But is definitely more than what I expected the first time I shot it.
Quote from: WV Flopper on February 25, 2021, 07:40:26 PM
Bought a 510 for my son, 1st spring he killed a gobbler. Next year he refused to pull the trigger with a gobbler standing in front of us. That was the worse kicking gun I have ever shot. I would never buy another, as I think they are plain out junk.
Engineered completely wrong, which causes the gun to jump into your face ever time you pull the trigger. For the men that call this gun snappy is the most mild summery you could possibly use to describe the recoil of a 510 mini bantam.
I had to upgrade the boy to a M2 to get him to start hunting again. If a pound and half bothers you, carry less shells and one bottle of water less.
WOW. This is interesting. I got my Son the Super Mini Bantam in 410. Some people said it would kick harder than the 20. Good thing I went with the 410. He has shot high brass 3" mags with no problem. I'm doing all the patterning so he doesn't worry about the kick. Hopefully this year he can get a bird in the youth season, here in the Sip.
I took my son out squirrel hunting the other morning and let him shoot an older Stevens 20 ga single shot. Big mistake! We had been shooting the .22 and I didn't prepare him for the recoil of the 20 ga. I didn't think it would be be that bad but I hadn't shot it in a long time. It was some high brass #6's. I shot after it after I finished consoling him and it did kick pretty good. I'm not sure I'd want to shoot a turkey load through it. But it was so nice to carry I'm thinking about putting a better pad on it and carry it some this year. The recoil pad on that thing ain't very cushy lol.
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Quote from: paboxcall on February 22, 2021, 06:52:43 PM
Quote from: redjones on February 22, 2021, 02:54:45 PM
I installed a red dot and a Beartooth padded raised comb on it. That makes it much easier to shoot at the range.
This plus a Limbsaver recoil pad will make the 20ga a whole lot more enjoyable to shoot.
Greg
:icon_thumright:
[/quote]
I second. I have a yildiz youth 20 that I put a limbsaver on. It helps
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how does the Red Dot help ???? ......shot my new 20 ga. Maverick once and ''wow''.....
This thread is making me rethink my plans for this spring season with my 13 y/o daughter. She's been hunting with a 410 for several years now and has shot her share of turkeys. I just bought her Mossberg 500 20 gauge and planned to shoot Winchester longe beard 2 3" 1 1/4" 5 shot. She shoots a .243 right now like it's nothing... am I setting her up for really bad experience??
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I shoot a compact 870 20 ga with 1 5/8 oz of TSS #9s with a Burris fastfire. I've had no issues with recoil even though it can be felt a little when patterning but nowhere near that of a 3.5" 12 ga.
Other than my Benelli or Berettas my guns have a Kick-EEZ pad on them. Great pad that doesn't break down internally like some others. Really helps!!!!
Quote from: Planner on March 03, 2021, 08:56:28 PM
This thread is making me rethink my plans for this spring season with my 13 y/o daughter. She's been hunting with a 410 for several years now and has shot her share of turkeys. I just bought her Mossberg 500 20 gauge and planned to shoot Winchester longe beard 2 3" 1 1/4" 5 shot. She shoots a .243 right now like it's nothing... am I setting her up for really bad experience??
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My son is only 7. He has shot my AR and he has a little .300blk out rifle but none of those compare to the little single shot 20ga recoil. I think he would have had no problem if he was 13. I'm going to shoot a turkey load through it but I've got a feeling it's going to kick like a mule. I would just take your Mossberg out and compare it to the 410 and see what you think before you turn her loose on it.
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Quote from: saltysenior on March 03, 2021, 08:16:41 PM
how does the Red Dot help ???? ......shot my new 20 ga. Maverick once and ''wow''.....
It gets your cheek up off the stock some. The recoil, with my gun at least, wasn't bad on the shoulder, it was the face. An SGA stock and red dot later and its fun to shoot.
Quote from: Planner on March 03, 2021, 08:56:28 PM
This thread is making me rethink my plans for this spring season with my 13 y/o daughter. She's been hunting with a 410 for several years now and has shot her share of turkeys. I just bought her Mossberg 500 20 gauge and planned to shoot Winchester longe beard 2 3" 1 1/4" 5 shot. She shoots a .243 right now like it's nothing... am I setting her up for really bad experience??
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I would think she should be fine with that 20 gauge setup. If she is shooting a 243 well then she should have no problem with the mossberg.As other members have pointed out, the smack to the cheek is what you want to avoid in a youngster and us oldsters!
I'm not a fan of recoil at all. Never have been. Don't care for the sharp report of a gun these days either. That's why I use heating protection when hunting now too. But, going back to the recoil thing, if you're recoil sensitive, there are ways around making things more tolerable. And "manning up" isn't necessarily the answer. In fact, that often leads to larger issues down the road in terms of bad shooting form. Better to just wait until the cold can handle it properly. My girls are 7 and 10. And I can tell you whole heartedly that they're nowhere near ready for ANY kind of shotgun. Both girls have killed deer with small caliber rifles but shotguns are a different kinda recoil.
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Lighter guns have more felt recoil, its a fact. Find a load/choke combo that gives you what you are looking for. TSS gives you many options. You don't need to stuff 1 5/8 ounces of shot into a 20 ga shell to kill a turkey. I would recommend a 1 1/8 ounce load that patterns well. Getting the bird in to a reasonable kill shot range is what its about. Just because some people want to be able to kill a rhino at 80 yards doesn't mean it works best for you or your children. I have gone from 3.5" 12 ga max loads to a 20 or 28 gauge with a good patterning load that delivers enough energy to kill birds effectively at a distance that I am confident in shooting. Just my :z-twocents:. Al Baker
From what I have read so far a gas operated auto has less recoil than a pump, inertia operated, or single shot or double barrel. I have a weatherby sa08 compact that has less recoil than my M2. So for a kid gas operated. Now as all you know that if LOP is off that causes issues. I will say if you do buy a gun make sure that it has the ability to change stocks for when they get older. My sa08 does not have that option it is basically the same gun as the escorts, mossberg, Tri star autos. I wish I had bought the standard size now just because of that but, since it is just a turkey gun no problem. I did try it rabbit hunting one time and could not hit a barn because of LOP.
I recently acquired a Franchi Affinity3 20 gauge with a youth stock and it is a light gun and it is a very snappy recoiling gun . I also have a Mossberg SA 20 Turkey with a full size stock which is gas operated and is a much softer shooting gun , there is not much difference between the weight of the two guns. I am shopping for a full sized butt stock for the Franchi hoping it may help some.
I hunted a 12 ga 3 inch O/u until ten years ago , thing kicked like a mule ! Went to a o/u 20 with 1/2 the recoil . Got a 410 ga for my 7 year old son this year , mossburg super Bantom . Let him practice and shot squirrels with the lightest loads I could find , very little kick . Slipped in a federal tss for his turkey hunt , noticed a good bit more recoil . But he didn't complain after her shot his gobbler .
I have a hard time wrapping my head around this. I know people that have 20 gauge guns and they say they don't have any recoil.
How can you take a 6lb inertia gun and put a 1 5/8oz load of TSS in it at 1200fps and not have any recoil?
I shoot an 8 1/2lb gas-operated 11-87 with 2oz of Hevi13 at 1090fps.
How does the 6lb gun have less recoil than my gun?
I need to shoot one of their guns to check it out.
Quote from: Jimspur on June 09, 2021, 09:19:19 AM
I have a hard time wrapping my head around this. I know people that have 20 gauge guns and they say they don't have any recoil.
How can you take a 6lb inertia gun and put a 1 5/8oz load of TSS in it at 1200fps and not have any recoil?
I shoot an 8 1/2lb gas-operated 11-87 with 2oz of Hevi13 at 1090fps.
How does the 6lb gun have less recoil than my gun?
I need to shoot one of their guns to check it out.
It's not that the gun literally has no recoil, it's that the recoil, while tangibly measurable in foot pounds of energy, is experienced completely different by individuals. This whole thread has seemed wild to me in that I don't experience recoil in the way most here seem to. Sometimes folks say what I'm saying as kind of this macho thing and I want to be clear that that's not what I'm trying to do or say. I don't know why I don't experience it the way others do. Maybe the length of my arms, maybe my size, I don't know, but I do know it's certainly individually experiential. What kicks like a mule for one person doesn't for another. Likely size and fit of the gun and size and build of the shooter.
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Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on June 09, 2021, 09:55:08 AM
Quote from: Jimspur on June 09, 2021, 09:19:19 AM
I have a hard time wrapping my head around this. I know people that have 20 gauge guns and they say they don't have any recoil.
How can you take a 6lb inertia gun and put a 1 5/8oz load of TSS in it at 1200fps and not have any recoil?
I shoot an 8 1/2lb gas-operated 11-87 with 2oz of Hevi13 at 1090fps.
How does the 6lb gun have less recoil than my gun?
I need to shoot one of their guns to check it out.
It's not that the gun literally has no recoil, it's that the recoil, while tangibly measurable in foot pounds of energy, is experienced completely different by individuals. This whole thread has seemed wild to me in that I don't experience recoil in the way most here seem to. Sometimes folks say what I'm saying as kind of this macho thing and I want to be clear that that's not what I'm trying to do or say. I don't know why I don't experience it the way others do. Maybe the length of my arms, maybe my size, I don't know, but I do know it's certainly individually experiential. What kicks like a mule for one person doesn't for another. Likely size and fit of the gun and size and build of the shooter.
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Gun fit and stock design play a big part in it, but let's talk about if
all of that was the same. If the guns were identical except for the
weight.
One thing that I have thought about is that the diameter of the bore
is smaller on a 20 gauge, and maybe that's one reason why they have less recoil.
Lighter guns kick harder. I have a youth 20 ga that's light and short. Kicks about like a 12. I put a limbsaver recoil pad on it. Helped quite a bit
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Mossberg sa20, recoil is not an issue, 1 5/8th oz hand loads. Nothing kicks like a 2oz plus 12ga stuffed through a tight choke! Unless you buy some of those crazy 20ga loads with 1 7/8 or 2oz I think someone is loading!
The old white/clear hull hevi shot 1 5/8oz 12ga at 1090 were the best loads ever made for 12ga imho. Patterns on par with heavier loads and recoil so light the first time I shot one I thought it was a dud! No clue why they went away rom that load?
No issues at all with my 20. It's a single shot that weighs in at 4 lbs, 12 ozs.
Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.
Quote from: Jimspur on June 09, 2021, 10:04:09 AM
Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on June 09, 2021, 09:55:08 AM
Quote from: Jimspur on June 09, 2021, 09:19:19 AM
I have a hard time wrapping my head around this. I know people that have 20 gauge guns and they say they don't have any recoil.
How can you take a 6lb inertia gun and put a 1 5/8oz load of TSS in it at 1200fps and not have any recoil?
I shoot an 8 1/2lb gas-operated 11-87 with 2oz of Hevi13 at 1090fps.
How does the 6lb gun have less recoil than my gun?
I need to shoot one of their guns to check it out.
It's not that the gun literally has no recoil, it's that the recoil, while tangibly measurable in foot pounds of energy, is experienced completely different by individuals. This whole thread has seemed wild to me in that I don't experience recoil in the way most here seem to. Sometimes folks say what I'm saying as kind of this macho thing and I want to be clear that that's not what I'm trying to do or say. I don't know why I don't experience it the way others do. Maybe the length of my arms, maybe my size, I don't know, but I do know it's certainly individually experiential. What kicks like a mule for one person doesn't for another. Likely size and fit of the gun and size and build of the shooter.
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Gun fit and stock design play a big part in it, but let's talk about if
all of that was the same. If the guns were identical except for the
weight.
One thing that I have thought about is that the diameter of the bore
is smaller on a 20 gauge, and maybe that's one reason why they have less recoil.
And this is what I was getting at when I started the thread. I understand that light guns kick more with the same bore and load as a heavier framed gun. But I started shopping for a 20 gauge and all I see all are these youth and compact models. The short length of pull, combined with the light weight, I was figuring would make for a snappy gun. Maybe a few thumbs to the nose? And from what I read here that is, or certainly can be, the case.
I've decided to look for a regular length of pull 20 gauge that is gas operated. I do appreciate everybody's input here!
Quote from: mcw3734 on June 10, 2021, 01:08:08 AM
And this is what I was getting at when I started the thread. I understand that light guns kick more with the same bore and load as a heavier framed gun. But I started shopping for a 20 gauge and all I see all are these youth and compact models. The short length of pull, combined with the light weight, I was figuring would make for a snappy gun. Maybe a few thumbs to the nose? And from what I read here that is, or certainly can be, the case.
I've decided to look for a regular length of pull 20 gauge that is gas operated. I do appreciate everybody's input here!
The 20 I hunt with is a CZ920, which they don't make anymore. They do still make the 720 and it's a great gun, but I don't care for the larger foregrip. I really like the Stoeger M3020. That's what I'd likely build off if I were wanting a new gas operated 20. They even make a 24" barrel, full size stock. I do understand why folks cut barrels way down and go with compact stocks, but that said I've never really encountered maneuverability issues with a 26" barrel and full size stock. Place I hunt is like a jungle but still don't have those issues. I'd rather have a gun that fits me.
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Quote
I've decided to look for a regular length of pull 20 gauge that is gas operated. I do appreciate everybody's input here!
My SX 3 is as soft a shooting shotgun as I've shot. Gas operated, simple to disassemble and reassemble and full featured. I did have to get a $45 trigger job done on it tho. It was pretty rough when I got it.
My oldest daughter shoots a mossberg 500 youth model in 20 ga. She's a tall, athletic framed 8 year old (9 in a few weeks). It kicks about like a 12 ga with 3" shells when you put a turkey load through it. I added some weight to the stock, a red dot, and a limb saver recoil pad...improved it a little.
With turkey loads, the ONLY way I'll let her shoot it is with me directly behind her with the heel of my hand on the top of the stock to help absorb some of the recoil. She hasn't killed a turkey yet, but has fired one turkey load at a target using this method to make sure it would work in the woods. She didn't love the recoil, but was ready to shoot another target. Told me all I needed to know.
If I had it to do over (and I probably will change it up at some point, even though I like the little 500, and it throws a great pattern), I would've either gotten it in .410, or got a heavier S/A in 20 ga.
Long story short, it's doable, but yes, they still have quite a bit of recoil. More than I would recommend for just about any kid to shoot without some sort of workaround like the one I mentioned above.
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In my opinion it wasn't much different than the same make and model in a 12 gauge with a 1 3/4 oz 3" load.