My buddy told me about getting a headache if he shoots too many rounds of 340 weatherby. The other day i'm shooting my 375ultra and after a box or so get a mild headache, shot 35 rounds which was 15 too many in retrospect. Any of you get a headache after or during shooting i'm not talking migraine here maybe just a mild ha. I'm sure something like a 460 weatherby would really do a number on ya. The guys at the gun shop that were telling me the recoil of a 375ultra wasn't bad at all now have their guns braked!

Yeah I get a headache after to many .585 rounds and one day I shot my .416 out of the landcruiser window and was twisted around out side the window when I let it off and it put my neck out, I still hit the grassy however so it was worth it

Yes I do get a headache if I shoot too many at a session

billy 375,

I've had a couple of severe concussions in the past so it doesn't take much to ring my chimes. I took my .375Ultra and put it in a B&C Medalist stock and I can shoot it all I want with no problems.

Joe

I get a headache and a sore neck after about 25 rounds out of the 577!! Now my 375 Ultra doesnot bother me,shot it and the 577 yesterday,came home with a headache,and a smile you could not remove with a grinder!

I just feel invigorated!-Rob

I always heard of the artillary guys openning there mouth a little. It is supposed to help equalize the pressure entering the skull. I know this doesn't work well with your cheek up againt a stock but I is something to think about.

FWIW, after a mag or two through my big bore(.50 BMG) my nose is runny, and I've got a pretty good headache for the next few hours.

Even if i do get a mild ha I still have a lot of fun with the gun and don't regret getting it. Ovis i've been eyeing that stock your talking about, probably will get it sometime. Thought about a brake but just don't want all that extra noise especially when hunting without the earmuffs. Maybe i just need to get a much bigger gun and then i'd really know what recoil is!

My belief is that it's not only the recoil that causes ha but allso the muzzle blast.

After 20 rounds or so from my 450 my head knows about it...

when i bought my AR-50 50 BMG it came from armalite with a two package of Tylenol.NO KIDDING!!! after 10 rounds or so i get a headache but its a mild one.i also think its from the pressure wave that hits you from the muzzle brake
muskrat

I also get head ache after 10-15 rounds out of my 416 rigby or my 450/400. Feel like I have been punched.

urdubob

[ 05-12-2003, 17:25: Message edited by: urdubob ]

MAN, DON'T you guys use muzzle brakes and muffs??

For years when I have a long bench session going with anything that could "hurt" I have a good brake, have ear plugs and then muffs over the top of the ear plugs. I shoot from a "house" most of the time so you can really get sound and pressure trapped or confined.
Have done the "fifty" thing for hours along with the .375 and .340 and never come away with the "headache"

Gotta believe all that pressure has to go somewhere and transmitted into my head by recoil or noise is not the place I want it to go.
Even when hunting with one of the "barkers" I keep my plugs loose in the ears and tweak them in if I have a shot coming up and have the time.

Din't think you big bore guys could get headaches!


Johan

I get headaches from shooting my .375H&H and 416Rem too much off the bench in hot weather.

Did exactly that yesterday, load development for .375H&H, I also was pleased to find that the loads Nickudu are veryy bloody hot, and that H4895 creates a different kind of recoil, a bit "sharper" not the easy push I'm used to.

It never bothers me while shooting other than I did get very light headed and dizzy from shooting a 7 lb. 505 Gibbs Imp. That is a strange feeling indeed..I shoot a lot of big bores and file in the irons on them...I suppose on rare ocassions I get a short term mild headache, but nothing too bothersome.

BUT, according to my sawbones and he is a specialest on such things, I have given myself a severe case of "Rum a tiz" in my neck and shoulders over the years, and I certainly believe him, plus I can't hear for beans...and I have allways used hearing protection, at least in the last 20 years. probably did the hearing thing prior to that and while hunting. I still cannot hunt, especially dangerous game with hearing protection on...I rather be deaf than et..

I settled for a nice mild kicking 404 or 416 Remington...

That is your brain telling you to cut it out! Your head is snapping back too violently.

George

I have never gotten a headache from shooting my big bores! Sore shoulder if I fire off all 100 rounds I have for the 416, but never a headache.

Axel

If you find yourself getting headaches on the range like that, you need to back off. What you're doing is giving yourself either a mild concussion, or a brain contusion from your brain slamming against the inner skull. You also need to be aware of the signs of a detached retina. No fun I assure you.

I would be inclined to agree with the concussion from the muzzle blast. I shoot big bore handguns and find myself gettin headaches from them. The most recent is a 405 Winchester and a 444 Marlin. About 20 rounds of these has the "ole bell" ringing. BTW, I have hearing damage so i ALWAYS use double protection, plugs (33ba) and muffs (28db).

Staying home and not shooting can give you a headache too.

H. C.

My 500 straightens my neck out after a couple shots.. and I am goofy after 20...

416 and down... it's just a wakeup call.

Axel, when did you get a 416?
jeffe

Jeffeosso, I bought it in early April. It is a Ruger M77 Magnum, which was used. I really like it.

Axel

Axel- There is no way you dont get a headache after shooting 100 rds of 416 anything! That is of course if you are not the one firiing all 100 rds!

Diesel Dude, I have only once shot off 100 416 Rigby cartridges. This took me approximately 2.5 hours and I DID NOT HAVE A HEADACHE before, during or after. I did get a sore stiff shoulder. I did ALL the shooting. BTW, this rifle DOES NOT have a muzzle brake.

The loads fired ranged from 97 gr to 105 gr of H4831 and from 90gr to 104 gr of IMR4350. All bullets were 400gr Hornady soft points.

Axel

I always try to take 3 asprin before I shoot a lot of heavy kicking rifle rounds. If I forget I "remember" to take them after.

Gentlemen,

Here is some advice from our Genius to lessen the effects of recoil.

"Some people get a headache because their brain is too small for their heads. What happens is the brain flops around as the head is kicked back by the recoil. The best way to stop this happening is to buy a roll of surgical cotton, then make that into a sort of rope. You can then push it into the ear hole. Start from the left ear if you are a right hand shooter, and the right ear if you are a lefty. Be sure to leave about an inch of it hanging out, so you can pull out out after your shooting is over.

Don't worry too much if you somehow forget to pull the cotton out, but be careful when you go diving The cotton can get soaked and expands, and the you REALLY get a bad headache.

If you have this problem, you have to block your nose and try to blow your ears out. Make sure no one is to the side of you, as some of that cotton - when it has been inside the head for a few months - tends to be almost solid with wax, and can inflict serious injury to bystanders."

I don't know why I asked him to answer this question

Wow Axel,you must be immune to the effects of recoil.Try RL-22 with your 400 gr bullets,push them about 2600 FPS see how you like that!The ruger ought to handle that kind of velocity I know a #1 will!
All I am saying is there is no way, if you go out and shoot any kind of big bore for 2.5 hrs that you will not have a head ache,sore neck or feel like you have been in a car wreck!
The second range session with my 577 I shot it 23 times! Had a headache on the ride home,later on in the eve,felt like I had been in a car wreck! the next to sessions my "heal up" time shortend!Gunsmith has a freind with a 4 Bore,I belive ther will be a range session with that in the very near future,I will definatly let you all know how that goes!

I shoot .50's, and most everything else with muffs and plugs on. I think the headache is caused by the pressure wave from the muzzle blast hitting the sinuses, and jarring the noggin a bit too much.

I'm surprised that no one thought to question the over abundance of gasses when shooting the big bores. The only times I ever got a headache was while shooting in an underground range. We found out later that the exhaust vent for the fans was partialy blocked. Too much lead,too much smoke,Anoxia sets in. derf

Axel
100 rounds of 416 Rigby in 2.5 hours?
That's one round every 1.5 minutes for two and a half hours?
How hot was the barrel?
Are you sure you weren't smoking something funny?
I think you need to repack your cotton dude.

DD and X, the barrel got too hot to touch. The top loads of IMR4350 chrono'd at 2607 fps avg. Actually, I would fire off three shots as quickly as I could aim, then let the rifle cool off for ~ 5 minutes then repeat the exercise.

I am not immune to the effects of recoil either. I DID HAVE A SORE SHOULDER AFTER FIRING ALL THOSE ROUNDS. I feel sorry for you though, it must not be easy founding out someone in the world is tougher than you. I know a guy who routinely fires off 60+ rounds of 500 magnum ammo. His loads is 570gr bullets at 2500+ fps. His rifle is lighter than my Ruger M77 Magnum. To my knowledge he does not suffer any ill effects. This guy has been doing this for years, though. Perhaps he suffers from permanent brain/nerve damage!

Axel

Just wondering also if you stopped to clean the bore at anytime during your 2.5 hr shooting session.lots of copper fouling,bad way to treat that beautiful ruger express rifle!

DD, actually did run a cleaning rod through after every 3 shots for the first 39, extent of my load development loads. After that just kept shooting. The rifle did not exhibit any significant changes in accuracy between clean or dirty, warm or hot barrel.

I like the Ruger rifle as it is a consistant 1.5" shooter at 100 yards. Groups with all the loads tested were between 1.25" and 1.5" at 100 yards. Like I said did not seem to matter if the barrel was "dirty" or "clean". Nor did it matter if the barrel was "warm" or "hot".

There was almost no copper fouling either. I did purchase this rifle used, and the previous owner had fired ~ 1500 rounds though it. At least that was the number he told me. The bore is smooth and the rifling even appear to be slightly rounded, i.e. the riflings do possess sharp square corners. Doesn't seem to effect the accuracy a great deal though. The rifle still outshoots everything I own except my M70 shooting it's favorite load. With any other load the Ruger beats the Winchester.

Still don't get a head ache. Perhaps my brain is big enough to fill my head, thus not allowing the brain to slam into the skull. This explanation would fit that presented by Saeed's "expert".
Again the opposite could be true, too. That being that my brain is so small it cannot possible get to my skull to generate the headache.

Axel

DieselDude and x-man,

Welcome to the forum. Let me introduce you to Axel, a troll who makes up stories about rifles he does not own and who, when confronted with incontrovertible evidence that he does not own the rifles he's talking about, will laugh at you for not realizing sooner that you were being lied to.

Also posts as ToddE, William Tibbe, SDS, and one or two other names I can not immediately remember.

Best regards,

H. C.

Henry, why do you say such nasty things about me. BTW, DD has been posting here as long as I have according to his membership date. Wouldn't you think he knows who I am? I can prove that I have a Ruger M77 Magnum, I can email pics.

I still don't get head aches from shooting big bore rifles!

Axel

[ 05-15-2003, 04:53: Message edited by: Axel ]

Axel the only true large bore I have is an under hammer 8, and throwing a 1200 grian ball by 300 grians of black, about 10 rounds down range is all I can handle accurately

I filed the sights in for a friend of mine on his 577 double, I was absolutly punchy for about 30 minutes to an hour..It worried me for awhile but I snapped out of it...We arn't friends anymore, I shot his dog!

I had another bad experience with a light 505.

Ray
Some were I read about a guy testing a 9.5 pound 505 with 685 grain cast bullets at 2500.
Apparently he complained to his buddy about the horrific muzzel flash. His buddy replied, "what muzzel flash?"

That was enough to cure me from wanting a 505!
I've decided on the modest 500 A2 in stead.

To soon were old, to late we're smart.

Jamie