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any women who shoot
have issues with recoil.
They can be more con-
scious of it and, frankly,
more nervous of it than
men. A bad early experi-
ence can be really damaging. Where might
one begin? Perhaps by noting that the right
clothing, effectively padded at the shoul-
der, and good ear and eye protection will
promote initial confidence. It is also criti-
cal to diagnose eye dominance correctly.
Some women are mis-advised and it may
impact on felt recoil and much else. Too
often, women have been incorrectly told to
change shoulders (it can be sound advice on
rare occasions). As one hugely experienced
instructor told me recently, “It may work
to a degree but closing an eye would have
allowed them to advance more rapidly.”
Because of issues like this, it is vital to get
first-class instruction. It is important to sort
out your vision, learn to mount a gun consist-
ently well and stand in a good position that
maximises control and minimises recoil.
Failure to achieve these basics will prevent
progress. Two simple tips: first, try to keep
your back straight but relaxed with your ‘nose
over toes’ – front shoulder, front front hip and
front foot in a straight, vertical line – as you
address the bird. Secondly, if you are hav-
ing difficulty mounting the gun, try starting
with the stock under the armpit and gently
squeezed between the rib cage and upper
arm (the Churchill method – useful for those
with mounting issues, though muzzles must
be kept higher than he originally suggested).
Now, we might consider gun and car-
tridge choice. Historically, very light guns
of small bore were advised for women.
Often, this only aggravated recoil problems
and made learning to shoot more difficult.
It is significant that women were quite rare
in the shooting field until comparatively
recently. This meant there was a limited
pool of experience in dealing with their
issues objectively. Much has changed for
the better in the past 10 or 20 years. Most
shooting schools have introduced a lot of
women to the sport. For example, Holland &
Holland now has its well-established Green
and Silver Feathers courses and my local
ground, Fennes, has made teaching
women a specialty. Happily, it is a
growth area.
Does the 12-, 20- or 28-bore
give least recoil? The answer is
that all may work well if prop-
erly set up and matched to the
right cartridge, but women of
normal build should avoid heavy
guns or very light ones (as they should
avoid punchy, high-payload cartridges).A bad experience
with felt recoil when you
first start shooting can
affect your confidence.
It’s sensible to invest in
some expert
instruction.
Recoil