Everyone I've ever talked to says a 10 gauge kicks like the devil, the worst you'll ever shoot, but I wonder if that's totally true. It doesn't throw any more lead any faster in turkey loads, and the guns are heavier, so why would it kick harder? The only reason I can think of for a 10 gauge would be waterfowl and turkey since it doesn't deform shot as much. Anyone know any more on the subject?

A 12ga/3-1/2" is compared to a .458 win. mag on recoil.

Guys use them for geese and sandhill cranes a lot. I think they have lost popularity since the introduction of the 12 gauge 3.5" mag though. A 3.5" mag may have the same ft lbs of recoil as a .458 Win Mag, but shotgun recoil and rifle recoil are two different things. Rifles have a sharp kick, whereas shotguns have more of a push. I wouldn't think twice about the recoil of a 3.5" mag (or 10 gauge) being too much because the only time people use them is when they are hunting, and the adrenaline rush you get from shooting makes it so you don't even notice you're firing a gun.

Hello. I've owned a 10 gauge Remington Sp 10 for probably 7 years now and have had a SBS and a pump. I hunt geese and turkeys with it. I also shoot a Benelli Super Black Eagle 12 gauge 3 1/2 inch mag. Both calibers throw the same amount of pellets. The ten gauge just thows them in a much better pattern. One reason is because the shot column is shorter therefore yeilding less deformed pellets. The 10 does it with less pressures yeilding less deformed pellets. The 10 (this is one I am not 100% sure on) is easier to build square loads (better proportioned loads ieressures, velocities, less powder). What a back-bored 12 gauge in the hands of a trap shooter does is imitate a 10 gauge, they are bored to 10 gauge specs. The 10 with its better patterns will give a better killing pattern at longer distances. The pattern will display a more dense, shorter shot string and less errant pellets lost. What you can do with taylored lead loads is to drop a flying goose under the best conditions is to drop a goose well past 75 yards (I won't tell you how far). The guns swing like clubs and the recoil? Well I cannot tell you. I patterned it once and never again. When you hunt with it you'll never feel it or go back to a 12 gauge for the true big game birds.There is some good info on this amazing shot shell. If you want more reading PM me. I'll be happy to direct you.

Really? Didn't knowthere wassuch a thing as Rifle Recoil and Shotgun Recoil?I thought ft/lbs was ft/lbs!!!

i think he means there's a difference in the recoil effects of a rifle and shotgun

Hey Reb, fancy meeting you here! Yes there is a difference. The difference is the duration of the impulse. A shotgun's duration of recoil is longer therefore the perceived recoil is less, much like a muzzle loader. The lotal can be the same but the shorter the duration the sharper it feels. I can shoot a 10 gauge all day but my 454 Casull makes me act like Micheal Jackson on a dance floor. If an 18 wheeler bumps you at 2 miles per hour who cares right? but if a .177 pellet hits you at 1,000 ftps you'll howl like a girl right? (just kidding as usual) The real difference is the the perceived recoil. In the end a shotgun only spits it load at 1300 to 1500ftps and a bigger load compared to a 300 win mag. But the 300 spits out at a tiny load of 180 gr at 2800 ftps. All this is counter acted by recoil pads which delays the recoil impulse therefore delays the total recoil. Clear as mud? Not my fault!

10 gages are usually not that bad because they make the guns so much more heavy. Go check out like a browning pump. The 12 ga will weigh like 7lb's and the 10 ga will weigh like 10 lb's.

I used to have a NEF single shot 10-gauge, and my buddies 870 with 3.5's kicks a hell of alot more.

Had one of those Brownings. Great gun! Works like a soldier and never complains. Only problem is that the stroke is too long for me but still one of the best 10 gauge buys.