I am new to big bores. I recently purchased a Ruger .416 Rigby and I was curious as to the recoil vs. my Mossberg 935 12 ga. 3 1/2 inch auto.

Both guns have 1 3/8 inch Kick-eez recoil pads. The Mossberg weighs, with Leupold 1-4X scope, 9 lbs. 2 oz. The Ruger, with Leupold 1.5 - 5X scope weighs 10 lbs. 13 oz.

The Ruger was shooting Federal 400 gr. TBBC. The Mossberg, Winchester Supreme High Velocity, 3 1/2 inch, 2 Oz. No. 5 shot.

I sighted in the Ruger with the Caldwell Lead Sled. I then strapped on a Past recoil pad 1/2 inch thick. I fired the Ruger from the standing position, then the Mossberg.

My unscientific opinion: The recoil from the Mossberg was significantly greater than the Ruger. An observer said the Mossberg "rocked me back" much more.

Both guns were quite tolerable. I thought this was interesting.

I've always thought heavy shotgun loads are more painful than alot of popular bigbore rifles.

Oldcoyote:

I've never shot a 416 Rigby, but I have touched off my fair share of Federal 12 ga. 3.5 2-1/4oz lead loads in my Mossberg 835 to say that the Mossy will bite at both ends. If memory serves me correctly, that load in a 7.5 lb 835 has 66 ft-lbs of recoil! A 458 win mag in a 8.5 lb rifle has 78 ft-lbs! More than likely, the mossberg may feel like the harder kicker....but do remember stock design also plays a big part in felt recoil!

Mike

Wickard
The Mossberg stock has the spacers installed to make it straighter but it still has more drop than the Ruger. The 835 pump supposedly kicks more than the 935, partly because of the gas operation of the 935.

I had written a last letter to my wife in case the Ruger killed me!

My 9 lb 416 Taylor was much more fun and more comfortable to shoot than my 835 Mossberg .....

Not a big bore, but I'd MUCH rather shoot my 340wby all day than my 3" 12ga. The shotgun is just downright unpleasant to shoot with slugs or heavy waterfowl/turkey loads. There is defininetly something to shotguns recoiling more than some big rifles.

I think it's more of what you'er used to. Personally, I'm a trap shooter and shoot tens of thousands of shotgun shells a year. When I go to shoot a 3 1/2" shell from my 870 Wingmaster (which is a relatively light shotgun, especially for a 3 1/2"er) on the patterning board, it has a big shove to it, but nothing unpleasant about it at all. I shoot rifles a fair amount now, as well, but not many rifles that shoot heavy bullets at high velocities (like RUMs, etc). After more than a few shots from a rifle like that, and my head starts to hurt! Normal rifles like a .338 Win. or any of the .300s and I'm fine (haven't had a chance to shoot a .375, yet, though, so I'm looking forward to that!). It just seems those fast moving bullets make the rifle hit me a lot harder, even though the recoil calculator says my shotgun has more recoil than say a fast .33. Really, I think you can learn to shoot just about anything if you shoot enough. Of course, I weigh about 155 now, so if I look at the recoil calculator and a rifle has more ft.-lbs. of recoil than that, I think I'll stay away from that gun!

In a light sxs heavy shotgun loads are downright painful...............stock, weight & recoil pads or lack of have a lot to do with that IMHO.

I have never been kicked harder than by my 12 gauge SxS with Magnum turkey loads!!!

Usually, recoil is a matter of perception. Most often, an individual not familiar with the firearm is just "waiting' to get "kicked". A one ounce slug is over 700 grains of lead and if your really think it's not going to give you a bit of whomp when you touch it off, then you didn't read Newton's Third Law. Some firearms I just tell myself it's going to bite me and write it off. My job is target acquisition and once I pull the trigger, I figure all I have to do is just hold on. None of us ever remember recoil in a situation where the reward is something other than a pattern or a group. We all have to endure it. I convince myself that recoil sensative people just aren't as committed as I am.

Shotguns can kick REAL bad. I have a Ithaca Model 37 Featherlight, and with any sort of magnum load (even despite being a 2 3/4 gun) it is an angry mule. Worse than my 458 WM, but not so bad as my .338 RUM.

Even worse, the Ithaca has a 22" slug barrel. Imagine a 6.5 lb gun shooting a 1 oz slug at 1600 fps. NASTY.

So yeah, I think certain shotguns can kick pretty darn.

Hey mic2377, when growing up in eastern Ohio (a shotgun deer state) I had a ithaca m37 with a slug barrel and no recoil pad. It was the all purpose shotgun. I must agree with you on its barking abilities. As a twelve yr old prior to the season opener sighting in gave me a bloody nose!

FWIW 1 oz =437.50 grains

JKS has entered the correct figures regarding number of grains per ounce.

My comparison is between a Browning BPS Stalker 10ga magnum, firing Federal 3.5 inch 2.25oz buffered #4 shot. At the patterning board, it kicks like the proverbial mule. When I have a gobbler in my sights, not so much.

My Winchester 70 in 416 Rem mag shooting 400 grain solids kicks about the same. Fierce but not uncontrollable. Both guns weigh 9 pounds.

I did see stars once, shooting the BPS. I didn't have my cheek welded to the buttstock. Ouch!