Lets here the truth. What is the recoil of the various WSM's, and the 300 WSm in particular. I shoot a M70 Classic Feitherweight in .270 that is quite tolerable, but I once had a Savage M110 in 7mm Remington Magnum that was very unpleasant. Opinions?

I have a Tikka T3 Lite in 300WSM that I shoot 165 grain handloads in and the recoil is about like a standard weight 30/06 but probably more of a push than the sharp recoil of the 06. I am not very recoil sensitive so what doesn't bother me might not be the case with others.

a large amount of it is fit. Some 30-30s punish me and some 30-06s do not. I'm talking rifles of near equal weight.

Some open sights hurt a little and some high mount scopes do not. A lot of my rifles have brakes on them.

A lot of induced recoil is a side effect of magnumitice. roger

The WSM will have about 20% more powder than the 270 and a heavier bullet which should calculate out to more recoil.

I've got a Kimber Montana in .300 WSM and the rifle is definitely on the light side. However, I would say the recoil is not bad at all. If you can handle the .270, a jump to the .300 WSM should be easy.

Take a look at the stock on the savage. A well designed stock with a decent pad will do a lot to reduce the felt recoil. Also, go to a range and ask someone shooting a .338 or somthing biggerto let you squeeze a couple off. If you shoot a .338 a few times a decently stocked 7 mag should be quite comfortable in comparison...tj3006

I have a Winchester M-70 30-06 Featherweight, Winchester M-70 7mmRem Mag, Browning Safari Grade Belgium 30-06 and a Kimber M-8400 in 300WSM and I can't tell much difference in the recoil level of any of them. For me, the next step up in the recoil department is the .338 and .375 class and there is another another step up in the .416 class. I find the .338's recoil is faster (sharper) than a .375 (you can roll with the .375). The .416 is faster coming back like a .338, but a lot stiffer too.

I have a Browning Hunter in 300 WSM, mine has a montecarlo stock which makes it fit me much etter than the straight ones. I put a Limbsaver pad on it and shot full power 168 gr loads at 3150. The recoil is faster than that of the 3006 I used to own (older p/f model 70). The Browning weighs at least 1.5 lb's less, fits me better, the scope I have on it has more eye releif thatn the one I had one the 3006. The recoil of the WSm is faster then the 3006, more of a slap than a shove, but it is still very tolerable. The gun fits me better than the 3006 I had so it is easier to shoot for me.

Stock design is the key, browning A-bolt has a narrow stock, my wife had a .270 that was more unpleasant to shoot than her .338 Win Mag. Here is my run down...

223 did it go off, or did somebody bump the table
308, hmmm, I think it definately went off.
30-06 yes, it is rabit season
7 mag I definately felt something
300 Win Mag yep I pulled the trigger, now everybody is staring
338 Win Mag, god I'm glad I put the scope far enough forward.
375 H&H Mag Bang, now I gotta find my target again
450 marlin born to bruise
458 Winchester felt better than the 450 marlin but firing it from the bench causes me to see double
458 lott... ouch
460 weatherby Mary had a litle lamb, whose fleece was white as snow
50 BMG thank god for the muzzle brake

ALthough not truly quantitative, it is my accurate representation of personal experiences...

John

I have a couple of 8 x 57s, some sporterized and some left in military furniture....

Also Two 6.5 x 55 Commerical rifles, Ruger and Winchester Model 70... and a Military Mauser....

A stock sure can make a difference on the same load in different rifles...

Surprisingly, on stout loads, the Military rifle stocks seem to absorb the recoil a lot better than the sporter stocks....

So stock design, construction and material can all contribute to the transfer of recoil.. or absorbtion of it....

cheers
seafire

I will say that the Lightweight 300WSM of mine kicks more than any rifle I've ever owned.

That's right, I've never even had a Weatherby Magnum or a 300 Win Mag that kicked as hard as this little Jewel. I find 300 Wins much more pleasant to shoot but, you have to think about the different stocks and overall weights of the rifles.

The 300WSM that I have only weighed about 6lbs scoped when I first took it to the range. That was w/ no recoil pad. W/ 180s going around 3000 and 165s going over 3200, it was quite punishing from a bench.

I shot some loads that were producing around 45-47 pounds of recoil which wasn't fun from a bench for long especially w/ no recoil pad.

I added lead shot mixed w/ epoxy in the front and rear of the stock until it was balanced and had alittle more weigt to it. I also installed a heavier scope and a Sims Recoil pad. It's no worse than my 300 win now.

Reloader

Reloader,

Not singling you out, personally.. as I believe in any shooter/hunter, should be respected in his choice of firearm and caliber.....

Reloader's post is an example of what I don't understand the appeal of a magnum, that recoil is severe enough to the shooter, to have to go thru all of that.... when less recoiling calibers can do the same job in most instances... considering the ranges that the average game is taken in....

Its not a question of can someone take that recoil or not... I can take a lot more recoil than a lot of people, based on doing a lot of shooting.. my only question is WHY?????

after hearing all the standard magnumitis answers.... the answer of WHY NOT makes about as much sense to me....

These short mags and super short mags have sort of proven that, there is not much more that can be done with cartridge development.. that isn't covered by 10 cartridges or more that have been in existance for a long time.....

Winchester has proven that companies need to spend more time offering better products with more quality, than spending all of their R & D dollars on redeveloping a new version of the wheel......

Guess I am part of the Efficiency crowd, chambered in a rifle like the Model 70 Super Grade or Kimber.... than a High Velocity, High footpounds at the Muzzle, in a rifle at a Walmart Price....

But as a good friend of mine said....

"I never met a rifle I didn't like... I just like some of them more than I do others is all..."

I'd rather own a magnum that kicks too hard, than be an anti gun nutjob, or a PETA fanatic....or EcoTerrorist/Tree Hugger....

cheers
seafire

His recoil has nothing to do with cartridge...it has everything to do with a 6lb rifle. I will take a heavy rifle any day over a featherweight...just my opinion.

Frankly, I am all for cartridge choices whether they suit you guys or not. If everybody had to like a cartridge then our sport would be pretty boring. In my opinion, more cartridges gives me more reasons, to buy more guns.

I must agree with JMJ888 you cannot have it both ways trying to stuff a 3006 in a 6lb rifle is going to kick I do not care what break you put on it.
I come from a moutainous region of Canada and have seen guys with light wieght rifles use them on Goats and there flinching before they even touch off a round.
Ipersonally will carry a little more weight and get the shot I want.
For the record I was using a 338 Win Mag M70 Winchester top off by a 2X7 leapold goldring.

Brent C, I have a fair amount of as close to apples to apples experience on this as I think you can get. I have Sako M-75's, all restocked with McMillan stocks, of the same specs, other than action size.

The 270 is notably different from either the 300 WSM or the 300 Win Mag. I will say that with the same bullet weight, and loads that produce the same velocity-- which is what I think gives you an equal performing rifle/load to compare--the WSM has LESS recoil. This is just my experience, but it is very clear to me.

These rifles are the same in every way except action length--meaning the 300 Win Mag would actually weigh slightly more, so I think that says something. I have had several friends, and my wife, who isn't really a shooter, shoot these 2 rifles and come to the same conclusion.

Both of these rifles are good step up in recoil from the .270 Win, which is my favorite cartridge, I have a bunch of rifles chambered for it, and I shoot a LOT of rounds in .270, over a couple of thousand a year, so I have a good handle on the baseline of recoil from a .270--having said that, the recoil of either my 270 or 300 WSM's is very tolerable, there doesn't seem to be that big a difference between my 270's and 270 WSM's

Just some feedback, Good Shooting--Don

I'd say if you find a 7 mags recoil objectionable, then going to a lighter rifle with the same or slightly higher recoil probably isn't a good choice for you.

To those that say magnums can't be shot accurately or cause flinching, I strongly disagree. One can learn to shoot powerful stoutly recoiling rifles accurately, but it does take practice and the proper approach.

Seafire,

I do agree w/ you and I don't make it a habit of buying rifles that pound you brains out.

A local gunshop owner swapped me even for that rifle for an older BAR I had and it was a hard deal to pass up. Little did I know I was trading for a Bucking Bronco.

I will admit after I did mods to the gun to get the weight to normal and installed the new sims pad it is very tolerable and prints quite nice sub moa groups.

I prefer a Magnum rifle to weigh at least 8 pounds scoped. The Mags I have that are in the 8-9 lb range are quite easy to shoot at the range. I wear my Past shoulder pad when I shoot volumes just to avoid a flinch.

Reloader

quote:

Originally posted by Thomas Jones:
Take a look at the stock on the savage. A well designed stock with a decent pad will do a lot to reduce the felt recoil. Also, go to a range and ask someone shooting a .338 or somthing biggerto let you squeeze a couple off. If you shoot a .338 a few times a decently stocked 7 mag should be quite comfortable in comparison...tj3006

I can attest to that, I own several. Much as I like Savages, their stocks are not the best. I've also found that on the whole, Savages tend to be a bit lighter than other makes. Less weight + poor stock design = more felt recoil.

Well, one thing I have noticed is some folks buy a weapon, shoot it once, and get a $700 surprise from the recoil. They then automatically go to a brake(I made that mistake ONCE) and then have a gun that will genuinely destroy your eardrums. Not too many folks take the time to look into getting a new stock that actually fits, or getting a new pad installed, even adding weight. If you do not mind the looks, the Pachmayr F990 pad is definately the way to go. Dont like to carry a heavy weapon? Work out and train.

When I am at the range, I shoot with a Bob Allen pad. No flinches here. BTW I shoot a 7mm and a 375 RUM.

Click on the link to calculate recoil. I'm figuring a 300WSM has about 9lbs more recoil than an '06, though stock design may have something to do with "felt' recoil. Jay

http://www.shortmags.org/shortmags/smo-recoil.htm

I agree with you Reloader.. sometimes a hard kicking new rifle, on an even trade for an older rifle that might have seen better days is not a bad thing....

I agree with you on rifle weight....

If fact, when I rebarrel a rifle, I usually have a heavy magnum contoured barrel put on it...I have a few light weight rifles and use them when the needs arise....

But if I am not moving a lot, and sometimes I still carry the magnum contour barreled ones in the field....

I like that big rigid heavy barrel when it comes time to pull the trigger....and most of the time the barrels that I have redone to that contour are from 22 calibre to 6.5 mm....

cheers
seafire

I guess the good news is, you don't typically feel recoil when shooting at game. I have and have fired several heavy-recoiling rifles including .458 WinMag, .470 NE, .375 H&H and .376 Steyr. All of the rifles are pretty heavy and recoil is stout but acceptable. (I usually do get a headache after a few rounds.)The worst kicking rifle in my battery,that I am aware of (I'm taking my new RSM .458 Lott to the range tomorrow so this may change), is my Remington 700BDL in .338 Ultra Mag. It slaps the crap out of you each and every time. I did install a limbsaver pad and that helped a lot, but it is still a handfull. On the brightside, it also slaps the crap out of big black bears. It is a devastating round. If I remember, I'll share my recoil experiences with the Lott when I get back from the range.

quote:

Originally posted by Texas Hunter:
I guess the good news is, you don't typically feel recoil when shooting at game. I have and have fired several heavy-recoiling rifles including .458 WinMag, .470 NE, .375 H&H and .376 Steyr. All of the rifles are pretty heavy and recoil is stout but acceptable. (I usually do get a headache after a few rounds.)The worst kicking rifle in my battery,that I am aware of (I'm taking my new RSM .458 Lott to the range tomorrow so this may change), is my Remington 700BDL in .338 Ultra Mag. It slaps the crap out of you each and every time. I did install a limbsaver pad and that helped a lot, but it is still a handfull. On the brightside, it also slaps the crap out of big black bears. It is a devastating round. If I remember, I'll share my recoil experiences with the Lott when I get back from the range.

Thinking of going to Carters tomorrow with my
Lott and 375H&H. You in Houston Area?
Gene

Yep, Plan to be there around 9:00. I want to get the far left 50 yd. station so I can do some stand up shooting. It's gonna be chilly.

OOPS! Sorry, my name is russell. I'm meeting my hunting buddy out there. I think he'll bring his .470 NE DR and his new .416 rigby CZ.

Took the Lott to the range today. Yes, the recoil is heavy. felt my teeth hit a couple times.:-) Overall though it's not bad. Somebody on AR gave some good advice which I followed. I did not shoot the Lott from the bench. All shooting was done on sticks including sighting it in. Hence, no installed flinch. I still think my .338 ultra mag (with its light weight) is still the worst kicking rifle I have. I did bench shoot that one and then struggled with erasing the flinch. I also shot Jeff's .470 AR. It's about on a par (recoil wise) with my .458 Lott even though the rifle is about two-three pounds lighter. I suspect if it weighed as much as my scoped RSM, it would be a pussycat.

The 300 WSM is not bad at all. I got one for my wife and she loves it. It is a mod 70 ultimate shadow. I think it kicks about the same as my 257 WBY in a ultralight. Both rifles are around 7.5# scoped.