We took the Mossberg over to The-Friends-with-75-Acres house today to see how it shot, and so I could lose my shotgun virginity. Shorter Half measured the maximum distance in our house between the end of the hall by the bedrooms and the entry near the front hall, and paced off the distance when we got the range. At that distance (a little over 30 feet, if I remember correctly) without sights, the Mossberg shot a little high. Like maybe a hand-span. Not enough to worry about, I don't think. I did notice more decided kick than I'm used to (yes, compared to my Brown Bess …), so I think a recoil pad is in order. Oddly enough, my shoulder isn’t bothering me tonight, but the right side of my jaw is.
I also got to shoot a Remington 12 gauge. That was a slick little gun, but I like the controls on the Mossberg better.
We also did a reactive target demo for Sweet Daughter to show her what happens if you shoot something filled with a liquid … like the Big Bad Wolf.
First the soda can.
Then the gallon jug of water.
Then the TFW75A’s son shot another jug. Sorry that I moved, but you can see the water just starting to spray out.
Remember the lyrics to that old song:
ReplyDelete"You can't talk to a man, with a shotgun in his hand"
You probably weren't maintaining a solid cheekweld with the stock.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't have solid contact between your cheek and the stock, when you fire, the stock can "slap" you in the face, causing the sore jaw.
We run into this all the time when teaching new shooters. Often they'll pull their head up off the gun at the last second in anticipation of the recoil and blast and lose the cheekweld, which then allows the shotgun to pop them.
SailorCurt,
ReplyDeleteYeah. Found out about that whole "cheek weld" thing today. For now it's gin & tonic and ibuprophen. Live and learn. *grin*
Shorter Half is already looking into recoil pads.
Some times the best learned lessons are the ones learned the hard way.
ReplyDeleteShotgun goodness. Luv'en it.
ReplyDelete