HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH MY SHOTGUN

[Rockyja]

Dear Forum Friends,

This was my first experience shooting my Stoeger Couch Side by Side Shotgun. I expected it to kick hard, but what I didn’t expect, was it to kick at me like a mule! The new recoil pad didn’t help my shoulder out a bit.

At the shooting range I went to, the only shotgun shells they allow were shotgun slugs. I’m not sure what the load was, but it sent me back a few inches.

They wouldn’t let me shoot the light load (1.25oz ) ammo I had with me. I had to by their shotgun slugs. All in all it wasn’t a good experience for me.

I’m not going to let it discourage me. I’ll take it out again and use a light load, and maybe a should pad, just in case.

Maybe all you experienced shotgun owners, can help me with any explanation on why my shotgun gave me such a kick. I’m sure the 18" barrel might have been a part of it. How ‘bout the load?

I'm not a small guy, and I can handle the impact of a rifle verywell. But, this shotgun, flat out said it wanted my respect! LOL

[ozo]

They just kick Rock.....
A slug round is a heavy load.
Without knowing the numbers on the box,
just look at the different shells you have,
and how the brass is a different height between
them. Lighter loads..shorter brass.
I think some bird shot will be fine for you.

[fourniermod11]

rochyja-- Type of powder is factor , the lenth of barrel is factor because long barrel need more power for lift and firing sequense is more fast...18 inch is short

[WHSmithIV]

Kind of sucks that they make you buy their ammo too.

[Alpo]

Maybe they don't make you buy theirs. But if they say, "Slugs only", and you ain't got no slugs, you either get in your car and drive to the store, or buy their stuff.

Indoor range I shoot at says, "Shotgun- slugs only". I guess they are afraid of you blowing away their returns. Son-in-law went to an indoor range in Georgia. Took the shotgun. They told him, "Slugs only". It seems to be common.

Hell, we went to an outdoor range, and they said, "No shotguns, period".

I guess, since everybody knows (from watching TV and movies) that shotguns are overwhelming death-dealing devices, the range owners/managers figger no one needs to practice with them.

[CHW2021]

Strange range.

How does the shotgun fit you? You say you are not a small guy but is the gun "short" for your length of pull? With shotgun almost more so than rifles fit is very important; if it is short for you it will give pronounced recoil, if too large it can not be shouldered well and seems to dance around your shoulder between shots. Do you have a decent gunsmith or skeetclub that you can go to?

[Zane71464]

Originally Posted by ozo

They just kick Rock.....
A slug round is a heavy load.
Without knowing the numbers on the box,
just look at the different shells you have,
and how the brass is a different height between
them. Lighter loads..shorter brass.I think some bird shot will be fine for you.

Thats just it! They do kick like a mule with what I call, "high" brass loads.Non-theless, slugs!
I have one (coach gun, different brand) and have shot everything that the gun can shoot and they DOoooooooooo kick!
I can understand as to why a range would only allow slugs to be shot, but "low brass" slugs do kick less.

[lead]

Don't know what kind of target stands your range has, but I have heard of places that only let you use slugs because bird shot was tearing up the stands the range had out. Then, there's also ranges that just insist you buy their ammo. And it's usually priced higher then what you can buy on your own.
You can buy a gel pad to put on your shoulder, they even make shirts with the pad built in, I've thought about getting one for shooting my Mosin Nagant.
Or, you can be a wussy like me and stick with a 20ga.

[soundguy]

at our local range, if you shoot on the rifle side, it's slugs only. on the shotgun portion of the range, it's shot only.

best of both worlds

[old semperfi]

it is what it is.........................nuff said. old semperfi

[Alpo]

Federal makes "reduced recoil" buckshot. I think they also make "reduced recoil" slugs.

Best as I can figger out, they decided that cops were not shooting deer at 75 yards, but were shooting people at 15 yards, and therefore did not need as much power. There are two ways to reduce recoil in ammo. Lower the speed or lower the weight. Since the weight is still there, they must have lowered the speed.

If you think of a hunting slug as a 357, these are 38 specials. Fine for the range. Should not beat you up as much. And at living room range it should not make a difference.

[gvw3]

These guns will kick like a mule. Find some place you can shot bird shot and get #8 or 9 2 3/4, 2 3/4 dram loads. Recoil will be cut in half.

Almost all indoor ranges if they let you shoot a shotgun it will be slugs only. Look for an outdoor skeet or trap range. This gun is not correct for skeet or trap but they may let you shoot it.

[Rockyja]

Originally Posted by CHW2021

Strange range.

How does the shotgun fit you? You say you are not a small guy but is the gun "short" for your length of pull? With shotgun almost more so than rifles fit is very important; if it is short for you it will give pronounced recoil, if too large it can not be shouldered well and seems to dance around your shoulder between shots. Do you have a decent gunsmith or skeetclub that you can go to?

Before I went to the range, I had a gunsmith "Fit" the stock. It was 3" to long, so he cut it down to fit my me. He also added a recoil pad and made the adjustment for it. I was able to sight in quickly. He did a beautiful job on the stock and only charge me $80.00 for it. Nice guy too.

[Rockyja]

I looked everywhere to find a good gun range in Minnesota without having to pay an arm and a leg for the privilege of being a member. So, heck with it, I purchased a few acres in Marshfield, MO. I looking forward to having some fun out there. It's only 3.75 acres, but I can live with that.

Thank for all your input. I can alway count on great feedback. Thank you

[aa1911]

it's a light gun and it's just gonna beat ya up with full power loads. Also keep in mind that you likely have a full and modified choke on your barrels (first barrel/front trigger is mod, second is full usually)

While I've slung plenty of slugs thru mine, I try to not shoot too many with that much restriction. I usually prefer skeet or cylinder bore for slugs (or a rifled barrel)

A good recoil pad and add to that you could wear a shooting vest with a padded shoulder like a skeet/shotgun vest. Helps quite a bit, probably more than a recoil pad.

I'll also tell ya that if you want to roll your own, 7/8oz Lee key drive slugs with about 19gns of clays are VERY light recoil, basically it's a 20g load in a 12g. still pretty effective also, moving about 1200fps, not too shabby and very little recoil compared to full factory loads.

[Appliancedude]

Originally Posted by Alpo

Maybe they don't make you buy theirs. But if they say, "Slugs only", and you ain't got no slugs, you either get in your car and drive to the store, or buy their stuff.

Indoor range I shoot at says, "Shotgun- slugs only". I guess they are afraid of you blowing away their returns. Son-in-law went to an indoor range in Georgia. Took the shotgun. They told him, "Slugs only". It seems to be common.

Hell, we went to an outdoor range, and they said, "No shotguns, period".

I guess, since everybody knows (from watching TV and movies) that shotguns are overwhelming death-dealing devices, the range owners/managers figger no one needs to practice with them.

There was a couple ranges on the coast that only allowed shotguns for patterning. They didn't want the wads and clays littering their range. And they made sure after patterning a board we picked up the wads.

[gun runner]

My brand new H&R 12 Gauge shotgun recoiled hard when I shot 00 Buckshot with it. I found out the reason from others that the gun is just lighter than regular pump shotguns and semi auto's.Also it just had a plastic recoil pad. I then put a limbsaver on it and it helped out alot. The recoil when I first shot 00 buckshot with it left a huge bruise on my right shoulder.

[Oldeyes]

At one point in time H&R made a break action, single shot, black and white pinto camouflage, ultralight, 3 1/2 inch chamber, 12 gauge turkey gun that I believe was designed to be shot only once on a particular hunting outing. The only feasible way that it could shot twice on a particular hunt with a 3 1/2 inch turkey load was if someone else shot the second shot. The recoil from that lightweight shotgun was pretty horrific, so I can feel for you having to shoot slugs out of your coach gun at the range.

[Alpo]

Pull the buttplate. Measure the diameter of the bolt-hole. Get a hunk of copper tubing that will fit in the hole. Get it about 3 or 4 inches inches too long. Squeeze one end of the tube closed in a vice. Fold it at the squeeze and squeeze it again.

You now have a copper tube sealed at one end, that should be an inch or so longer than the bolt hold. Fill it with molten lead.

Once the lead has hardened, cut the tube off to the correct length (cutting the crimped end off). You can drop that crimped up piece of copper in your lead pot and the lead will melt right out of it.

You now have a copper coated lead ingot that exactly fits that long hole in your stock. Drop it in and put the butt plate back on. That half-pound or so of weight will make an amazing difference in the recoil.

Some people just pour in lead shot, but that ingot is much easier to remove and put back.

You can also use electrical conduit, but conduit, being thicker, means it will weigh slightly less than the copper, because there is less room for lead. Also, putting the cut-off piece of conduit in you pot to melt the lead out is not something I would do. Galvanizing being a Zinc coating. Wouldn't want that in my lead.

[Helix_FR]

Have a dead mule put in it. They work very well for dropping recoil. Also for the slugs only in the range rule, were my shop is they allow all types. two reasons why many indoor ranges don't allow is bc people run the target holders all the way back then blast away. You got the one guy running a cylinder choke and he's peppering the target holders and target lines. When they are done they leave and the next guy try's to hang and target and it hits the floor and he's the one who gets blamed. Also lead dust becomes a problem and it takes adequate and proper ventilation systems to remove it.

[GunHugger]

Practice shooting more and learn to go with the recoil rather than trying to control it.

High recoil scares many people and that just makes it worse. Tensing up makes it hurt...relax and go with it.

And find a different range!

[whirley]

Recoil from an express slug load in 12 gauge is about 24 foot pounds, compared to about 16 foot pounds for a 30-06. Kick or recoil depends on several things. Fit of the stock to the shooter and the weight of the gun among other things. Example, I have a .375 H&H weighs 9.7 pounds, no more apparent recoil than a 30-06. I have a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington and a Remington model 14 also in .35 remington. Same load, Marlin is nasty to shoot, Remington has less APPARENT recoil than my .243. The stock shape is different. This may sound ridiculous, but try taping a five pound weight to the barrels with duct tape when target shooting. I'll bet that additional weight will reduce the apparent recoil. Of course if you ever have to use it seriously, you'll never notice the recoil. Better still, come to Pa. to hunt and shoot. Our Game Commission has over 1,250,000 acres of land dedicated primarily for hunting and at least 20 rifle/pistol/shotgun/archery ranges open to anyone with a valid hunting license.

[aa1911]

anyone know what happened with Rockyja? His thing-a-ma-jigger says 'former guest', just curious...

[gvw3]

I think he got in a fight with some other members on the forum. Everyone was pretty upset after the election and tempers were flying. Not sure if he left or got the boot from Shooter.

[Bushmaster1313]

Try reduced recoil 2 3/4" 00 Buckshot