I have just purchased a new Ruger M77 STS in .300 Win mag.
Can anyone tell me the recoil figures for this rifle compared to say a .308 Win. I will use the rifle for pigs & wild dogs over long distance, any suggestions on projectile weight & powder weights using ADI 2208, 2209 would be appreciated.

I am not sure which model Ruger you are talking about, my guess is the synthetic stainless model. The recoil in this rifle will be noticable at the bench for sure and I would immediatly replace the stock recoil pad with a better one. On the other hand these rifles are reliable and tough. I'd pick for a bullet the 180 grain Speer Hotcor spitzer but have no experience with the powders mentioned.

Check out the Beartooth Bullets website and they have a recoil calculator.

Here is Hodgdon data for the 300 Winchester

http://www.hodgdon.com/data/rifle/300winma.php

Varget = 2208
H4350 = 2209
H4831 = 2213SC
H1000 = 2217
Retumbo = 2225
50BMG = 2218

ADI sells the powders to Hodgdon and Hodgdon renames them.

Mike

Thanks Mike375, I wasn`t aware of the Hodgon brand numbers for the Australian made ADI brand of powders.
Cheers Peter

Thanks rickt300, I listed the rifle as a .300 Win mag STS. You are correct in guessing stainless synthetic, I was attempting to abbreviate stainless synthetic with the use of STS in the description. My apologies, in future I`ll just type the full wording to avoid confusion. The 180gn Speer sounds a good choice.
Cheers

Morton3----I will give you a fomula for recoil factor. This formula does not give foot lbs but just a rule of thumb factor for comparison. I find it to be a fairly good comparison. It is not linear in that a factor of over 20 is considered a kicker so to speak and by the time you are down to 12 or so there is almost no kick. Heres the formula: Bullet weight(in grains)+powder charge(in grains)X muzzle velocity(in fps)divided by 3500(constant) divided by rifle weight in pounds =recoil factor. "Typical" 300 win mag with 150 grain bullet would be around 27 the .308 with same weight bullet around 19---a pretty BIG difference based on the non linear I mentioned.

dont be scared to use the lighter bullets, the 110 varminters were accurate. My gun doesn't start to kick 'till I shoot 180grainers

Thanks for the formula Carpetman, it gives me an idea that the recoil won`t be as bad as some have told me.

Anyway I`ll just suck it & see as they say

Hyena Your suggestion is a good one, but I`m guessing I`ll try to stick around the 150gn mark.

But at some stage like most shooters I`ll try the lightest possible bullet with the most powder I can cram in "just to see how fast it can go".

I`m guessing a 110gn out of a .300 Win mag should be up around 3,500 fps. More than adequate for those pesky wabbits

Cheers

framing hammer vs. sledge hammer zeroed on your forehead. depends who is swinging
woofer

I have both a .300 Win Mag and a .308, both in Remington Rifles. Difference in recoil is considerable. The .308 is in a Hogue overmoulded stock and is a real pussy-cat. The .300 is in an ADL synthetic, and the best thing I ever did was put one of their R3, Limbsaver recoil pads on it - and I use a thick foam pad when shooting of the bench. The main thing you simply must do with a heavy kicker is concentrate on your shooting form - and don't crawl the stock. If you don't have a firm hold on the rifle when you fire it, it will clobber you. That said, when I pulled the trigger on a nice 8-point whitetail, I never felt the shot. The buck did though, and he crashed about 20 feet away.