A proud papa moment that most would not appreciate...

[Dougfirtree]

I've been pretty careful with my kids and recoil. My middle son (12), especially, was sensitive and I really didn't want him to get scared of the rifle, or flinch. So, lot's of loading down to minimize kick. Today, I had him out patterning his 20 gauge for turkey season and we started off with the light 1 oz loads that we used last year. He was commenting about how they hardly kick, so I asked if he wanted to shoot something bigger and see what it felt like. He did and I gave him a 3" Hevishot load. No problem. According to the interweb, that load had about 31 foot pounds of recoil energy. The kid seems to have made his peace with recoil.

 

[Jbotto]

That’s exciting for sure! As a pretty recoil-shy person when I was a bit younger I appreciate this! Way to do it right and ease him into it!

 

[elkduds]

Doug, that is a great illustration of how lighter guns recoil harder.

Full Recoil Comparison: Rimfire, Shotgun, Centerfire

 

[Dougfirtree]

Doug, that is a great illustration of how lighter guns recoil harder.

Full Recoil Comparison: Rimfire, Shotgun, Centerfire

That's a nifty list. Guess it's about time the kid got his first RUM, eh?

 

[Nick87]

I can appreciate it. My oldest, my stepson was very recoil shy at first. Once we finally got him shooting we bought him a youth 20 autoloader with the reduced lop. I think balance just as or more important than weight for recoil with kids. Anyhow after two days of shooting that 20 he took my full size 12 gauge and shot it just fine, now that's all he wants to shoot. Go figure, but I'll chalk it up as a win. Good job by the way.

 

[noharleyyet]

Good stuff Dougfir.

 

[mtmuley]

That's a nifty list. Guess it's about time the kid got his first RUM, eh?

Do it. mtmuley

 

[morley.tyler]

@Dougfirtree, sounds like that kid earned an ice cream cone! Just like training a puppy not to be gun shy. Make it fun, exciting, and rewarding. That's good parenting.

 

[MarvB]

Great way to introduce recoil and I’ve always been a fan of stepping kids up through shotguns (provided they fit) vs rifles first. Just my preference as there seems to be less “anticipation” flinch with them over heavier rifle rounds. Good work dad!!

 

[stevejfarms]

Good for him! I put a red dot on my SBE2 this year for turkeys, took 9 shots with 3-1/2“ 2 oz. turkey loads to get it sighted. I may have developed a flinch…ouch!

 

[Dougfirtree]

Good for him! I put a red dot on my SBE2 this year for turkeys, took 9 shots with 3-1/2“ 2 oz. turkey loads to get it sighted. I may have developed a flinch…ouch!

12 gauge turkey loads are brutal.