As you shoulder the shotgun as soon as you start, again as soon as you start to feel the stock touch your face, that is all the pressure you need to place on the stock. If you place your face against the stock like you would a normal shotgun the best way to get a feel on what it will do, go find yourself a brahma bull place your head roughly 8 inches above a rear hoof and have a good friend give him a jolt to the private parts with a cattle prod and thats about what that stock will do to your face. When you do it right it will take a lot of the recoil out, when you don't its just plain awful.