12 U/O with good recoil pad

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12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by russell » 16 Sep 2019, 11:59 am

Hi all,

I'm looking to get a 12ga for ducks and clays. As inexpensive as possible unless someone wants to convince me otherwise.

One feature that is important to me is a good recoil pad, because I broke my collar bone years ago and the plate is still in there. I shoot a 30-06 just fine but am a little bit nervous about busting out 75+ rounds of 12 ga on clays.

I know I could pay a gunsmith to fit a Pachmyr to any gun but given the cost consideration thought I'd ask if there are any at the low price end that come from the factory with a good pad fitted?
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by rookie » 16 Sep 2019, 4:42 pm

You can fit the recoil pad yourself .. the end result doesn’t have to be overly pretty ... I just wouldn’t rule out a gun choice because of the recoil pad that it comes with out of the box.

I put in a pitch spacer - ie. a wedge shape spacer between my recoil pad and the stock and it just required sanding.

If u have a Dremel it helps get it close then I used a basic sanding block and sand paper to get even closer. You wouldn’t notice if the pad extends over the sides of your stock by 1 or 2 mm.

Then, the speed of the cartridge may determine the recoil from there ... I don’t know about field/game loads but with clay target loads you can use reduced speed cartridges to mitigate the felt recoil.

I believe 1200fps or less are what’s recommended for junior / lady shooters and they’ll do the job for DTL (regular trap shooting).

Also they say a heavier gun may absorb more recoil but I believe that’s with avoiding barrel rise (ie. so u stay on target for ur second shot) more than the felt recoil on your shoulder.

If u provide an idea of budget, I’m sure people will chime in with recommendations.

“Inexpensive as possible” may be Turkish shotties like ATA, Huglu, Akkar, Hatsan, etc.
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by russell » 16 Sep 2019, 5:38 pm

Thanks - does a pitch spacer absorb recoil??

Low recoil loads for the clays sounds like a good option for me. For the ducks I'm hoping standard loads will be fine given lower number of shells fired in a day.

On brands and price it seems there is a bunch of Turkish ones around the $1000 mark. Not sure if there is much difference between them? I had a look at a Webley & Scott made in Turkey at the local shop. It had an OK looking pad on it. The Miroku (more $$ than I want to spend) they had just had hard plastic!

I have seen online some used Miroku Mk70s with aftermarket pads fitted for around that price so maybe that's a better option.
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by bladeracer » 16 Sep 2019, 5:51 pm

russell wrote:Thanks - does a pitch spacer absorb recoil??

Low recoil loads for the clays sounds like a good option for me. For the ducks I'm hoping standard loads will be fine given lower number of shells fired in a day.

On brands and price it seems there is a bunch of Turkish ones around the $1000 mark. Not sure if there is much difference between them? I had a look at a Webley & Scott made in Turkey at the local shop. It had an OK looking pad on it. The Miroku (more $$ than I want to spend) they had just had hard plastic!

I have seen online some used Miroku Mk70s with aftermarket pads fitted for around that price so maybe that's a better option.


Not usually, but if you used a soft rubber it might help reduce felt recoil. Only way to reduce actual recoil is to work on velocity, shot/powder mass, and firearm mass, as those three things dictate how much recoil there is.
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by bladeracer » 16 Sep 2019, 5:52 pm

rookie wrote:Also they say a heavier gun may absorb more recoil but I believe that’s with avoiding barrel rise (ie. so u stay on target for ur second shot) more than the felt recoil on your shoulder.


Mass of the firearm is an important factor in how much it recoils, heavier firearms recoil less and more slowly.
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by duncan61 » 16 Sep 2019, 7:25 pm

1 oz Target ammo is very light recoil and should not give you much trouble the other end of the scale is no 4 copper plated 3 inch magnums.They will hurt anyone after a while
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by russell » 16 Sep 2019, 8:01 pm

Doing some more looking online, the Akkar Churchill seems to get positive comments here and elsewhere and is advertised as having an ultrasoft recoil pad. As low as $700 secondhand ... tempting.
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by duncan61 » 16 Sep 2019, 8:12 pm

I am sure you can retro fit a pad to suit.One of my pet hates when I was into shotgunning was people stating this gun or that gun kicks when it is the ammo you use that kicks.good call shopping around you need something that points for you
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by russell » 16 Sep 2019, 8:18 pm

[quote="duncan61"you need something that points for you[/quote]

That's the problem for me, I have only done one round of clays before, years ago, so I don't really know how it should feel if it's a good fit. Tried a few at the shop today and I'm like :unknown: :D . I figure just get something not too dear and I can always trade it down the track if I later get enough of a feel for it to know it's not a good fit...
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by bladeracer » 16 Sep 2019, 8:50 pm

russell wrote:That's the problem for me, I have only done one round of clays before, years ago, so I don't really know how it should feel if it's a good fit. Tried a few at the shop today and I'm like :unknown: :D . I figure just get something not too dear and I can always trade it down the track if I later get enough of a feel for it to know it's not a good fit...


That was my thought as well, so I got the Stoeger Condor with 30" barrels, 3" chambers. I also got the Dickinson T1000 straight-pull.
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by duncan61 » 16 Sep 2019, 8:51 pm

You are about to embark on a magnificent journey in space and time where the only thing real is the next range meet and duck season
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by marksman » 16 Sep 2019, 8:54 pm

this is how you check russell
you need to do this in front of a mirror
put 2 clothes pegs on the vent rib, hold the gun with both hands across your chest as if walking along
pick a target in the mirror, close your eyes and pull the shotgun into your shoulder pointing where you want to shoot
open your eyes and see how the gun is lined up with your eyes looking directly through the peg openings along the vent rib, if everything is ok
if the gun is slanted off to a side or a bad fit you will not be able to see through the pegs

this is how I have been shown to practice as well, you see a hell of a lot of guys who will have the gun on there shoulder pointing down range before they call pull when shooting clays but it is easier to have the gun across your chest and point to what you are looking at IMHO
works for me anyway

another thing, dont be changing the recoil pad till after you try the gun out, it may surprise you and not need to be changed
as said the target loads are light recoil only having 1 oz of shot, field loads have more shot
good luck with it :drinks:
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by Blr243 » 16 Sep 2019, 9:14 pm

An expensive recoil pad will cost less than a new shoulder
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by duncan61 » 16 Sep 2019, 9:56 pm

Marksman has got it spot on but the space time thing is more fun
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by russell » 16 Sep 2019, 10:25 pm

duncan61 wrote:You are about to embark on a magnificent journey in space and time where the only thing real is the next range meet and duck season


Yeah, I already a bit obsessed. Although there's only so many times I can watch my duck hunting DVD (called funnily enough It's An Obssession). Quack quack quack quack BANG splash, repeat five dozen times :lol:
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by rookie » 16 Sep 2019, 10:51 pm

russell wrote:Thanks - does a pitch spacer absorb recoil??

Not really, it's more to help me with the second shot by helping with the direction the recoil is directed. ... I mentioned it because fitting a recoil pad couldn't be much different to installing a spacer.

But, I'm not sure if this might apply to you and your collarbone but this is the theory with the pitch spacer:

Say for example this is how you need to mount your shotgun to get your eye aligned down the rib (ie. a little high).

pitch00.jpg
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Notice the gap between the recoil pad and shoulder? .. when you fire the gun, the stock is going to pivot upwards to fill that void (the barrel will point upwards as a consequence).

pitch00b.jpg
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It will take a bit of effort to get the barrel back on target in this case - and my suspicion is that the gap will cause "more" felt recoil than if there wasn't a gap.

You can mount the gun with more of a forward lean, to help fill the gap .. or do lots of push-ups :lol:

pitch01.jpg
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and maybe get a curved recoil pad ... if it's not in the right place, you can get height adjusting recoil pads to help put it in the right place on your shoulder ..

pitch01c.jpg
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Or a cheap option, is to try and fill the gap with a pitch (wedge shaped) spacer.

pitch02.jpg
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I've found it has helped me stay on target and I get many more second shots than I used to - I can also use faster cartridges (for olympic trap later on)

pitch02b.jpg
pitch02b.jpg (16.46 KiB) Viewed 4932 times


russell wrote:On brands and price it seems there is a bunch of Turkish ones around the $1000 mark.


Truth be told, there's probably not much that differs them from Italian shotties at about 2 - 3 times their price as well.

Except the support you get, availability of spare parts and resale value.

A guy from an LGS once told me that really you got to step up to +$5K to be able to tell the difference and I sorta know where he is coming from with my 692.

russell wrote:I have seen online some used Miroku Mk70s with aftermarket pads fitted for around that price so maybe that's a better option.


That's a good option .. I've got quite a few mates that shoot Miroku's and I learnt on a Miroku hire gun.

bladeracer wrote:Mass of the firearm is an important factor in how much it recoils, heavier firearms recoil less and more slowly.


Sounds right - thanks for clarifying.

duncan61 wrote:you need something that points for you
russell wrote:That's the problem for me, I have only done one round of clays


See if you can afford an option with an Adjustable Comb as you can move it up/down as well as left/right .. it should help fit a gun to you (along side all the after market stuff, like the pitch spacer and adjustable recoil pads, etc).

russell wrote:I figure just get something not too dear and I can always trade it down the track


Realistically, you don't get a lot of resale value for second-hand / third-hand turkish shotties.. just bear that in mind if this is part of your plan.

If possible, hire some at your range ... try out someone elses .. try and see what works before committing ..

Otherwise, if you got something relatively decent, you would be more likely to convert the comb to be adjustable, recoil pad how you like it, etc ..

duncan61 wrote:You are about to embark on a magnificent journey in space and time where the only thing real is the next range meet and duck season


So true!

marksman wrote:another thing, dont be changing the recoil pad till after you try the gun out, it may surprise you and not need to be changed


Yep, and have a look at the numerous youtube videos regarding the installation of a recoil pad to alleviate any fears doing it yourself.

Some are supposedly out of the box replacements also, so you don't have to do a lot of sanding to get them looking right .. I assume the screw holes are pretty much in the right spot.
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by TassieTiger » 17 Sep 2019, 10:19 am

If i were to do it again - an adjustable comb would be high on my priority list...
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by sungazer » 17 Sep 2019, 1:40 pm

First and most important question is it going to be a comp gun or a hunting gun. If just a hunting and you want cheap the Adlers at $500 are a bargain. A mate of mine that has worked in the vineyards and on rice as pest control cant say enough good thing about the guns he has over 10,000 on one and had bought a second now as one did break the pump slide that has since been replaced and all back and working great again for him.
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by russell » 25 Sep 2019, 9:00 am

Thanks again everyone for the input. I bought a Miroku Mk70 second hand with a kick-eez pad fitted. Now to wait for the PTA. I thought it was instant these days but I guess I got my wires crossed!
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Re: 12 U/O with good recoil pad

Post by rookie » 26 Sep 2019, 9:32 am

russell wrote:I bought a Miroku Mk70 second hand with a kick-eez pad fitted

Nice choice - never heard anyone say a bad thing about a Miroku, especially at their price point. I’ve shot a Mk70, mk38, mk10 and ml11 (lots of my mates have them) and they all shoot well :thumbsup:

The range I go to uses them as hire guns and have had 100,000’s of rounds through them and they still go alright

Happy shooting :drinks:
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