I want to be able to shoot my Vepr 12 more often. In fact, I am going to start reloading slugs for it for fun target shooting.

I wear a shoulder pad. Recoil on chest/shoulder not a problem. But my face from the cheek weld gets really painful (to the point of headache).

I was thinking of adding some type of padding on the cheek rest. Anyone experience this and have a fix?

You can fix it by trading it to me :) I'll trade you a softer shooting gun
Lol

The VEPR12 is hands down my favorite gun to shoot.

I have not experienced that problem so this is purely an educated guess, but it sounds to me like you *do* need better recoil management. If you are getting headaches from your check weld, the recoil must be getting transferred to your head when shooting.

I can shoot my VEPR12 all day with no issue but when I first got it, shooting a few rounds took some skin off my chest and the reason had much more to do with my technique than the gun.

Try this. Instead of pulling the gun tightly to your shoulder when shooting, push outward with the hand that is on the forestock and pull toward your shoulder with the hand that is on the pistol grip. Rest the buttstock lightly on your shoulder--do not pull the gun in tightly to your shoulder. Shoulder pads are completely unnecessary.

The feel is very similar to the push/pull technique you use with handguns.

What that technique does, besides giving you a stable platform for the gun, is manage the recoil effectively.

You, sir, truly care about your fellow man. LOL

Thx for tips. You are probably right about technique. I will try to adjust plus perhaps add some padding until I get it right. Two days later and cheek still hurts.

Try practicing the technique before you go to the range. Assuming you are right handed, grasp the forestock tightly with your left hand and grasp the pistol grip tightly with your right. Now aim and push your left hand outward while pulling your right hand toward you as if you are trying to pull the gun apart. Do it really hard while practicing. You don't need to actually push/pull all that hard when shooting but I think doing it hard  when practicing will help develop the muscle memory faster and make the actual tension required feel natural when shooting.

When you have the recoil under control you will find that your body is not nearly as rigid when shooting. I have no problem shooting the VEPR12 rapid fire while walking toward the target. I would not be surprised in the soreness you are getting is related to having a lot of tension in your upper body, including your cheek weld, while shooting. Believe me, the technique I described works and takes virtually no practice to get great results. When you get the recoil under control, the fun level with this gun will go through the roof and you will get excited just thinking about shooting it!

Just remember, it's not only about the push/pull, it's about holding the buttstock against your shoulder without a lot of tension and not having the rest of your body tensed up. Enjoy!!!

Awesome thx!

Still working it in. Got a bunch of buckshot and a few slugs. Vepr doesnt have adjustment like my old Saiga (wish I never sold).

I used this gun as my excuse to finally get into casting. Grafs and midway shipped all the hardware yesterday. Got a used Mec jr on ebay. Worst case, I start casting pistol if I cant get 12ga to run without headaches. Sounds like I have a technique issue. Never used Saiga so I sold it. Then Vepr got cheap enough so bought before ban. I dont recall my cheek hurting so much on saiga but that may be due to rounds used.

Thx!

Ran a bunch of slugs today. Practiced better form. Cheek feels much better. Would have been fully successful had my optic not drifted. Ran out of slugs before I could tell if it was back on target. Got my casting eqp and press this week. Wish me luck!

Thanks for the advice!

Glad to hear!