Written by Steve Felgenhauer
In my 35 years working as a gunsmith, I have become a bit recoil sensitive. Recoil can be explained by Newton’s third law of motion for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The force used to send the bullet down the barrel generates an equal force backward, hence: recoil.
One of the most cost-effective methods to help with recoil, whether a rifle or a shotgun is to have a good quality recoil pad installed. I prefer a Pachmayr Decelerator for hard recoiling rifles and shotguns. What the stock is made of also plays a part with recoil. A wood stock which tends to be somewhat heavier than a synthetic stock “soaks” up more recoil than its synthetic counterpart.
How to Reduce Recoil on Rifles
I’ve worked on rifles weighted to make a heavier rifle. While the hefty firearm will still kick, the added weight soaks up the felt recoil. While this is fine for target shooting, lugging a 12-15 lbs. rifle through the woods is no fun.
Stock design is often overlooked as a culprit for excessive or hard recoiling rifles. How the stocks are designed can decrease or increase the perceived recoil. Shape and angle of the butt plate can greatly affect perceived recoil. Generally speaking, a straighter stock transfers less perceived recoil as can a stock that is too long or too short for the shooter.
Reducing Recoil with Muzzle Brakes
Muzzle brakes are not new. They have been used on artillery and tanks for many decades. These redirect the gases from the rifles. The recoil is not eliminated. It is still there just redirected, and the perceived or felt recoil is reduced. Many firearm manufacturers offer brakes on many of their rifles along with clamp-on models that do not need to be fit by a gunsmith. These muzzle devices do come at a price with increased muzzle blast. If you decide to use a muzzle brake, be sure to wear proper hearing protection.
Suppressors are all the rage and rightly so. Not only do suppressors help with noise but the gas expansion inside the suppressor reduces recoil.
Other things to look at are shooting position, grip and hand placement on the stock.
How to Reduce Recoil on Shotguns
Shotguns are no different, a poorly fitting stock just outright hurts, and it usually doesn’t take much. Last summer I participated in a trap shooting seminar in which each shooter fired 100 rounds. The end goal was to break as many birds as possible, but the instructors were also looking for stock fit and shooting position I must admit the next morning my cheek was a bit tender from the 12 gauge jabs. A stock that has an adjustable cheekpiece with height and length of pull could have fixed this problem by slightly raising the cheekpiece of the comb. I would have been able to shoot the entire day without feeling as I had gone 10 rounds with a heavyweight champion.
The evolution in shooting sports like trap, skeet and sporting clays seem to have developed better stocks to mitigate recoil sensitivity through the use of adjustable stocks. Many of these customizations help with perceived recoil or redirecting the recoil in a different direction so as not to bruise the shooters’ cheek.
While porting is quite popular on many target guns the jury is still out on whether porting on a shotgun makes much difference when it comes to reducing perceived recoil. I will attest it does help the shooter to recover from the first shot especially on an over and under. I personally do not see much of a difference in perceived recoil with ported barrels.
How to Reduce Recoil in a Handgun
My brother-in-law bought a S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum, the recoil caused him to struggle with accuracy. His smaller sized hands had a difficult time taming recoil especially with the oversized factory grips. I persuaded him to install a Pachmayr Gripper and before long he was shooting and hunting groundhogs with it.
I enjoy shooting large caliber handguns. For many years I shot T/C Contenders in 7-30 Waters up to the .445 Super Mag which is a lengthened 44 magnum which generates a lot of recoil. The Contender was a heavy handgun and mounting a scope on it also helped tame the recoil of the 445 Super Mag, but it still rocked.
Anytime you can add weight to your firearm recoil will get soaked up. I held off mounting a red dot on my Glock 10 mm for the longest time. But, with the addition of the red dot, my recoil is less and I can hit my target more consistently with it. A win- win situation.
Many handgun shooters utilize shooting gloves to help keep a better grip on the handgun when firing heavy recoiling handguns. I have a wide hand and never found a pair that fit me well but if you are shooting a lot of handguns, it might be worth a try.
Another trick I use on the range is to shoot reduced loads. It can help with your shooting skills and not break your wrist in the process.
Most shooters will never develop a sensitivity to recoil, but when you notice a flinch or you are grimacing when you pull the trigger try one or all these tips to bring the fun back into your shooting.
