Thin young lad needs a no kick gun!

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It will be a gun fit issue. That bruise is below the collar bone. The gun might be pushing into the shoulder at the heal and/or rotating on the collar bone. Small contact areas - equals big bruise and a feeling the gun is hard to manage.

The problem with having a long neck is that you need to find a gun with more drop at heel than might be standard. For most its the other way around and an adjustable comb solve the problem.

A simple try is to unscrew the butt plate, drop it half a inch - in the picture Simon refers to above it would be an inch - and secure it with electrical tape so you don't need new holes. The pad will sit lower in the shoulder. That's only changing one thing however and pitch, comb height are all relevant and moving the pad down too much can easily cause the gun to rotate up ending up with a kick in the face which is worse.
 
The one thing that no one has suggested yet is to simply get him a shooting vest with a shoulder pocket for a Browning Reactar pad ( other brands are available ) .

If he doesn’t own a gun all the suggestions on fit etc are pretty irrelevant at the moment .

The second point is that shooting lessons come in different qualities , he might just have had a ‘ coach ‘ who doesn’t know the difference between mounting a gun and mounting a kerb . A good coach should have already diagnosed why he’s having those problems .
 
Why not try a Recoil Shoulder Pad from Jack Pyke or similar. "Jack Pyke Shoulder Recoil Pad made from polycotton with suede padding. Reduces effects of recoil in the shoulder. Fits upto 50 inch chest. Can be used on either shoulder as ambidextrous."
 
PeeJay said:
A friend comes shooting with me and another pal occasionally. He’s mid 20s but thin. When he’s fired the clubs Browning 525, my Beretta 686 or my pals ATA (all 12 gauge) he ends up really bruised and painful. His technique seems okay as he’s found this even during a lesson. He wondered if a 20 bore would help but I don’t know enough to answer that. A quick look online said it might, in conjunction with a smaller cartridge. But someone else told him that it might make the recoil worse.

If he decides to consider getting his own, gun is it worth considering the 20 bore for less recoil, or are there better options. All the shooting would be clays.
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My lad started at 12 and we got him a Kofs Sceptre Sporting purely because it’s light and he could mount it properly, carry it and manage 50 clays before fatiguing. It doesn’t kick too bad so might be worth getting a demo try.

Also, if he’s not set on an OU, semis absorb recoil really well.
 
My suspicion is he's not mounting the gun firmly, and falling into the trap of 'if I hold it out of my shoulder it won't kick'. Hold it firmly even if it doesn't fit him very well.
My wife shoots 21g in both 20 bore and 12 bore, [both Beretta O/U] and has no problems with recoil with either. Tell him 'Hold it tight in your shoulder' and it will work. I'm convinced, but then again, it's not my shoulder!
 
MartynB said:
The one thing that no one has suggested yet is to simply get him a shooting vest with a shoulder pocket for a Browning Reactar pad ( other brands are available ) .

If he doesn’t own a gun all the suggestions on fit etc are pretty irrelevant at the moment .

The second point is that shooting lessons come in different qualities , he might just have had a ‘ coach ‘ who doesn’t know the difference between mounting a gun and mounting a kerb . A good coach should have already diagnosed why he’s having those problems .
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To be fair he’s only had a couple of lessons so far, then been with us a couple more times. We did suggest a padded vest and he quite likes that idea.
 
Nickredhill said:
Why not try a Recoil Shoulder Pad from Jack Pyke or similar. "Jack Pyke Shoulder Recoil Pad made from polycotton with suede padding. Reduces effects of recoil in the shoulder. Fits upto 50 inch chest. Can be used on either shoulder as ambidextrous."
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I think he’ll look at that first as the initial cheap option. The Jack Pyke one although ambidextrous is designed for a left hander, so you turn it inside out for a right hander. That seems a strange choice of design.
 
PeeJay said:
A friend comes shooting with me and another pal occasionally. He’s mid 20s but thin. When he’s fired the clubs Browning 525, my Beretta 686 or my pals ATA (all 12 gauge) he ends up really bruised and painful. His technique seems okay as he’s found this even during a lesson. He wondered if a 20 bore would help but I don’t know enough to answer that. A quick look online said it might, in conjunction with a smaller cartridge. But someone else told him that it might make the recoil worse.

If he decides to consider getting his own, gun is it worth considering the 20 bore for less recoil, or are there better options. All the shooting would be clays.
Click to expand...
My own suggestion is to stick with a 12 gauge, ensure that this young man has it properly mounted and used 21 g cartridges to start with. If the gun is a decent weight, the recoil will be less anyway and it may give him confidence to progress. If he smashes a clay or two, he will be hooked anyway!
 
PeeJay said:
I’ll have a look at him the next time he goes. He doesn’t own a gun yet obviously. The bruising is mainly to his shoulder. This is the photo he sent, but he said it’s been much worse than this, this wasn’t too bad. He was using my Beretta and my pals ATA, neither of which have huge recoil.

P.S. I know this sounds like it’s me, saying it’s “a friend I know” but it really is this young lad 😂. I’ve found that the recoil with my own gun is now minimal and I can shoot well over 100 cartridges with no ill effect. Whereas he really feels it.
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Clearly the gun is not in the shoulder pocket properly as the bruising is spreading to his upper arm. It's not because he's thin, I'm thin too but I can shoot a 100+ 28gm shells through an 8lb 3oz sporter without any ill effects.
 
Looking at the picture.he appears to be mounting on the shoulder rather than in the shoulder pocket.the picture looks like his left shoulder.is the gun cast for a right hand/sided shooter? If so this could be confusing his sight picture and his mounting
 
MartynB said:
The one thing that no one has suggested yet is to simply get him a shooting vest with a shoulder pocket for a Browning Reactar pad ( other brands are available ) .

If he doesn’t own a gun all the suggestions on fit etc are pretty irrelevant at the moment .

The second point is that shooting lessons come in different qualities , he might just have had a ‘ coach ‘ who doesn’t know the difference between mounting a gun and mounting a kerb . A good coach should have already diagnosed why he’s having those problems .
Click to expand...

A good coach and he probably would not even have the problems. It is extremely difficult to guess what he is doing, but the position of that bruising could well be too long a stock. Any recoil pads fitted to or under his clothing, would only make matters worse.
 
PeeJay said:
We use 28g, 7.5 shot.

Stupid question, but at our level ( keen beginners) will 21gm make any difference to the clays we hit. The course has a lot of options, from a rabbit 10 metres away, to fast pairs coming over the shoulder, to a high tower. Plus everything between, crossers, quartering, teal, grouse, and skeet, dtl etc. Would he (us) be okay with 21g and if so, what are the benefits of 28g.
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YES, most definitely, you are likely to hit more and enjoy the experience !
I have used 21 gram cartridges for lessons since they first became available. I have seen clays broken by beginners at some ridiculous distances, that was through an old Beretta with no choke in the barrel too. The advantages far outweigh the lack of a few pellets.
 
westley said:
YES, most definitely, you are likely to hit more and enjoy the experience !
I have used 21 gram cartridges for lessons since they first became available. I have seen clays broken by beginners at some ridiculous distances, that was through an old Beretta with no choke in the barrel too. The advantages far outweigh the lack of a few pellets.
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What are the advantages other than lack of kick? Im going on Thursday so might try some if it’s worthwhile.

Do 24g give benefits too?
 
FESkent said:
is he left handed using a right handed gun?
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I’ve checked, he says he’s right handed (he pulls the trigger with his right hand). I think that photo has reversed it as selfies sometimes do. So he’s a right handed shooting right handed guns.
 
k80ben said:
Nothing to do with cartridge all mount n gun fit
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Quite correct BUT, with nobody there that can identify those issues, you now have a 'flinching' problem to overcome too. If they can not make changes to the gun, however temporary, a reduced recoil cartridge can, to a degree, lessen the effect. Most of the shooters that I instruct are first timers and are terrified of the 'recoil' that they have been told about. Overcome that 'first shot' trepidation and they start to enjoy the experience. 21 gram cartridges can certainly help in that department.
 
PeeJay said:
What are the advantages other than lack of kick? Im going on Thursday so might try some if it’s worthwhile.

Do 24g give benefits too?
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I use 24 gram cartridges quite a lot, mainly due to an age, fitness, and probably psychological thing. I use them usually in my first barrel, I think my gun recoils less after the first shot, making it easier to get onto the second. This is a personal thing and probably bears no substance, but it works for ME. I do not notice any difference in the killing capability of either one, over the other. It's a bit like my using 1/4 or I/C chokes in both barrels it works for ME. I no longer shoot competitions, I shoot merely for the love of it.
 
westley said:
Quite correct BUT, with nobody there that can identify those issues, you now have a 'flinching' problem to overcome too. If they can not make changes to the gun, however temporary, a reduced recoil cartridge can, to a degree, lessen the effect. Most of the shooters that I instruct are first timers and are terrified of the 'recoil' that they have been told about. Overcome that 'first shot' trepidation and they start to enjoy the experience. 21 gram cartridges can certainly help in that department.
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Disagree if he’s getting that marking nothing going to fix that. And putting a plaster over it is making it worse it needs a real fix
 
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