Top sporting and FITASC shot Dave Izzard is, by his own admission, a leading expert on flinching. He is also a skilled engineer and tool maker and he has designed a new recoil damping system that could offer the best hope yet for those afflicted with this most confidence sapping affliction. Richard Rawlingson met up with him to find out more.

Shooting hasn't been much fun for Dave Izzard these last six years. Despite having reached the peak of the sport, with numerous England and Great Britain team places to his name, he found himself dreading having to pull the trigger, rather than enjoying the fruits of his success. What first started as a fall-off in performance, as a result of the occasional tendency to hesitate before firing, became a full-scale and virtually uncontrollable flinch. It got so bad that on one round of skeet, using the lightest 24 gram loads, he flinched 16 times.

He tried all the known remedies. Trigger pulls were checked and tuned, then a switch made to a heavier gun. Recoil pads, back boring, ported barrels and chokes - you name it, he tried it and still the problem got worse. The next stage was to try out a semi-automatic, with all the same modifications. This did produce some initial improvement, although soon using just 28 gram loads became a problem and he had to switch to a mixture of 24 and 28 to fool his subconscious, not the ideal choice when faced with the kind of targets top level FITASC competition throws at you!

By now desperate for any assistance, Dave investigated the various recoil-dampening devices that are available - some of which we have featured in Clay Shooting over the last year - but was disappointed to find no hydraulic units suitable for use with autos. For most of us that would have been the end of it, but when you are an engineer by training then you can set out to make what is unavailable. Lengthy research into component manufacturers around the world and a number of prototypes later, he has a unit that is now ready to be marketed to fellow sufferers. I'll let him take up the story:

Sophisticated linear bearing features dozens of tiny ball bearings

"My design brief was for a hydraulic unit that could be fitted to semi-auto and over-and-under stocks. It had to be very smooth in operation, small and lightweight. I looked at existing units and saw one or two areas where they might be improved, in particular I wanted a shaft and bushing system that eliminated the possibility of 'lock-up' when the load moved off centre. This happens when the load moves from the centre of the butt plate to the heel or toe - for example when firing at targets under your feet or directly overhead. The shaft and bushes may not run freely in such situations and the recoil is transmitted through the unit into the shoulder.

The heart of the unit is the shock absorber, which is remarkably sophisticated despite its size. Instead of a single orifice for the hydraulic oil to be forced through under compression, it has multiple ports that extend through the complete stroke length. Initially all are in use, then they are gradually closed off as the piston travels through its stroke. That's the technically clever bit Ð what it means in practice is that the pressure against the piston head remains the same throughout, giving constant - or linear - deceleration and a very smooth feeling for the shooter. It also means that the unit will automatically adjust itself whatever load is being used.

The first unit was an immediate success. "I installed it on my semi-auto and was able to use loads right up to 36 gram without any flinching problems, so I made up another to fit on my Perazzi over-and-under. Having been virtually unable to shoot the gun for some time, I can now use it with confidence with a full range of cartridges. Like all such ideas, it can't remove recoil but it makes it much smoother and much more acceptable."

I have become convinced over the past few years that recoil is the hidden enemy of many shooters. For every one like Dave Izzard who has openly faced up to the issue, there are probably ten more either denying they have a problem or unaware of it. The mind will only take so much punishment without rebelling and it does not take a full-blown flinch to start costing you targets. I know from my own chronic neck problems just how debilitating it can be and how what should be fun becomes sheer misery. Perhaps the answer is to never let things get to such a stage and work at prevention rather than cure? So many shooters claim to have no problems with recoil, but by the time it becomes obvious the damage is done.

So it was with great interest that I tried out Dave's two prototype units, particularly the one fitted to his Beretta auto, knowing that there is nothing comparable available on the market at the moment. We chose to go to the skeet range and shoot pairs from peg four - an excellent test because it requires a rapid change of direction and shows up handling characteristics very quickly.

The first impression is the sheer smoothness of it all and how progressive it feels, with no two-stage movements or jerkiness. We tested the self-adjusting feature by working rapidly up in sequence from light 24 gram loads through to some of the most powerful 36 gram FITASC shells on the market. Only at this extreme did I begin to notice any perceptible difference and normally howitzers like these have me running for the car park. If anything the Perazzi was even more comfortable. The loss of the auto's inherent ability to mask recoil was compensated for by the extra weight of the over-and-under (it is nearly 9lbs but beautifully balanced) and somehow it all seems calmer without the clatter of the auto's operating system. I was struck too by how stable the gun seemed; the transition to the second target of the pair was effortless, with hardly any deflection of the barrels off line. That tiny shock absorber really does seem to maintain a constant rate of deceleration, with no peaks or troughs to make you aware of its action.

The key to the best results lies in the gun mount. The damper needs firm resistance to work against, so the gun must be held snugly in the shoulder, but not pulled back hard into it. Too light a hold and the initial movement will be back into the shoulder, while too tight a hold will compress the unit and reduce its efficiency. Some slight compression (about 3mm) is just right and the unit will be supplied with a set of three different return springs to allow for variations in the user's style.

One of the design objectives was light weight and the unit when fitted weighs in at around 280 grams (just under 10 ounces). To put this in context, a large sorbathane recoil pad will weigh about half that, but will feel heavier because all the weight is at the extreme end of the stock, whereas the damper unit is mounted inboard. The unit itself is virtually maintenance-free and guaranteed for two years. The damper component is designed for continuous use and should give few problems in this lightly stressed application. Unlike on some other systems it will also be easy to repair should any problems arise as it will not be necessary to strip the whole unit down to replace the shock absorber part.

Not surprisingly, others have shown interest in the system and it is being put into commercial production as the Isis Recoil Damper. Any competent stocker should be able to install the

without difficulty following the comprehensive plans provided. Alternatively Dave has arranged a fitting service with top stock man Malcolm Jenkins if required. This really is the current state of the art as far as hydraulic recoil systems go. Both the damper itself and the bearings are highly sophisticated components designed for far more testing uses than a gun stock and they make the recoil systems of ten years ago look crude and agricultural by comparison. Owners of semi-automatics can also get the benefits of such a system for the first time as it was designed from the outset with such guns in mind. The development of this market over the past year has meant that shooters suffering from recoil and its effects now have a range of choices to help them recover their enjoyment of shooting.