Originally Posted by HitnRun


According to Chuck Hawks, whom I would put more stock in than Campfire members, does say that a 20 gauge shotgun weighing 6.5 pounds with a 7/8 oz load will have less recoil than a 12 gauge weighing 7.5 pounds with 1 oz load.

Maybe, maybe not, but he has done more with ballistics than anyone else posting here.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/shotgun_recoil_table.htm


Quite correct - given that the velocity is the same in both cases. But the gauge has nothing to do with it. A 12 ga shotgun weighing 6.5 pounds with a 7/8 oz load will have less recoil than a 12 ga shotgun weighing 7.5 pounds with a 1 oz load.

Put another way, a 12 ga shotgun weighing 6.5 pounds with a 7/8 oz load will have exactly the same free recoil as a 20 (or 28) ga shotgun weighing 6.5 pounds with a 7/8 oz load.