Recoil of 20 gauge buckshot compared to 12 gauge non-buckshot

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peacebutready

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How much does a 20 gauge shotgun with buckshot recoil compared to a 12 gauge loaded with the typical #4 or #6 game load, or a 12 gauge loaded with the typical skeet load?

Also, do they make low-recoil 20 gauge buckshot?
 
Not enough info to give you valid answer. Weight of guns, fit of stock, velocity of shot, and other data all influence.
 
Size of the shot has nothing to do with recoil. 1oz of shot at 1300 feet per second kicks exactly the same in a 20ga, 12ga, or 10ga, if the gun is the same weight.
In the real world, most 20ga guns are at least a pound lighter than the same gun in a 12, and will recoil plenty with heavy loads. I have seen 20ga low recoil slugs and birdshot, but not buck.
 
While there are lots of different brands, in general I think the lead weight and velocity specs for buck and field game loads are similar. Clay target loads have less recoil. So 20 gauge buckshot would have more recoil than a 12 gauge clays load but less than a 12 gauge field load.
 
A book "shotshells & ballistics" by John Taylor has nice detail to answer this question, as it has technical details of every load in production when this book was published.

20ga buckshot loads have a "recoil velocity in an 8lb gun" of 9 to 13 ft/sec.

12ga lead loads have a "recoil velocity in an 8lb gun" of:
10.0 to 12.2 ft/sec for 7/8 oz skeet loads
11.5 to 12.5 ft/sec for 1 oz game loads
12.8 to 15.7 ft/sec for 1 1/8oz loads
14.5 to 17.9 ft/sec for 1 1/4oz loads
16.5 to 19.2 ft/sec for 1 3/8oz loads
Steel loads tend to have higher recoil, as they tend to be faster.

So I would say 20ga Buck is equivalent to most 7/8oz skeet loads and 1oz game loads if the guns weigh the same. However, most 20 gauge guns weigh a bit less than 12ga guns.

You also have some choice in the specific loads you choose. Less payload and lower velocity mean less recoil. Unfortunately, most buckshot loads don't tell you the shot weight, but they do tell you the pellet count. You'd need to look up the typical weight of a pellet in that size of buck and multiply by pellet count to get a total weight. Obviously, if two loads of #3 buck are are 16 pellets for one and 20 for the other, the 16 ball load will most likely recoil less unless it has more velocity than the other load.
 
Just as an example I've used in the past a 12 ga Remington 870 weighs exactly 1 lb more than a 20 ga with the same barrel length. If both are shooting comparable shells (1 oz loads in each) the 20 will kick considerably more than the 12.

But you don't usually see that, a 1 oz load would be a light load in a 12 and a heavier than standard load in a 20. A standard birdshot 12 load is 1 1/8 oz while a standard 20 is 3/4 oz. With that in mind a 12 will recoil almost exactly the same as a 20, but with better performance.

You buy a 20 ga to have a lighter gun to carry around, not for recoil reduction. You can always load or buy 12 ga loads that equal 20 performance with reduced recoil. You can only go so far with a 20, and you'll usually end up with more recoil with the 20.
 
Size of the shot has nothing to do with recoil. 1oz of shot at 1300 feet per second kicks exactly the same in a 20ga, 12ga, or 10ga, if the gun is the same weight.

THIS. Gun weight, payload weight, and velocity the same, recoil is the same.
 
20 gauge low recoil 18 pellets #4B.

Roughly a 360 grain payload @1200 FPS.

http://www.wadwizard.com/ammo.htm

Yes, the standard 20 gauge #3B load runs just over one ounce at the same 1200 FPS.

So an 8 pellet "tactical" (low recoil load) moves roughly 1 ounce at a nominal 1145 fps for less recoil than the standard 20 gauge buckshot load.
 
Further on what oneounceload and others are saying -- that buckshot doesn't necessarily generate more recoil -- I was out recently with my Auto 5 doing some pattern testing with a couple of different 1 1/8 oz. #8 game/target loads and some S&B buckshot in 00, #1, and #4 size. These were the first buckshot I'd fired in the gun along side the field loads.

Based upon the internet myth that "buckshot recoil much more than game/target loads" I was expecting the buckshot to recoil more. WRONG! If anything, they produced less recoil than these particular Winchester game and target loads. When patterning a shotgun you really get a feel for recoil because you squeeze off the shot like you do with a rifle, and you "feel it all."
 
The only reason that buckshot might recoil more is because the payload is a little heavier and the velocity is greater - that is actual recoil (Newton)

Felt recoil, aka "kick", aka "perceived" recoil, is all about gun fit and it doesn't matter if it is a handgun, rifle, shotgun or something in between like a PGO shotgun. If it doesn't fit you well, the recoil will feel more brutal, even with light loads - which is typically the case when guys take the SOs shooting for the first time.
 
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