HUNTER74

I agree that felt recoil is subjective and relative to what is being fired. When I say that I don’t notice much difference between my .30-06, 7mm RM, and .300 WM, I mean firing multiple shots from the bench, i.e. sighting in a scope. Obviously, I can tell a difference with my .30-06 if I just got done firing a bunch from my AR-15. Conversely, if I just fired a box of .45-70 out of my Marlin 1895G, the 7mm and .30’s feel like light calibers. I still say the 12 gauge kicks harder than anything .300 WM or less, IMO.

tocs

I have a mossberg 835 12 guage and I do hunt turkeys with 31/2 inch 5's and with the exception of checking my pattern every year I don't want to shoot the shotgun unless I am shooting at a Tom.It flat out pounds you.I have owned a .300 win mag in a winchester feather weight.Light gun big caliber,it didn't kick nearly as bad.
A decent solution is to get a shotgun that is a semi-automatic,because of the release of gases with the ejection of the shell the recoil is significantly less.A high end recoil pad is a pretty good idea too.

statjunk

Does someone have an estimate for the amount of kick that a 12 guage turkey load produces?

Tom

dvdegeorge

Depends on the gun and load your shooting.My 835 Ultimag with 3 1/2" loads kicks like a .416 WOW[]

white bear

I don't know if my limited experience is going to help any in this thread, but when sighting in Turkey loads in my Remington shotgun, it feels more heavy recoil than when I shoot my Remington 30-06 BDL with a plastic butt pad.
I can shoot that 700 for the entyre afternoon and it don't bother me at all, but 25 rounds with my Remington 700 BDL in 300 W. M. (with recoil pad) and I get a headache from the whiplash.
I will say that Turkey loads feel to me like the 300 Magnun.

rost495

Recoil is so subjective. My 125 pound wife has shot a 460 and said it was a bit much but very workable. Have a 300 pound large framed buddy(IE not 300 pounds of fat) that almost cried when his 338 came in. had to put a brake on it right away.

There are so many things involved. Same amount of recoil but at differing speeds of recoil makes a huge difference. Shape of stock and how it fits. What position you shoot from. How hard you hold the gun. How tense your body is. How scared you are.

I will not get another rifle without having a quality recoil pad on it regardless(well maybe not on a 243.....) I even have a pad on a lightweight 308. You can do it without, but with pad makes it nicer. All stocks will fit or be cut to fit. After that I can put on a brake if needed. And the heck with those that constantly bitch about brakes. One shot I can live with in the field.

End thoughts are to buy what you want to and you can most likely figure out how to make it work and live with it. As to all the mag shells-- I do think that the 7 mags mentioned are a bit less in recoil than the 30s with larger bullets. But to me there isn't a ton of difference.

Jeff

Californiadoctor

I have a Remington SP-10 and shoot 3 1/2 inch 10 guage magnum loads. The recoil using 2 1/4 ounce turkey loads is similar to my Weatherby Vanguard in .300 Weatherby Magnum. I find it quite manageable. However, the SP-10 is a very heavy gun, 11 pounds, and the felt recoil from a 7 1/2 pound 12 guage firing 3 1/2 inch magnums might be very punishing in comparison.

Californiadoctor

Slamfire

There wasn't nothin' pushy about the 3" 17/8 oz turkey load I shot ONE of to pattern my shotgun. More like a rap on the shoulder by a good light heavy weight, a sensation I had ONCE in the Navy.

allcamo

I own a .338 win. mag and would shoot it all day long compared to my buddies 12 ga. w/ 3 1/2 slugs! I'm no small guy, about 225 pounds but those slugs were brutal. If you can handle shooting a 12 ga. with 3 1/2 turkey loads you can handle any of the calibers you mentioned.

Fiahblade

The 12 guage with 3 1/2's will kick ya harder.