Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Recoil management SBE3

I recently acquired a Benelli SBE3. It's a lefty--a rare find in my neighborhood.

I'm a big guy and generally don't notice recoil all that much, but test-firing this new shotgun with 3" 1 3/8 ounce Winchester Blind Side loads was an exercise in recoil management! I'm not sure if the light shotgun, the ammunition, or a combination of the two made for a stouter recoil but it had me searching Google for ways to tame the kick a bit.

Any suggestions?

Fifty views and no one has an opinion or recommendation?

Yes….
Since this particular shotgun and load is at your level of recoil tolerance… and provided the shotgun fits relatively well.. You have two choices. Shoot a softer shell…or add weight to the shotgun. The first is the easy fix….the second not so much.

There is a third, which would be a mechanical collapsible attachment to the stock…which may or may not work, and is expensive.

You should be sure, there is a good chance the combination of the two is the problem.

Good advice.

Load her up with a 3.5" shell and pull the trigger....after that you'll think the 3" is a pussy cat.

I have a PAST recoil shield I wear when shooting off a rest with a hard kicker....has a chest strap and could be worn under your shirt if you're worried about your buddies poking fun at you.

I shoot a left hand SBE with 3.5" loads hunting....off a bench rest it's a beast but normal shooting it isnt too bad.

I'd recommend buying a PAST....I believe today they are ambidextrous when I bought mine they made a left and right hand model.

Here ya go...I believe that's less than i paid for mine 30 years ago.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PAST-ADJUS...m46890.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

3 basic ways to reduce recoil
1) heavier gun
2) lighten the payload (I.e. go from 1 3/8 oz to 1 1/8 oz load)
3) slow the round down ( go from a 1400 FPS load to a 1200 FPS load)

If you have a rock hard recoil pad, change it out to a softer pad.

Almost any inertia gun that I am aware of will kick harder than a gas operated gun.
After 2 shoulder surgeries, I gave up on anything inertia in 12 ga.

LFC is right 3.5" turkey or duck hunting shells will make your round feel like a pop gun. The PAST pad does help as well

(1) Should he tape lead weights to his SBE3 to get the weight up...or maybe buy an expensive Mercury Reducer and put in the stock and throw off the balance of his gun ?

(2) Last I checked they don't offer 1&1/8 oz duck loads.

(3) No duck hunter wants a slow speed steel shot load.

The SBE3 comes with a soft recoil pad.....And most serious hunters don't want a gas operated shotgun.

PAST is the answer for a guy that doesn't shoot shotgun enough to get his shoulder conditioned to recoil....in cold weather thicker clothes will take care of most of the recoil.

Like Turkeys....Bring them into the decoys and stay around 30 yards and shoot 2 3/4 and all will be fine...TSS shells may be an option....

No pads, no lead weights, no mercury....

However, that is the easy answer....

1) if you are getting beat on bad enough, add weight to both the front and back of the gun to balance it out.

2) they do make 1 1/8 oz and he never said this was a dedicated waterfowl gun.

3) This point I will agree on, but it will reduce recoil by going to a slower shell.


I will be sure and let everyone know that hunts with a Remington 1100/1187/Versamax, Winchester SuperX, 1,2,3 and 4, Beretta autoloader (too many models to list) Browning Gold, etc. ,(Tired of typing) that according to you don't take waterfowl hunting seriously.

The easy answer is to use an 8-9# gun when sitting in a blind and save the light guns for walking miles after upland game.

Since you have bought a nice gun and want to use it for waterfowl, you need lighter shells. The 1.25 oz Blind Side will kick a little less, and 1200 fps bismuth or tungsten shells will kick a lot less.

I don't buy the "man up and learn to live with it" philosophy. Big guys feel recoil more than little guys because they roll with the punch less, and you will develop a flinch shooting those 1 3/8 ouncers. Swap them for something that fits the weight of the gun and have a good time. Hunting is for fun, not to prove how much punishment you can take (that's what marriage is for).

Another thought. Some people weight the gun by replacing the plastic magazine plug with a brass rod, and add lead in the butt until it balances to suit. You can take it back to 7# whenever you want.

Thank you gentlemen. This is some actionable intel, and I appreciate your thoughts.

I missed the opener due to covid, but I'm recovering and should be good to go so. It gives me time to make adjustments and/or purchases.

Best,

KP

4 stars...

Except for the big/little analogy. Little guys get rocked,,, the big ones just move a little….a solid chest punch will send the small fighter across the ring….the big boys hardly move. They may absorb more, but they get hurt less....

Watch the reaction difference between a small vs big trapshooter and who is getting pounded becomes obvious.

All comments above are good but if it doesn't fit youll still have issues. It has to fit you so you're melded to the gun. Otherwise it gets a loose and can accelerate to jab you.

A SBE fits pretty much everyone.

That could be true and op could be not of the almost. I know I'm not.

With its available shims it should be easy to make it close...

OP, have you had the same situation with a Beretta or Winchester?

Don’t alter the shotgun at all IMO. Find Kent 12 ga. shot shells in steel or bismuth in 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 oz loads if memory serves and you will be fine. They also have the Tungsten Matrix which are impressive but they are in the same 1 3/8 oz loads at 1400+ FPS you are trying to avoid.

And get the PAST recoil pad.

https://www.ducks.org/hunting/shooting-tips/kent-cartridge-guide-to-waterfowl-loads

Being lean n mean I think helps.
Guns stay put and are held against meat/ bone framing.
Theres no fat or extra muscle to act as an intermediate sliding surface or spacer.

Even after all that inertia guns seem to have a sharper pop
IMHO.

Speed really isn't all that advantageous...but some refuse to believe it...Notice their comment about 1400 fps

https://mullerchokes.com/blogs/blog/11227409-shotshell-velocity-speed-doesnt-kill

FWIW main goose rig for a decade was an 1100 magnum w 3" bismuth #2s.

Loved that gun but it was like new and shiny.... and I babied it.

Have a beater 1100 Special Purpose now and dont worry about it. Of course i treat it like crap and it still looks good.

Bought a high cap inertia gun for games/HD. It runs like a champ, but isnt exactly gentle on the shooter.

Much prefer my 1100 for comfy shooting.

Whom do you think you would have the best odds of a center chest punch putting them on the floor...

350 pound Sumo or the 120 pound skinny guy on the beach....

I used to be skinny and shot a lot, didnt bother me:)
Bigger folks got bruised and complained.

And you treat your gun like crap, but it still looks good.....

I don't have any experience with Berettas. My only Winchester is a 1938 Model 12 and I've only shot 2 3/4 inch lead for pheasants.

My last Benelli was an M2. I sold it when my dog died, but I don't recall it packing the same punch. That was six years ago, and memory is a fickle thing. That, and I shot mostly Kent Fast Steel loads back then. This is my first experience with both the SBE3 and BlindSide ammo, so there are more than a couple of variables involved.

I'll get it sorted out. Again, thanks for the pointers.

I've been shooting a SBE for 21 years....I like getting the hell kicked out of me.

Hook has a point .. heavier person is harder to move there for absorbs more recoil.. but perceived recoil is different for everyone

Correct they absorb more recoil....like a brick wall absorbs more recoil and nothing moves or breaks...while the picket fence gets a post snapped off...
Many of the best competition shooters are big....and they suck up recoil like a brick wall...while the small ones, with a lot of shooting, more often end up with neck and shoulder issues because their bodies are less able to suck up the pound force of recoil...

Car hits the 4 inch tree and it snaps....car hits the 2 foot round Oak and the Oak is left standing....

One more and I’ll leave it….Mike Tyson hits Joe Frazier with a solid shoulder punch. Then he gives the same punch to some scrawny lightweight. Which one is most likely to come away damaged and sent into the ropes?

I shoot Sporting Clay's about once a week...sometimes more sometimes less... I carry around a crying towel just for the guys that whine about recoil.....this shell kicks too hard or that gun kicks too hard....bunch of winers.

When I taught my oldest grandson to shoot a shotgun he said pap paw this gun kicks....my reply was "get over it your big sister hits harder than that".

Then I shot the 870 youth with the factory brick bat pad and said damn it does kick....then put a Pachmeyer decelorator on it.

Someone at Remington needs their azzes whipped for putting those hard recoil pads on kids guns.

Yep, it’s called a Beretta A400 or Remington V3 or Versamax, Winchester SX4 etc. Basically and descent gas gun that fits you. For example, my Beretta 390 mitigates recoil better than the Benellis carried by some of my hunting buddies. The Remington, Winchester and Browning gas guns do the same. We have all noticed it.

IF Beretta gives a better fit, and IF wrong side ejection is not a distraction, the A300 Ultima with a Trulock SK2 and Winchester Drylok 1300fps are practically grab n go. Flip safety and shim in a few minutes.

Couple IFs there, but there's probably another scenario that works the same.

Agree on hyper shells. 1300fps is my limit before headache. I can't prove it helps to shoot the same fps for everything.

This is probably way too late but there is one more way to reduce FELT recoil. That is to stretch the amount of time the recoil is happening. For example a soft butt pad does not reduce the amount of recoil, but it does reduce felt recoil. While it is compressing it is soaking up energy and slowing down the punch of the full recoil. I starting using a +25% recoil spring. This is a stronger spring in the stock. With heavier loads it stops the bolt from coming to the rear of the gun so fast. The stronger spring is reducing the amount of felt recoil. With a light load you will get the opposite effect.