10 WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK
designedforwalking-upgameunderCon-
tinental or US conditions and are, in my
experience,notwellsuitedtowomen’sclay
orgameshootinghere.Idealfieldgunsinmy
experiencewouldbestandard28inand30in,
base grade, Beretta, Browning and Miroku
20-boreswithsuitablymodifiedstocks.I also
liketheGueriniandRizzinigunsforwomen.
Sadtosay,butI wouldprobablynotadvise
a side-by-sidethesedays–theytendtobe
moredifficulttocontrolthanstack-barrelled
gunsandarelessforgivingofvisualissues.As
for12-bores,withmostmass-manufactured
gunsmycallwouldbeforgame-ribbed28in
barrels with or without multichokes (the
game-ribbed,fixed-choke guns tend to be a
littlelighterforward).
Wehavenotsaidmuchaboutcartridges,
myadviceforgameshootingwouldbe to
keepthe payloaddownto1oz(28g)oran
11 / 16 th(30g)drivenatmidvelocities.Tryout
severalbrands.Youwilloftennoticediffer-
encesinfeltrecoilbetweendifferentmakes
with apparently similar specifications. For
clay training and teaching, no one needs
more than 24gmin a 12-bore (21gm and
24gmworkwellina 20).
Finally, what about all the anti-recoil
gizmos? Hundreds have been marketed.
Muzzlebrakesandbarrelportingwereonce
infashion.Mercuryandmechanical‘recoil’
reducers may still be seen.You mayalso
encounter hydraulic,sprung orpneumatic
shockabsorbers,andpaddedorrubberised
cheekpieces(quitecommononoldguns).
Someofthesehavelittlerealeffect,some
arebetterproven(theIsissystemhasa lot
of fans amongst competitionshots). I am
notgenerallyanadvocateofgizmos;a well-
chosen, well-fitted gun and sound basic
technique will sort most women’s recoil
issues. The modern polymer pads work
well,asnoted,andsimilarmaterialmaybe
slippedintoshootingclothing(Berettaand
Mustobothofferit)orwornattheshoulder
in a strapped carrier. Gas-operated semi-
automaticshotgunscandramaticallyreduce
recoil. Available in all bore sizes, they may be
admirablysuitableforfemaleshotsbutare
not normally welcome on a driven shoot.
THESCIENCEOFRECOIL
Recoilisthemotionofa gunintheoppo-
sitedirectiontoitsprojectile/s.Factors,apart
fromthephysiqueoftheshooter,thatneed
tobetakenintoconsiderationincludegun
weight,muzzlevelocity,operatingpressure,
projectile mass and bore size. Recoil has
twophases.Thefirst,calledprimaryrecoil,
beginsasthemainchargeignitesonfiring
creatinga lotofhighpressureina limited
space.Theinertiaofthestationarywadand
shotis overcomeandtheyarepusheddown
thebarrelagainstforcesoffrictionandair
resistance.Secondaryrecoilcomesafterthe
ejecta(wad,shot,burntpowderresidue,etc)
exitthe muzzlesandthere isa releaseof
gas,whichhasthetendencytopushthe gun
backlikea rocketbeinglaunched.
There is also upwards rotation during
recoil because the bore axis isabove the
shoulderline.It maycausethecombtocome
intosuddencontactwiththezygomaticarch
(cheekbone).Andthereisthepossibilitythat
thebuttmayslipat theshoulder(especiallyif it
is poorlyshapedorwronglysurfaced).Con-
sequently, andespeciallywhenconsidering
femaleshooters,it makessensetodoevery-
thing possible to prevent or reduce these
effects.It issensibletominimisetheincline
ofthestockcombif possibleandmakesureit
relievesthefaceinrecoil(whichmayrequire
tapering/re-shaping ofthe comb).Women
oftenhavehighercheekbonesthanmen, so
these considerations become critical.
VISIONANDRECOIL
Some women who have been advised to
shootwithbotheyesopenmay,unknownto
themselves,beaffectedbya pullfromtheeye
oppositetheribconstantlyoroccasionally.
Thiscanbehardforanybutthemostexperi-
encedinstructor-gunfittertospot.It canhave
theeffectofchangingtheangleatwhichthe
combimpactsthecheekinrecoil– leading
todiscomfort.Closingordimmingoneeyeas
youtaketheshotmaybea simplecure.But
notallwomenareabletocloseorwinkone
eyeeasily;theymayneeda physicalobstruc-
tiontothevisionoftheeyeoppositetherib.
Therearemanywaystodoit;mypreference
isa small,carefullypositionedspotonthe
shootingglasses.Ifpositionedwell,thiswill
onlycomeintoeffectasthegunisraisedto
thebirdandwillallowforthebenefitsofbin-
ocularvisionuntilthegunis fullymounted.
MichaelYardleyis a FellowoftheAssociation
of Professional Shooting Instructors
Recoil
Left:keepcartridgepayloaddownandtryseveral
brands.Below left:the angle of the comb is key
