Recoil - Consider the Consequences

It was a bright, sunny day in early 2006 and my practice session was going exceptionally well. Looking into the sky I was startled to see a very large, black, shadowy mass...which disappeared when I closed my left eye. I stopped shooting and called my eye doctor, Michael Holmes, MD who said come in now. Immediately.

The bad news, my retina had partially detached. The good news, laser surgery could re-attach it, restoring my left eye's vision to 100%. Had the retina completely detached, the outcome would have been much worse. Fully recovered, I'm grateful for the great care I received and the technology available. Vision in both eyes is holding at 20/15.

Since 1993 I've been stating in my articles that heavy recoil is not only a very real disadvantage to good shooting but will inevitably catch up to those who ignore this. I see head lifting and flinching all the time, both signs of the cumulative effects of recoil.

I personally do not use the super-fast shells with heavier recoil. Why did I encounter this eye emergency? To be perfectly honest with you, I simply don't know-nor did Michael. But I've now taken additional steps to hopefully avoid this emergency from occurring again. The first step was to purchase a PFS (Precision Fit Stock) which delivers a 50% reduction in recoil. The second step was to move to a 1 oz. load at about 1,230 fps. Felt recoil is similar to a moderate 28 gauge round-and terminal ballistics (results at the target) remain excellent, including those birds beyond the 50-yard marker.

Ballisticians, the gurus who understand what really happens after the firing pin meets the primer, urge us to pay less attention to the feet-per-second statistics and more to felt recoil and-not the perceived-but the actual, improved results at the target downrange. I couldn't agree more.

Serving Sporting Clays and Wingshooters for 3 decades:

Dan Schindler helps shooters alleviate a lot of their frustration by taking the mystery out of breaking targets, calling their own misses and make their own corrections. Lessons are fun, enlightening and you'll learn to shoot better in minutes! Daniel L. Schindler is the author of three books written in concise, simple, plain language that helps every shooter build a solid foundation, compete at a higher level, and takes the mystery out of their shooting:

Take Your Best Shot (Book I) - 2nd Edition is all about the fundamentals, a requirement for good shooting.

To The Target (Book II) Builds on the steps outlined in Book I. Emphasises Gun Management skills when the trap fires, creating a consistent, reliable, trustworthy swing.

Beyond the Target (Book III) is for shooters of all levels and filled with valuable information, clay target myth crushers and truths. Entertaining and a culmination 3 decades of Dan' life's' work as a teacher, competitor, writers and much more. Excellent reviews! Shipped to 8 countries.