Picked up my 338Rum yesterday, brought it home cleaned it up, adjusted the trigger, mounted the scope, boresighted it. Took it out this morning put 3 225g accubonds, and 3 300g SMK's down the tube, I didn't think the recoil would be much worse than my old 300 Wby mag but I belive it is. This rifle is quite a bit lighter than my 300 was, and the recoil is noticeably more severe, anyone have any suggestions on reducing it? Other than the smartass 18 year old who thinks hes invincable remarks. I would rather avoid the muzzle brakes if I can, and it already has a Sims limbsaver recoil pad on it. Any info would be greatly appreciated

I think this should give you a good comparison. It's about a 50% increase over your 300.

Recoil comparison.

I have a .340 Weatherby and deal with the same issue. I bought a Past Recoil Shield and it helps. I would recommend may be trying the new Caldwell Lead Sled. The idea being that you do not feel recoil in the field.

My go to rifle is a 7RM. I shoot it a lot more than the .340. I put a Vais Brake on it to better my overall shooting form. I have shot it twice without protection in the field and consider it no louder than unbraked. The funny thing was the look on the Gunsmith's face when I had him put the Vais on the 7 mag not the .340. None the less, I rarely shoot the .340 and can handle it in small doses.

I rigged a .22 RF with a nice scope that I shoot at the beginning and end of my range time. It has really helped.

I had my 300ultramags built with medium varmint barrels to increase the weight in the barrel and reduce recoil and muzzle rise.If you don't mind carrying more weight,I would look at adding weight to the stock.A mercury recoil reducer would also work well.

Jay: Wow! I should say its a little stiffer than the 300.

H4L: I've been looking at the lead sled, might have to try that.

What about the Knoxx Compstock? Other than being ugly anyone have experience with it? Does the extra "give" cause problems with "scope eye"?

My 338 win mag recoils about the same as my 375 H&H and they both kick the snot out of me at the bench.

I can only imagine what the 338 RUM is like.

I'd load it down for practicing....load it to less than 338 win mag velocity.

Only load larger amounts of powder when preparing for a hunt. You have a helluvalotta power to spare in that cartridge.

quote:

Originally posted by bearcat:
Jay: Wow! I should say its a little stiffer than the 300.

That's why I settled on the .300 Weatherby and 8MM Remington Mag as my long range guns. I had breifly toyed with the .338 Rum idea then I didn't go there.

quote:

That's why I settled on the .300 Weatherby and 8MM Remington Mag as my long range guns. I had breifly toyed with the .338 Rum idea then I didn't go there.

I think the problem can be lessened, the case is downright impressive for power, I think I may try the Knoxx's system, I heard say the they will install them in the Rem 700 XCR stocks because they are made by Hogue, still researching though. I would much rather go this route than the muzzle brake one. But I'm open to all suggestions......any more?????

Inlet some chuncks of lead into the forearm . Not only will the extra weight reduce the overall recoil , but the extra weight forward will reduce the muzzle jump , just like a heavier barrel would .

I have the 338 RUM and with it the 225 recoils at 46.32 ft lbs. The 250 recoils at 49.36 ft lbs.

I had a brake put on it for on the bench but I can take it off for hunting. Its not to bad standing up shooting.

quote:

Inlet some chuncks of lead into the forearm . Not only will the extra weight reduce the overall recoil , but the extra weight forward will reduce the muzzle jump , just like a heavier barrel would .

Not a bad idea, I ordered one of the compstocks so we'll see what that does, if its good but not great I'll try that.

"I have the 338 RUM and with it the 225 recoils at 46.32 ft lbs. The 250 recoils at 49.36 ft lbs."

How heavy is your rifle? What did you use to calculate the ft lbs of recoil?

Bearcat what rifle and stock is your 338 I am looking into the 338 rum myself and i have the hs presision varmint stock which weighs in at 2.2 pounds ,the largest mercury recoil surpressor is 16 0z that should help alot . I was also thinking on maybe a heaiver walnut or laminated varmint stock. The problem is the lighter rifles are great for carry all day hunting but they pubish you if you like to do alot of bench shooting.

First with regard to recoil reduction let me suggest magna-porting for these reasons:
1. 15% off the top recoil reduction but more importantly..
2. Redirection of recoil. The rifle will no longer jump vertically ( no more scope to the eyebroe) but rather come straight back into your shoulder.
3. Far less ugly than a muzzle brake in fact not particularily noticeable
4. No increase in noise to the shooter. Those standing beside you will suffer however.

In combination with the excellent Simms recoil pad you should be at a manageable level.

Just one quick question; how can you look at that gargantuan case and those fat 338 bullets and think that you were not going to experience horrendous recoil?

I shoot my 338 RUM from the bench with no problem. I have installed a Pachmayr Triple mag 990 recoil pad on it. And it has a straight classic stock. Then it recoils straight backwards, and no surprises.
Mine has no brake either.

Tanoose: My rifle is the Rem 700 XCR with a cheap plastic (very light) stock on it.

bwest: Is the magnaporting quieter than the brakes? The rifle jumps pretty good and would benifit from this system so it sounds. The rifle already has a Sims pad on it and I think is actually to soft, you can feel the pad "bottom out" against your shoulder and feel the hard plastic stock hit you and the end of the recoil stroke. As far as the "how could you not expect to experience horrendous recoil" question. I expected it to be severe but I didn't think it would be alot more severe than my 300 Wby mag was because I was shooting 101g's of H870 under a 200 SBT (when I was younger and dumber, I know that load was way over recommended PSI, if anyone here has access to quickload I would like to know the PSI on that load), if you look at the loading data for the 338Rum its not alot different from the 300Wby except for the bullet weight. Obviously I was dead wrong it is quiet a bit more severe. It is dealable from the bench if your not full house loads and with full house loads a sandbag or bag of shot take it away very nicely, shooting at game you would never feel the recoil IMO. But I would rather use devices like the Knoxx stock, mercury recoil reducers, ect..... rather than use bags from the bench, just my preference.

460wby: Good for you!

Is it more quiet than the muzzle brake? I have no hard data at my finger tips. I believe it is at least to the one pulling the trigger. Make no mistake, it is definitely louder to anyone sitting at the next bench! What it does not do is put a large ugly bell at the end of your barrel as a muzzle brake would. I have magnaported my 338 win mag and have the SVL recoil pad as well. It certainly has tamed the rifle considerably (Sako 75) with regard to recoil.I would be interested to know what made you choose the 338 UM in the first place?

Bearcat, I had a hard kicker that I put a McMillan stock on, when the built it I sent them a mercury recoil reducer that they installed in the butt of the stock. HUGE difference--also went with the 1" Pachmyr Decelerator pad, which is pretty standard, but the 3 coupled together made a huge difference. My buddy who had the same rifle, shot mine twice, and ordered a stock just like mine for his. It is definitely a little heavier, but it's not a Mtn. Rifle anyway.

Good Luck--Don

quote:

I would be interested to know what made you choose the 338 UM in the first place?

To anwser your question, why do I need a 325HP...610Ft lbs of torque in my Diesel Pickup? Just kidding, I have a Win 70 in 270AI that I use for deer sized game and down, and I wanted an elk/bear rifle that would be capable in Alaska if need be, I used to have a 300 Wby in a Sendero and it was a little on the heavy side and the 270AI overlapped into the 300's territory so I wanted to go up to the 338, I looked at both the 338rum and the 338 win mag, I liked the fact that I could download to Rum to Win mag velocity but not the other way around I also liked the beltless case design. I don't see the recoil as a negative, I think it is a problem that can be brought under control (I like a challenge every now and then) There are several tools avaliable to get this done, several of which have been mentioned above,and when I do I think it will be a great big game rifle.

Bearcat-the big 33's are a wonderful tool, I've used the 340 a whole lot and am on my 3rd tube as I write this.

So, I am no stranger to them.

Here is what I would do, package it up and mail it to Magnaport. It will not do much if anything to reduce the recoil. It will take away the mzl jump and that is IMO a much bigger problem than a little bump.

I am no fan of weighting a rifle, mercury for a rifle or breaks.

This is quite easy and I'd keep it that way.

Magnaport it and be on with it.

Next time you rebarrel it put on a tube with a bit more weight. .67 or .7 at the mzle will help a lot to make it more shootable. I would also get it ported.

Lastly a big 33 is a tough customer to get used to. I would port it and then plan on running at least 500 rounds a year down it to keep in sink with it.

Good luck in your decision.

Mark D

Do any of you guys remember the name of the company that makes the stocks w/ a recoil reducing system built in that acts similar to shock absorbers on a vehicle?

I can't remeber the name of the co. but, there was a fella posting about them a while back on here and they have a little demo video on their web site.

Good Luck

Reloader

quote:

Originally posted by bearcat:

quote:

Inlet some chuncks of lead into the forearm . Not only will the extra weight reduce the overall recoil , but the extra weight forward will reduce the muzzle jump , just like a heavier barrel would .

Not a bad idea, I ordered one of the compstocks so we'll see what that does, if its good but not great I'll try that.

"I have the 338 RUM and with it the 225 recoils at 46.32 ft lbs. The 250 recoils at 49.36 ft lbs."

How heavy is your rifle? What did you use to calculate the ft lbs of recoil?

My rifle weights 9lbs. To calculate I have a recoil finder on my table top.

On my rifle I have a 4x12x44 Leupole scope and a rifle sling.

quote:

Do any of you guys remember the name of the company that makes the stocks w/ a recoil reducing system built in that acts similar to shock absorbers on a vehicle?

Knoxx is the name of the company, Compstock is the name of the product. I think their website is www.knoxx.com

bearcat,

If the demo video is legitimate, it should help you out. I wouldn't realy care what it looked like on that rig as long as it functioned properly.

That Leupie is the one to have if you were to have any concerns about the new stock allowing it to shift enough to get you.

Let us know how the new stock turns out.

Good Luck

Reloader

The Lead Sled is wonderful for sighting in and working up loads. I guess my 3 1/2 inch turkey gun must be around 60 ft. lbs. - about the level of the .416 I'm getting soon.

My Knoxx's compstock showed up today and I have one thing to say.................IT IS AWSOME! The fit and finish is fantastic, it is very stiff (unlike the original Remington stock) and the recoil reduction........well I would say my 338 RUM now kicks the crap out of things at one end THE MUZZLE END! Honestly I would say it kicks less than my 270 Winchester easy. Made the rifle alot of fun to shoot and a pure pleasure, just can't say enough about it. Thanks for the input guys!

My buddy shoots a 210 Barnes at 3200fps out of his REm 700 LSS 338 RUM and the recoil is like my 300 win mag. Ireally don't think there is much that can stop a 210 Barnes at that Speed,

I would try that bullet and then go to other meanings of reducing recoil.

I owned a .338 RUM for about 6 months, and shot it many times. The recoil was severe at the beginning, but as I shot it more, I got used to it. I don't really have any suggestions for decreasing recoil, but I would suggest giving it a few more outings before making a judgement on the severity of the kick. I think you'll find that you too will adjust.

I'm sure you could adjust to the recoil, but I don't see the need to with another option at hand. The POS remington stock needed to be replaced with a decent one anyway so I see it as a win win. As far as the 210g bullets, if that was all I wanted to shoot for bullet weight I would have stayed with a 300, but I don't, 250's + is where the 338 shines.

I only have time on a Sendero in .338 Ultra and didn't think it was particularly bad. It is more than a .300 however. You might try a mercury recoil reducer. I would go that route before any kind of brake. More weight is always an effective recoil reducer. Good luck, it is no fun shooting a rifle in any caliber that is beating you to death.

JBD: Yea I think that was part of my problem, my 300 Wby mag was a sendero so it was heavier than my current 338 RUM, but that was part of the reason for selling the sendero was because hiking in wilderness area it was a little too heavy IMO.
As far as the recoil goes, I'm completely pleased with the Knoxx stock I put on it, in fact I put 33 rds of load development down the rifle yesterday afternoon from a bench with no ill effects. What I am dissapointed in is Remington for putting such a piece of crap stock on it from the factory. To look at it off the rifle you would swear it should have come off a 10/22. I personally don't think the stock would with stand more than 500-600 rnds before failure.

From looking at the Knoxx video,I wonder about eye relief for the scope,do you find it comes a wee bit closer than before???Impressive video's on that site.

Haven't had a problem with the eye relief, my scope is a Ziess conquest and has 4" of constant eye relief. I think you have to be aware of the scope with all large magnum rifles. I once got to close to my Wby and it gave me a little love tap, not too hard just barely broke the skin in one spot. The 338 RUM does jump quite badly on the bench so you have to hold on to her, but I think thats more of a bench thing shooting for tiny groups. In the field I don't think it'll be bad.