I think it depends on your size and the load. The magnum loads and slugs recoil more than light bird shot. I gave my two younge3r sons shotguns--a twelve gauge for the older and a twenty for the younger. The twenty is adequate for most purposes, and he uses it to hunt birds and rabbits. The older used his mostly for bear defense when he lived here, but now he lives elsewhere and I don't know if he uses it at all. He was a pheasant hunter when he first moved, but he is newly-married, with a new house and a baby on the way, so I don't think he has time for other stuff.
I was twelve or thirteen, and I tried to make sure that the butt of the gun was firmly on my shoulder, but it really hurt. I almost fell over. My dad thought it was funny. A few years later, I was able to shoot it without all the drama, but it still hurt and now that I am on the older age scale, I'd probably approach a 12-gauge with the same trepidation.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/northidaholife/permalink/2327356570841737?sfns=mo Whilst one is unloading there should always be something loaded... Nuff said...
Use to be a popular song, "The Beat Goes On" (1967/Sonny & Cher), well, here, it's "The Crime Goes On". Triple shooting last night that left a person dead and, currently, local Sheriff's Dept. investigating another shooting by a local lake.