My dad has a pretty old (30 years or so) 16 gauge and I have a 12 gauge. I am taking my kid brother (15 years old) dove hunting for the first time and I want to teach him some basics. He is pretty small so I want to minimize the kick. I would assume that a 12 gauge kicks harder, but my dad swears his 16 gauge kicks like a mule.

Thoughts?

Need more details about the guns.

Both Remington. Mine is a 1187 12 gauge. His is...I have no idea. Very old and faded. The barrel also had about 2-3 inches cut off of it at one point because my dad got mud on the end and shot it--messed up the end of the barrel. That's all the details I have about the gun. It was handed down to my dad from my grandpa after he messed up the barrel.

Depends on weight of the gun, type of shell being shot, action (semi, pump, single, o/u).

Perceived recoil is a function of a lot of things, including the type of action, condition of any springs, weight of the shotgun, angle of the butt on your shoulder to the action, recoil pad, etc., not just the round. You'd have to shoot both to tell the difference.

However, at 15 years old he should be able to handle whatever just fine, and 12 gauge ammo is much, much cheaper. I'd hand him the 12 and be done with it.

His is pump action

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Perceived recoil is a function of a lot of things, including the type of action, condition of any springs, weight of the shotgun, angle of the butt on your shoulder to the action, recoil pad, etc., not just the round. You'd have to shoot both to tell the difference.

However, at 15 years old he should be able to handle whatever just fine, and 12 gauge ammo is much, much cheaper. I'd hand him the 12 and be done with it.

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Alright. Ya, I was kind of thinking 12 wouldn't be too bad. I got my 12 when I was 15.

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Depends on weight of the gun, type of shell being shot, action (semi, pump, single, o/u).

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I guess I'll have him try both out and decide for himself then. Thanks!

The one that fits you the best may be the worst for him.....so felt recoil might flip. Best way is to let him decide after shooting both.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/shotgun_recoil_table.htm

Also 2 3/4 light dove load doesn't have much recoil

If we were talking ducks you could reduce recoil with your ammo selection

I do know one thing. 16ga. shells will definitely kick your wallet a lot harder than 12ga.

All things being equal, the 12 gauge is gonna kick harder. Simple physics.

And a ten gauge can really knock the hell outta you.

1187 is gas operated, "kick" shouildn't be an issue.

Just depends on the gun - my granddad has two 16 gauges. I don't recall the brands, but one kicks like a mule and the other is fairly light. The one that kicks hard is much worse than my 12.

Get 12g light loads to start and shoot the 1187. The 16g my uncle had was a pump, fairly light, and kicked pretty good. My 20g single shot that I had many years ago kicked harder than many 12g guns I've shot.The weight and the action of the semi absorbs a lot of recoil.

I personly think a 12 would be better than a 16 because i have been hunting since 5th grade and i have always used a 12 i think the 16 would also be more powerful than the 16 and i also heard that the 16 kicks harder than the 12 so i think you should use a 12 instead of a 16

7 year bump! Love my 16 11-48, best fit ive ever had.