Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns 3/4 oz @ 1,200 fps - Low Recoil?

I'm setting up a couple 20 gauge youth shotguns and can't find any "low recoil" ammo except for the load in the title - Nobel Sport brand advertised as "Low Recoil". I have plenty of the more conventional 7/8 oz at the same 1,200 fps and I can't see the 1/8 oz making much difference in recoil. The loads I have now are mostly Remington.

What says the Campfire? Does the 1/8 oz make much difference? Hold out for the 950 fps-ish loads?

3/4 oz @ 1200 fps is a 28 gauge equivalent load is much more pleasant than a standard 7/8 oz @1200 load, especially to recoil sensitive kid shooting a light weight 20.

7lb shotgun

free recoil with 3/4 oz @ 1200 fps = 9.95 (ft.lbf)
free recoil with 7/8 oz @ 1200 fps = 12.95 (ft.lbf)

I think there will be a difference. It is a 12.5% difference in shot weight. To me, small mathematical recoil reductions seem to be very significant in felt recoil once my personal threshold is reached. I shot thousands of 12ga 7/8oz skeet loads at what was supposed to be 1150fps or so. They seemed VERY much lighter than the 1 ounce 1180 light factory loads. To be fair, I did not check the MV of the 7/8 loads as I was afraid to damage my chronograph. If you can lay hands on any of the Fiocchi trainer 20's, they are 3/4oz at 1075 and are really low recoiling.

It makes a lot of difference, as payload/ejecta is the largest variable factor in shotgun recoil. Fiocchi also makes a terrific low recoil 20 gauge shell, about 1100 fps and 3/4 oz.

I have handloaded 3/4 oz in a 20 for many years, and found it is wonderfully efficient and effective.

This from a die hard 28 gauge guy - if 3/4 oz of shot is good in a 28, it is even better in a 20.

Thanks, Gents. That cost me a quick $139.89.

I'd really like to try the Fiocchi mentioned and also the Winlite offering. I just can't find the stuff. I've been out of shotshell reloading for decades and looked into it, but the price of components is through the roof or unavailable (like I'm telling you guys anything new).

I load 3/4 oz 20 almost exclusively for the 20. See no handicap vs 7/8 oz.

Ballistic Products has Cheddite 209s. Wads and Pb are around. Issue is powder. 20-28, Unique, Universal, International, GD are rarely seen. OTOH, Longshot is continually available online.

There's no Hodgdon data for LS with the 3/4 oz 20. But there is data for LS with 7/8 oz in the 20. So I use 7/8 oz data with 3/4 oz drops. Little dirty, but works. Cycles the heck out of a 391. Found it best to keep charge above 17 gr for consistency (my #17 throws 17.2 gr LS).

A reload that drops velocity 100 fps from 1200 down to 1100 will reduce recoil by around 16% using the same shot weight. Combine that with a drop of 1/8 oz in shot charge from 7/8 to 3/4 oz yields an additional 14% recoil reduction. So your 3/4 oz load at 1100 fps is around 30% softer than a 7/8 oz at 1200. Been using that concept for reloads in my wife's SxS AYA #2 20 ga for 20 years. Works great in the 391 as well!

Thanks for the info.

Same here.. I still have a bunch of those left; had to buy a 20 ga since I sold my SKB 3-barrel skeet set a couple years ago.. But 3/4 oz at 1100 is a sweet round indeed...