gracoil recoil reducer

Clay, Trap, Skeet Shooting Forum

Help Support Clay, Trap, Skeet Shooting Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Doctor Lecter

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 3, 2013
Messages
1,752
Location
grantham lincs
had a gracoil fitted ,   not impressed recoil seems worse , shot 175 clays   made adj  but no better ,  HELP    .  £250 and gun ruined for part x ?     anybody want a swap !!

 
Get who fitted to set it up properly for you. Had mine for 10 yrs and wouldn't be without it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 
had a gracoil fitted ,   not impressed recoil seems worse , shot 175 clays   made adj  but no better ,  HELP    .  £250 and gun ruined for part x ?     anybody want a swap !!
How does the recoil seem worse ? Is there more recoil to your cheek than before ? I believe the Gracoil is adjustable for tension and there is an optimum setting for different shot loads. There is a period of learning how things work and feel so I wouldn't give up this quickly.

 
I tried one, and its an odd sensation to say the least.

How do you mount, do you push the gun hard into your shoulder, and compress the mount?   

or do you let the gun sit loosely in your shoulder, and let the pad do all the compressing

With the former it had no discernible effect on recoil

With the latter i got good recoil reduction, but couldn't put two shots in the same place due to not mounting consistently, however that could have been me just being a newbie at the time

:santa:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
If they're anything like a PFS (and they sound similar as far as recoil reduction is concerned) then they're not intended for gun down shooting. Trying to shoot them gun down will always involve compromises.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Why do some guns kick like hell and others don't. They are all of similar build design. I'm even hearing some semi- autos kicking. Some back bored O/U's not firing second shots due to no recoil when using 24 gr loads. The only recoil I'v ever felt is from certain cartridges. Mainly high power fibres which I don't know how anyone shoots them.

if this device does not work it could be faulty. Not fit for purpose - refund. Get someone else to try it see what they say.

 
If they're anything like a PFS (and they sound similar as far as recoil reduction is concerned) then they're not intended for gun down shooting. Trying to shoot them gun down will always involve compromises.
I shoot a PFS gun down mostly, not sure what you mean  ?

Why do some guns kick like hell and others don't. They are all of similar build design. I'm even hearing some semi- autos kicking. Some back bored O/U's not firing second shots due to no recoil when using 24 gr loads. The only recoil I'v ever felt is from certain cartridges. Mainly high power fibres which I don't know how anyone shoots them.

if this device does not work it could be faulty. Not fit for purpose - refund. Get someone else to try it see what they say.
The lighter the gun the more it will kick, this is why even semi automatics often have a noticeable kick because many are just too light for clay shooting. 

The second most important factor is the shell. The configuration of the stock will also play an important role but not in terms of absolute recoil. Low stocks often compound the problem because the gun recoils upwards as well as backwards. 

Back bore/over bore have no discernible affect, this is provable by basic physics. 

To get the best out of recoil devices they need to be set up such that they're not too soft (which causes bottoming out), nor too solid which negates their use in the first place. Essentially they need to be set up in such a way that they can be soft mounted into the shoulder without compressing too readily, it should be possible to pull them into the shoulder gently but again without being able to noticeably compress them, only the harsh jolt of the firing cycle should be able to compress them properly and this needs to be fine tuned so as to get maximum compression without bottoming out. 

This isn't as straightforward as you'd imagine because the type, performance, thickness and even age of the recoil pad will have a bearing on the cycle. The height of the comb is also very important, in general the higher you can get away with the better because you want a gun that recoils backwards as much as possible. 

The only way it can feel worse is if one or more elements are not done properly and in balance with one another.

PS. very important note : sticking a comb adjuster or raising the comb to its max setting on a sporter (low stock) is in no way comparable to a stock that is high to begin with, i.e, a Trap stock .

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I shoot a PFS gun down mostly, not sure what you mean  ?
The PFS was designed many years ago for trap use. It's design and balance is weighted towards these disciplines and, consequently better suits gun up shooting. That's one of the reasons why you see so many on trap lines and domestic skeet fields around the world where just about everyone shoots this way.

That's not to say it can't be used gun down and some do. It'll just feel a little odd.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The PFS was designed many years ago for trap use. It's design and balance is weighted towards these disciplines and, consequently better suits gun up shooting. That's one of the reasons why you see so many on trap lines and domestic skeet fields around the world where just about everyone shoots this way.

That's not to say it can't be used gun down and some do. It'll just feel a little odd.
It certainly can feel odd if not set up right, the most important factor is the shape of the recoil pad but to be fair this is also important on a conventional stock and I did personally get away with it for years when I used to use an unmodified Trap type Sorbothane pad which meant a slight need for "hold-out" during address, the last few years I've used a Green pad which I've had shaped. This too felt odd to start and I had to have a tad removed from the right side which you simply wouldn't have thought credible. 

The PFS is certainly not perfect but like most things it's possible to fine tune it to get it to be good enough

 
thanks for your remarks , my mk38 is a trap gun choked 1/2 1/2  I pre mount for every shot  esp  ,  I shoot 28g  shells  usually eley superb 8s  , ive read the instructions that came with the gracoil  and adj accordingly  .  my recoil problem is not while actually shooting , but later that evening and next day  neck pain and a feeling like a bit of a hangover ? no booze involved .    I see john wells shoots with a gracoil fitted , I see his shoulder pushed back when shooting  , no difference to a conventional stock - kickeeze .     will get some advice on setting it up .   thanks again .

 
thanks for your remarks , my mk38 is a trap gun choked 1/2 1/2  I pre mount for every shot  esp  ,  I shoot 28g  shells  usually eley superb 8s  , ive read the instructions that came with the gracoil  and adj accordingly  .  my recoil problem is not while actually shooting , but later that evening and next day  neck pain and a feeling like a bit of a hangover ? no booze involved .    I see john wells shoots with a gracoil fitted , I see his shoulder pushed back when shooting  , no difference to a conventional stock - kickeeze .     will get some advice on setting it up .   thanks again .
Eley Superbs in the last couple of years have changed something. They have become punchy. After shooting one slab of new batch I was suffering neck ache a day or so after shooting. Shot Superbs a long time. Never again.  Switched to another make no pain no recoil. Why do they mess about with shells and think we won't notice. Try Hull Pro one's.

 
thanks for your remarks , my mk38 is a trap gun choked 1/2 1/2  I pre mount for every shot  esp  ,  I shoot 28g  shells  usually eley superb 8s  , ive read the instructions that came with the gracoil  and adj accordingly  .  my recoil problem is not while actually shooting , but later that evening and next day  neck pain and a feeling like a bit of a hangover ? no booze involved .    I see john wells shoots with a gracoil fitted , I see his shoulder pushed back when shooting  , no difference to a conventional stock - kickeeze .     will get some advice on setting it up .   thanks again .
I have shot Superbs for a very long time now and admit they never have been noted for their soft character, the last thou I bought this week are in silver cases instead of the usual transparent ones and I have been told these are a tad harsher, if so I will be swapping them for Olympic Blues or something. 

The thing with recoil is that there is a definite threshold which differs from person to person and the symptoms will also vary. Some feel punch drunk, others suffer headaches, some neck pain/shoulder ache or a combination of. 

It is almost certainly a case of your current set up not having enough things done in order for you to not reach your threshold so easily. It may be that the gun itself is not quite heavy enough, the shells are a tad too punchy, the comb not quite optimised (it never hurts to place a thin Sorbothane sheet on the comb), the pad is also important and I have always found the Miroku standard ones to be too hard and therefore not helpful. 

If you watch people as they shoot it is immediately obvious that recoil jolts everyone including those with recoil devices, some people can ride recoil more effectively in order to dissipate it, others it seems absorb too big a percentage into their upper body by offering a rigid unyielding frame, it's a very complex thing in other words.

You need to experiment with a lot of things but sometimes merely swapping guns to one with the dynamics more suited to you will bring about a worthwhile improvement. I am not suggesting you sell the gun but it is worth asking friends with suitably close fitting guns to let you have either a few shots or full rounds and compare results.

 
Doc.

Have you spoken with Dave Izzard at Recoil solutions at all ?  I asked hm for help when I was having a similar problem, with bruising to my upper arm. My gun, a Miroku MK10 trap, will be of similar original stock configuration to yours. I was all set to buy the full recoil reduction system at £250 + fitting the thing. However after a conversation with Dave, he suggested I merely changed the Miroku trap pad for an Isis pad as he felt that my problem was one of 'gun jump' on recoil. He even offered me a full refund if the Isis was not the solution. Suffice it to say the Isis pad is still fitted and the bruisng has ceased. He did, after all, devise the recoil reduction devices after suffering neck and shoulder problems such as yours and having failed to solve the issue with auto's etc. I used Hull Superfast through my Miroku without problems,  and they are a cartridge claimed by some to be 'punchy'.

 
gracoil update , shot orston today very busy , couple of guys shooting with gracoil fitted , adj mine  seemed fine  no pain so far ,   orston was rammed today , no grange or kegworth on I believe , I found the 100 esp   a tad on the tough side  but some top shots there so be interesting to see the scores ,  my 74  in a class  not in the running .   enjoyed it though .  must settle on a decent shell !!

 
Why do some guns kick like hell and others don't. They are all of similar build design. I'm even hearing some semi- autos kicking. Some back bored O/U's not firing second shots due to no recoil when using 24 gr loads. The only recoil I'v ever felt is from certain cartridges. Mainly high power fibres which I don't know how anyone shoots them.

if this device does not work it could be faulty. Not fit for purpose - refund. Get someone else to try it see what they say.
It's been my experience that down pitch is the greatest contributor to recoil to the face at any rate.  My guns now are all near zero and the recoil is straight back and easily accommodated.  That includes 36gm pigeon loads.

O/U's not setting the 2nd barrel are easily cured by using a lighter spring on the disconnector or a heavier disconnector.  Common complaint with tube sets as well.  I have chopped the springs in my Perazzis and they reset any decent 24gm load now.  Sometimes a simple drop of oil on the sear levers will cure it as well.  A lubed gun is a happy gun.

JMO of course YMMV

 
Last edited by a moderator:

Latest posts

Back
Top