Quote:
Originally Posted by Teej
Unless you weigh 50 pounds soaking wet and can't lift the 12ga to your shoulder, the extra weight of the 12ga is a good thing imho. Heavier gun = less recoil to shooter.
10 clays in a row? from what sort of launcher / situation? Just a little "me and my buddy" target launcher, trap range or....?
I'm no stallone by any means. I'm on the overweight side (although not exactly a lardass) and certainly not muscle bound by any stretch. I find it quite comfortable to shoot 50 rounds of 12ga whether out of an automatic or o/u or 870 pump. I've hit 30-35 straight on a trap range (target starts out 16 yards away from you and keeps getting further away...) with the o/u. I don't know the exact number because I hit all 25 on the second round and don't remember exactly how many I'd hit consecutively at the end of the first round (got 20 or 21 out of 25 on the first round...)
I now have an 1100. 12ga. Not too heavy by any stretch.
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I have one of the cheap three legged,spring loaded ones you stick into the ground. It throws them pretty true and consistent if it's in the ground good. If not the whipping/violent release of the spring will eventually cause it to get loose. Same thing if the ground is wet.
I need to solid mount it. I've seen people mount them inside a tire filled with concrete so the will stay in place and not shake when released.
We shoot field loads,not trap loads when we get together.
Even the #6 field loads in a 1100 20ga is pretty mild compared to the 870 I had. It's not the recoil I mind so much as far as any type of pain out of a 20ga pump with field loads it's just after shooting my buddy's auto getting on target,say on a second clay was much faster. Having to pump another round in and while still trying track a second target,get on that target lead it and fire is a lot more work than just going find it ..lead it..BOOM,find it..lead it..BOOM.
Trap loads would be cake with the added heft of a 12ga. and I'd like to try some in a 20ga. auto some time.
I don't have a problem with the recoil of a twelve gauge pump with field loads,but full on slugs I don't care for after about 9-10. Without a recoil pad then after 4-5 and I'm done with slugs. I have a antique Iver Johnson break-over 12ga. with a 29-30" smooth bore barrel,no rubber recoil pad and with slugs it kicks like a mule!
The 1100 12ga as you say may be on the light side,but full size guns in general with their long barrels and long length of pull stock really put a strain on me now. I find them very uncomfortable and I'm not able to hold them off-hand or at threat ready for a very long length of time like I used to. That and it's more of HOW the weight is distributed throughout the gun more than just the overall weight of the firearm.
I will say more weight may indeed equal less recoil,but it could also equals more fatigue. If you have to stand at threat ready,maybe for minutes at a time just a little added weight could add up real fast.
I'm 5'3" 160lbs with short ass arms and although still fairly strong for my size(bench about 185-190) I had upper back surgery in 1997(1cm ruptured disc) and the resulting pain and permanent nerve damage in my upper back,arms and shoulders brought to light the fact that I can no longer tolerate a gun with a standard length of pull stock and a "barrel heavy" weight bias.
Before the accident this fact really never entered my mind as it didn't hurt to hold a "normal sized" shoulder fired weapon.I was no different than any other person in that regard. Now every time I hold one up to my shoulder I get reminded of it whether I want to be or not. I now have to be very aware of how I handle a long gun and what
I can and can't do in order to perform well with one. One good thing out of this revelation(if you want to call it that) is that I have found that at least for me a physically smaller,lighter,easier to wield long gun is the way to go. I also feel that this can benefit others,buy letting them know that you don't NEED the biggest,heaviest ,most powerful gun out there when going with a lighter more compact,smaller caliber version may actually let you perform the same task better.
I have no desire to give up shooting or even riding motorcycles for that matter for the rest of my life if I have anything to do with it. What I find my self doing though is changing the way I do things in order to continue enjoying these activities.
There are things I can't do now that I could do some of even a year or two after the injury. As an example I can no longer throw a base ball(any throwing motion),shoot a basketball,do any time of "Military" type weight lifting where my arms are even with or behind my head. Silly things most people wouldn't even think about such as catching a heavy door with an outstretched arm will send a shock wave of pain up my right arm and into my right shoulder. If you've every had a "stinger" such as while playing football it's sort of like that,but there's a ache that's constantly there after the nerve pain.
That's just what I have experienced and if it wasn't for my injury/chronic pain I probably would still be going around with "regular" sized long guns and adapting to THEM instead of what I should have been doing all along and adapt THEM to fit me and my style of shooting or needs.
After all you want the best tool for the job and a gun is just that a tool and YOU should be the weapon.
She's pretty good at Duck Hunt, so we'll see ;)
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