Why Doesn’t This 12-Gauge Kick Like a 12-Gauge?

Yes, I’m talking about actual recoil, not felt recoil. Felt recoil reduction and the means to achieve it were addressed in the April 2003 issue. In that same article, I put forth the argument that the only way to reduce actual recoil required lower velocity from the muzzle and lighter loads in the chamber. In light of a newly patented stock system being offered by Knoxx Industries, it’s possible I was wrong.

The Knoxx Comp Stock system employs an extension spring, cam lever, plunger, and roller entirely housed within the buttstock. These elements serve to expend actual recoil energy, and use what’s left over to reset the spring for the next shot. They also slow down the recoil process. For example, a 12-gauge hunting load delivers its normal peak in 4 milliseconds. With the Knoxx Comp Stock installed, it peaks in 20 milliseconds.

Independent laboratory test results point to a reduction in actual recoil of 50 percent, and some Knoxx customers say they’ve experienced as much as 90-percent felt-recoil reduction with all loads—all loads include Magnums. Did I take the independent laboratory tests and customer testimonials at face value? Heck no! Instead, I set up my own test after installing a Comp Stock on a well-used and faithful Mossberg 500—a shotgun that I knew, for sure, delivered the actual recoil of a 12 gauge.

I also knew of a shooting club that was holding its second "Ladies Day at the Range" event. The first event had been a great success, with every indication of attendance improving for subsequent events. Since my home state is among the states that don’t yet issue concealed-carry permits to ordinary law-abiding citizens, the shooting club’s administrators recognized the force that female voices can bring to bear upon the politicos who were about to cast a legislative vote.

The club’s strategy of getting more women involved in shooting and shooting sports is a wise one. Knoxx contracts with Hogue, the well-known maker of grips, to manufacture the Comp Stock System. To install it on the Mossberg, I removed the original buttstock and recoil pad before turning my attention to the Comp Stock, which has to be disassembled before it can be mounted.

Its recoil pad was removed after dipping a Phillips-head screwdriver with 1/4-inch-diameter shaft into light grease, inserting it into the pad, and backing out both screws. The grease helps prevent damage to the recoil pad. Removal of the butt pad exposes the back plate of the recoil device, which is held to the Comp Stock by two decking screws. These are easily taken out to separate the device and the hard sleeve that protects it from the body of the buttstock.

The Comp Stock is attached to the Mossberg in reverse order. With some shotgun models, you may need a different-length stock bolt. If so, one can usually be turned up at a hardware store, but this was not necessary with the Mossberg. I merely placed the washer supplied with the Comp Stock under the head of the factory stock bolt, started the The shotgun does not have to be taken down beyond stock removal and basic field stripping to make the conversion.

bolt into the receiver, tightened it securely, and reassembled the Comp Stock. The forend is removed by taking off its retaining nut and separating the barrel from the receiver. Disassembly of the forend must be done with a wrench designed specifically for the purpose. The best one I’ve found for the job is made by Menck, available from Brownells, and can be used on dozens of different scatterguns. Once the retainer is off, slide the forend off the magazine tube.

This detaches it from the action slide so you can slip on the new forend (supplied), and tighten it in place with the retaining nut. When I was finished, the Mossberg still looked like a Mossberg that had been fitted up with a black, textured buttstock and black forend. Its barrel remained its original flat olive-drab color. I could have sprayed the barrel with a flat-black baked-on finish from Brownells, but this was no beauty contest. The Model 500 would do just fine as it stood.

Visitors to "Ladies Day at the Range" receive about two hours of safety/familiarization classroom instruction before heading outdoors to fire their choice of handguns, rifles, and shotguns provided for their use by club members under the close supervision of certified instructors. (The maximum number of shooters per instructor is two.) Having my double purpose in mind, I volunteered to work the trap range.

I must admit my twotone Mossberg looked more than a little out of place next to the high-end Krieghoff, Perazzi, Browning, Remington, and Beretta shotguns. But never mind how it looked. Did the Comp Stock reduce the actual recoil of the Model 500? Despite a barrel length that was too short for serious trap, I talked several ladies into trying it out before they shouldered one of the other twelves. "Just to get the feel of a 12 gauge shotgun," was the way I put it. And several did.

Every one of the women wanted to know why "these other guns kick more." I responded with a highly non-technical explanation, during which I explained that the same system was presently available for the The wrench is available from Brownells. Winchester 1300-Series, the Remington 870-Series, and a kit was coming from Knoxx that would convert any shotgun stock not housing a recoil spring.

True, we were only using target loads, but when the day at the range was over, a club member who had not tried the Model 500 wanted to check it out with a game load. He did, and was as surprised as the female visitors. He offered the opinion that the lowered recoil would be even more noticeable when still heavier charges were chambered. So the system works. And when Knoxx says "the only thing that gets hammered is the target," my little independent test says they’re not just blowing smoke.

Though I didn’t try a Remington, Ruger, Winchester, or Mauser bolt-action rifle, there are Comp Stocks available to fit them, and I have no reason to doubt they’d be just as effective reducing actual recoil in those rifles as they were with the Mossberg 500. Comp Stock prices are set up well for a profit, too. The shotgun version retails for $119.95; the rifle version is $249.95 to $389.95; with a dealer discount of 30 percent.

For more information, you can call Knoxx at or take a peek at their full product line at ■