How to Reduce Felt Recoil When Hunting with Shotguns

Six ways to take the bite out of the shotgun bark.

February 05, 2025 By Frank Sargeant

While the recoil from a shotgun might not always be severe, your shoulder can definitely take a beating given certain circumstances, even if you don’t hunt waterfowl or shoot turkeys with magnum loads. And the painful memory of recent shotgun-induced soreness can have negative effects on your shooting. Your accuracy may suffer, for instance, particularly when you have time to think about each shot.

While there’s no question that putting heavy payloads pushed by lots of powder on target improves hunting success, the increase in your shotgun’s felt recoil is often too high a price to pay. That extra kick can cause you to flinch or slightly alter your shooting routine, ultimately resulting in more misses. And if you can’t hit what you’re shooting at, using bigger loads is simply an exercise in futility.

So, how can you cut back on shotgun recoil? Here are six ways.

1. ENSURE SHOTGUN FIT

There are three measurements that must properly fit your build to make shouldering and shooting a shotgun comfortable and to avoid excessive recoil: drop at comb, drop at heel and length of pull. Drop at comb is the vertical difference between the top of the barrel (rib) and the comb of the buttstock. Drop at heel is the vertical difference between the rib and the heel of the buttstock. Length of pull (LOP) is the distance from the back of the buttstock to the trigger’s front surface.

Most shotguns come with an off-the-shelf LOP between 14 and 14 3/4 inches, but if you have longer or shorter arms than average, custom fitting by a gunsmith will likely increase your shotgunning comfort and accuracy.

2. TUNE YOUR MOUNTING

Your shotgun should mount comfortably in the crease, or pocket, of your shoulder located below the clavicle (collarbone), directly opposite the shoulder blade and between the pectoralis major and deltoid muscles. Improperly shouldering the gun outside of this area accentuates the amount of recoil you feel.

A hunter shows the butt pad of his shotgun. — A good recoil pad is an easy way curtail a shotgun’s kick. There are many aftermarket models that are superior to factory pads. (Photo courtesy of © Yuri Arcurs/Dreamstime)

Mounting and dry-firing a shotgun repeatedly at home can improve your natural shouldering motion and create muscle memory so proper mounting becomes consistent. Remember to always lean into the shot. Shooters who are recoil shy tend to lean away when bringing the gun up to shoot. That frequently results in missed shots and it gives the gun stock more travel space to whack you in the shoulder or the arm when you pull the trigger.

3. ADD A RECOIL PAD

The simple addition of a recoil pad to the butt of a shotgun’s stock (or swapping the factory pad for a better one) can make a huge difference in the amount of felt recoil. Just remember that, depending on its design and thickness, the pad can add length to the stock, thus altering the LOP enough that the shotgun no longer fits you properly. Your best bet is to have a gunsmith trim a bit off the stock to compensate and keep your ideal LOP.

Numerous companies make good recoil pads—some slip on while others are attached by screws. Check offerings from FalconStrike, LimbSaver, Kick-Eze, Lyman, Polymer Laboratories, Butler Creek and others for a design and price that best work for you.

4. SCALE DOWN THE GAUGE

While the 12-gauge has long been the overwhelming favorite of shotgun hunters, stepping down to a 20- or 28-gauge, or even a .410 bore, can curtail felt recoil dramatically. Take that into account when introducing new shooters to shotgunning, too.

When waterfowl hunting over decoys at close ranges, a 20-gauge is fine in skilled hands and much more fun to shoot than a 12-gauge with 3 1/2-inch shells. Although a 20-gauge can definitely whack a turkey at 50 yards, you’re not putting as much lead on the target, and the odds of hitting the gobbler’s head or neck go down proportionately. But, if you hunt in close cover where shots are inside 40 yards, a 20-gauge shotgun can be lethal while also helping to keep felt recoil at a minimum.

Two 20-gauge shotgun shells stick out the breakover barrle of an over/under shotgun. — The effectiveness of modern small-gauge loads makes them a viable alternative to hard-kicking 12-gauge loads. (Shutterstock photo)

These days, ammo companies are making deadly turkey loads for smaller gauges. Winchester’s 3-inch 20-gauge Longbeard XR, for example, sends 1 1/4 ounces of shot toward the target, which is more than a standard 12-gauge load. Federal offers its Heavyweight TSS .410 turkey load, though it calls for an extra-full choke, which is not easy to come by for that bore.

Lightweight shotguns are great to carry but can produce shoulder-jarring kick, especially when shooting heavier loads. Consider how you’ll be using the gun before you settle on a particular make and model. Unless most of your hunting requires you to walk for hours with that scattergun in your hands, it might make sense to go with a heavier option that will better absorb the impact of the shot. Remington’s 1100, for instance, is renowned for its soft shooting, even with heavy loads. But if hefting an 8-pound gun isn’t for you, there are many alternatives weighing closer to 7 pounds from brands like Benelli, Beretta, Browning, Winchester, Franchi and others that produce more manageable recoil.

6. OPT FOR A DIFFERENT ACTION

The action of gas-operated semi-autos spreads out the felt recoil and generally makes them easier on your shoulder than pump-actions, single-shots and double-barrel guns. Most shooters agree that they are also softer-shooting than inertia-operated semi-autos, which utilize recoil to cycle loads. Gas semi-autos do require more frequent cleaning than their inertia-driven counterparts, and some may not cycle rounds quite as reliably in extremely cold weather. But a gas-operated semi-auto can provide years of service while helping to solve your recoil problem.