Hey all wife got me a stevens shotgun 12 ga 18 inch home defensive gun for christmas. This is my 1st ever shotgun . ( always been hand gun carry guy). Here is my issue. The gun fires fine problem being the recoil . I want to stay with full power 12 gauge rounds. My health not great and on very high dose of blood thinners to the point this gun can cause a big issue with bruise / bleed I dont need. Is there an extra recoil cushion I could get for stock. Anyone else run with this.

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Spin The Wheel

Is it still possible to trade it for a 20 gauge? Almost as effective as a 12 at close quarters 18" long but much less recoil.

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"The Dude abides"

I'm fond of my Mossberg 510 Youth model 20 gauge..... 3+1 and 5 more on the butt..... 18.5" barrel.. EZ-reach forend... 10.5-12" LOP, OAL< 35, only 5lbs....... good for the whole family.

I was going to say that also. I'm on Coumadin and other script drugs and bleed/bruise real easy but up to now no problem shooting and my home gun is a light 12 Gauge pump. Most of my bleeding problem is my forearms, My arms get chewed up bad by everything it seems.

Oh I also shoot skeet in the summer with just a tee shirt, with a 12 OU with no problem, of course they are lighter loads!

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

They make them for Savage Stevens.

Tactical Scorpion Gear Recoil Pad Synthetic Latex Rubber Shotgun - Medium 711717776965 | eBay

They also make reduced loads for reduced recoil.

As stated, a 20g inside a house would be effective with buckshot.

Federal makes a low recoil self defense 12 Gauge 2 3/4 in. 9 pellet 00 Buck load. It might be worth a try.

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Bill Bates

We had a 14" Mossberg in our agency and most were scared of it because of recoil, I ordered managed recoil rounds from Remington, they make them in 00Buck as well as slugs, you can definitely tell the difference.

Try the stubby Aguila shells!

Don't ignore the numerous reduced-recoil loads on the market. Not as powerful as full-house loads, to be sure, but every bit as effective at home-defense ranges. And there are also numerous slip-on recoil pads available that work quite well, the only potential disadvantage coming from the fact that they all add something to the length of pull.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Allen-Rec...SABEgI7HPD_BwE

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Pisgah

In your situation, I'd explain the issue to my wife and trade it in on another handgun.

Plus, heavy recoiling guns apparently aren't real good for your Brain either... Firearm recoil and traumatic brain injuryThe Firearm Blog

Remington produces a LE Reduced Recoil 00 Buck round that we let some of our deputies of smaller stature use. It's "reduced" recoil, not "low" recoil.



I would agree with the recommendation to trade for 20 guage or even .410 if you're dead set on a shotgun for home defense if recoil is an issue, but I would not hesitate to recommend a M1 carbine or even a lever gun chambered in .38/357 for a home defense long gun. Pistol caliber rifles/carbines can be quite effective and provide low recoil. My wife, who is 5' 2" and 105 lbs soaking wet, prefers my Ruger police carbine in .40 S&W as the go to gun when I'm not around.

A 12 guage is not for everyone.

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- Change it back -

The "recoil felt" will be totally different between practice shooting, and the real thing shooting a burglar.
The adrenaline in your blood stream does this.

Another option would be a pistol caliber semi-auto carbine..... like the Beretta CX-4 Storm...... factory and Mec-gar mags 15,17,18,20 and 30 rounds are available.

Can add red dot sights and weapons lights.......

Just use the reduced recoil loads posted by Faulkner. If that isn't sufficient add a softer recoil pad. If the length of pull is then too long take it to a competent gunsmith and have him fit it to you with a nice soft butt pad.

Stick with 2 3/4 shells in # 4's in a hunting load. Still WAY more power than needed for close in defense yet won't penetrate 3 walls. It will kick you allot less too. You can also try slip on recoil pads. Lastly, there are mercury recoil reducers that reside in /on the mag tube that can be added.

All that said, there is nothing like taking the gun out and trying it with the rounds you intend to load it with. A gun that you are timid to shoot is not going to be as effective as one that see's practice sessions.

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Dave

I'll just tag onto what many others have said with the reduced recoil loads. Also, take a look at a #6 or #4 game load. There are some great videos on the effectiveness of these rounds at close range as a defensive round. I shoot these rounds a lot in squirrel season. (I prefer #5 for fox squirrel)

I certainly agree with you! However, the blunt trauma caused by recoil to the shoulder would still occur despite the adrenaline rush. There would still be bruising.

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"The Dude abides"

Before you trade your gun I would get my hands on some of the Aguila Minishell Ammunition 12 Gauge 1-3/4" 5/8 oz #7-1/2 Shot.
The shorter shells will reduce recoil and give you greater capacity in your gun. They are also available in slugs and buckshot but in my opinion, birdshot is perfect for home defense.

Shotshell | Aguila Ammunition


Aguila Minishell Ammo 12 Ga 1-3/4 5/8oz #7-1/2 Shot - MPN: 1C128968

There's no point in sticking with full-power 12 Gauge if neither you nor your wife can handle it, especially if doing so is hazardous to your health.

Besides, you don't really need full-power 12 Gauge loads for Home Defense, and depending on your living situation it may even be extremely irresponsible to use it anyway, so dial it back to reduced recoil loads. If reduced recoil loads are still too much, then you may want to trade in your 12 Gauge for a 20 Gauge or perhaps even .410 Bore.

There isn't a man alive who is going to take a shot of 00/000 Buckshot to the torso from even the lowly .410 Bore and remain upright, much less be willing/able to stand back up and continue an attack, so you're not really losing anything by at the very least settling for reduced recoil 12 Gauge loads.

This is Myth. If you shred Bad Guy's heart with a perfect shot with 12-ga buckshot, he's still got fifteen seconds to do nasty things to you. He can stab you 30 times, shoot you 15 times, or . . . . .

The lowly .410 has an excellent chance of failing to penetrate to the vitals, ensuring that the Bad Guy can keep on fighting.

Birdshot can and has produced instant incapacitation and traumatic amputations, but don't count on it to save your life. Use this ONLY if you live in an apartment environment where penetration of walls is a high risk.


But I agree with using reduced recoil loads, and indeed rely on the very Remington 00 reduced load in the picture in a previous post.

More to the point, the heavy recoil slowing up the follow up shot(s) is a question of physics and bio-mechanics; if you're not strong enough to tame the recoil, the "adrenaline rush" won't compensate for Newton's Third Law. Bottom line: only shoot as much load/gun as you can handle.

I have been told that Aquila mini rounds have amazingly reduced recoil. They were recommended to me for use in a Remington 12 gauge pump "firearm", the new TAC-13 or similar name. I have one on order and I am waiting........................and waiting..................

try a Limbsaver slip on recoil pad

Or perhaps even structural damage since the OP sounds rather frail. You can pop the AC joint fairly easily and a separated shoulder is no fun and will give you problems and pain for the rest of your life.

Reduced power loads will do the job. For internal use I'd recommend #2 birdshot, but if you really want buckshot, go to #4 Buck. 00 Buck or slugs can lead to wall penetration problems.

Just about any birdshot size will do the job if the BG is within 10 yards.

Now that I agree with 100%!!!!! Indoors I always load birdshot in my HD shotguns - it eliminates over penetration and reduces recoil.

First of all, the fact that there have been exceptions to the rule doesn't mean that the average human being is going to remain on his feet, much less continue an assault after getting blasted by Buckshot. There will always be freak occurrences in which something fails to behave as expected, or otherwise something completely unexpected occurs, but they're just that, freak occurrences.

As long as we're on the subject of myths, .410 Bore penetration is more or less equal to 12 Gauge, same goes for 20 Gauge. The main difference between different shotshell sizes is the payload, which once you get into larger sizes of buckshot like 00/000 isn't even a whole lot. Read/watch any amount of testing between shotshells fired from similar barrel lengths and the results aren't nearly as vast as you'd think. On average, .410 Bore 000 Buck is still going to penetrate to a depth between 12-16" in ballistics gel, which just so happens to meet the FBI's required performance, so that's perfectly adequate for Home Defense.

The mini shells produce very little recoil. My 590 Shockwave loves them. I also have two light weight single shot 12 gauges that work well with the mini shells.


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There are many options, as you’ve heard, but if you want a max recoil pad on your gun you may have to cut the butt stock down a little to make up for the extra length.
I don’t know how it fits you now but that would be an option if it won’t shoulder easily because it’s too long.
There are slip on recoil pads if you want to keep things simple.

Add as much weight to the hollow part of the stock as you can stand.

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War Eagle! '10 BCS & '13 SEC

I shoot shotguns quite a bit. Yes, they do recoil quite a bit, but the recoil can be mitigated by proper technique and stance.

This video will explain it better than I can:

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Thread Killer.

I second the mercury tube idea. But, rather than putting it in the magazine, put it in the butt stock then use high density foam to lock it in place.
This will add weight to the gun and the mercury works quite well to reduce recoil.
I installed one in a synthetic stocked 300 WSM rifle that was a punishing gun to shoot. After that and the addition of a Limbsaver recoil pad the gun was actually pleasant to shoot.
If you dont want to go through all of that I would suggest going to a 20 gauge. The twenty has become my go to wing shooting gun and the alternate is a 28 gauge.
I dont deal with any limiting health issues, just dont care for recoil or lugging around a 12 gauge.

Because you aren't a shotgunner, part of your problem could be the way you bring the gun up to shoot. (Its called mounting) You need to push the butt of the gun into your shoulder before firing. Practice doing this until it become automatic for you the second you pick the gun up(unloaded, of course!)
My late hubby was on blood thinners for years, he hunted mostly with a
10 ga 3 1/2 magnum and never had any problems. But he had shot shotguns for years.

If it was me, I'd trade it for a 20 ga. Other things mentioned here are all helpful too.

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Super Snooper

Thanks for each and all replys. You all are awesome .Only been out with it one time will get back out when it warms up a bit . I will look at a slip on but cover may be a good option. And low loads just got to play around s bit for sure. Right now only loads I have are full power 00 buck in. Blue Tubes. Says Law enforcement on them. I bought a box of them from L G S where wife got gun. He has few ammo options.

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Spin The Wheel

I don't understand trading a 12 ga. for a 20 ga. because of recoil. Recoil is determined gun weight, weight of shot and speed of shot. If a 20 and 12 weigh the same with the same weight of shot at the same speed the recoil is the same. If a 12 ga. kicks too hard just shoot a lighter shot charge at a slower speed. Larry

A 12 gauge is more powerful and fires more pellets—it is the ideal choice. If you opt for a 20 gauge, though, a criminal probably won't notice the difference, and that's the whole idea. It's not surprising that petite or recoil-shy individuals are the most likely candidates to benefit from the smaller gauge.

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"The Dude abides"

I’ll second a look at the Ruger carbine. It’s basically the modern equivalent of the M1 carbine and the Marlin 9.

While I think the M1 Carbine is perfect for the HD role, and frankly that’s what the carbine and .30 carbine round were designed for, prices are in the collectible range and way out of proportion to HD use. And because the originals are collectible the modern made carbines are expensive too. The old Marlin 9 and 45 Camp rifles have hit collectible status too. Hopefully the Ruger makes enough PCs so they don’t become collectible.

The older I get the more I think close range defense. My Remington 870 with 20" no choke barrel is currently loaded with 2 3/4" 00 Buck, because I anticipate I may have to engage targets out to 35 yards. For repelling home invaders indoors #4 to #6 heavy bird and game loads will make a mess of human parts. In my case 25' is a long indoor defensive shot. Accurate shooting is always better than inaccurate power shooting. Use the load you are comfortable with and let the idiots come to you.

I highly recommend the Federal Low Recoil Tactical 12ga with #1 Buck. The recoil is noticeably less than the full power stuff, and the round will be great for home defense. You can view a great evaluation video here.

+1 on getting a good recoil pad.

Reread my post. It states the same weight shot charge at the same speed so it would be the same number of pellets and the speed is the same so the power (energy) is the same.
The same principle applies for pistols. A 158 gr. bullet at 1150 FPS has the same energy (power) whether it is fired from a .38 Spec. or a .357 Mag. A 240 gr. bullet at 850 FPS has the same power (energy) whether it is fired from a .44 Spec. or a .44 Mag. Larry

In a self defense situation, or even just plinking, I clamp the gun under my arm at my side. The butt never sees my shoulder. With #4 I am plenty accurate from the side-under my arm, and there is good leverage to keep the pump moving. JM2CW.

Felt recoil has always been a deterrent to anyone shooting a new system! the good news is you will learn to live with it. There are recoil pads the attach inside a shirt (for practice).

Felt recoil and actual recoil are different. All recoil is a function of E=MC sq. Recoil is the E. M is the mass and C is the speed. Reduce the mass and/or the speed and you will automatically reduce the actual recoil. (my HD rounds are a Sporting Clays 1 1/8 oz. load @ 1300fps) Put the recoil force over a larger area (less pounds per sq. inch) and you reduce felt recoil! (The slip on, large area recoil pads, do this very well!) The other main reducer of recoil IS a heavier gun, not lighter. But that isn't part of the simple solution. (youth and ladies 20 gauges are lighter and smaller)

The other thing is familiarity. Buy a few boxes of SKEET (not Trap) and shoot no more that 1 box your first few times in the ring! Be sure to hold the butt tight into your shoulder!

There are literally thousands of old guys on blood thinners, shooting MILLIONS of rounds of Skeet, Trap, Sporting Clays every week of the year. Recoil hasn't caused them too much damage or the would have stopped years ago!

Ivan

These are the lightest recoiling shells I have ever shot and they will break anything on the skeet field. They are advertised as 980 FPS and 26 gram of shot is a little less than 1 oz. A person doesn't have to shoot full house loads all the time.
I weighed some Hornady 00B and and 7 weigh 372 grs. There are 437 grs. to the oz. Seven 00B pellets would be close enough to 26 grams. Seven .33 cal. balls at 980 FPS will make 7 very sore spots and the recoil will be very light. You could use 6 balls for even less recoil.
If you know someone that reloads have them load you some shells with 7 balls and under 1000 FPS. I have known some financially disadvantage youths that would take a small shot shell and remove the small shot and replace it with buck shot and push the crimp back down by hand. Larry

Lots of policemen use reduced recoil buckshot and slugs. It’s very effective.

Quite frankly it seems you might be hung up on power. Shot placement is everything, THAT is what is most important, and reduced recoil loads let you recover from shots quicker and are less intimidating to fire, increasing confidence, encouraging more practice, and they give up very little in terminal performance.

I recommend either Remington or Federal 8 pellet reduced recoil 00 buckshot. If that still is not suitable, you need to find a different weapon. As someone said already, a 12 gauge is not for everyone, and while their power in close quarters are undeniable, you’re MUCH better off using something you can be most effective in placing well aimed shots with.

Another great option that springs to mind is an AR loaded with lightweight tactical loads. The .223 cartridge is devastating with these loads, penetration risks are minimal compared to some other options, and recoil is extremely manageable. As much as I love a defensive shotgun, if I were in your shoes, I’d be taking a hard look at an AR carbine for house duties. Tons of great articles and videos on the subject, you might do well to research that subject further.