I recently purchased a 3-1/2, 12 ga. Benelli pump shotgun and put a factory mercury recoil reducer in the buttstock. After shooting two excellent turkeys this season with 1-3/4 oz of "Heavyshot", I was impressed with the performance of the lack of recoil.

I have a 416 Rem Mag and a 300 Wby and a 338 Win Mag (on order) and thinking there is really something to these recoil reducers, I might want to modify my battery to make the experience more enjoyable. The 416 definitly get's my attention, but isn't painfull, just allot to control. The 300 Wby hurts like hell. Don't know about the 338 as I bought it on an auction this morning.

So, please give me your experience with aftermarket recoil reducers.

M.J.,

My experience with the mercury recoil reducers is limited, but informative, none the less.

I had considered trying one but held off after I read here a while back, that the forward movement of the mercury may possibly cause damage to a scope. They are designed to handle recoil one way. Not sure if this was a fact or not, I contacted Swarovski and Leupold. Depending on who I talked to, over several calls, it evened out that it COULD cause a scope problem. Either they were not certain, or felt that it was a possibility. They had no test data.

Good enough for me, I didn't use one. There are many who have used them, and W/O problems. I don't like to take the chance and possibly mess up a hunt.

On my .416 Rigby I have a Kick-Eez pad and the barrel is Mag-na-Ported. We have 3 of the same rifles and watching the video of the guns being shot with and with out mag-na-port, it was obvious that this was 'the ticket'. I would have used a 'Sim's Limb Saver' pad if they were available at the time.

These rifles are heavy enough with out adding weight. Your other rifles may be light for caliber. Things that I have learned and witnessed for helping calm the effects of recoil have been; use a classic style stock with a good comb height. No Monte Carlo styles stocks. Use a 'Limb Saver' reciol pad. The grind to fit ones will not have the external ridges after you fit it. I prefer Mag-na-Port over muzzle breaks. Shoot a lot!! Use a strap-on shoulder pad during range sessions. Especially when on the bench. Shoot in your practiced positions W/O the strap on pad.

When I first started shooting the .416 and .375, I could only do about 8-10 out of each in a range session before I would get recoil weary. Before I left for Africa, I could shoot all day, some days as many as 40 rounds each rifle, with out being bothered or quaility of shooting being effected.

With a good stock design/fit, and a Sims Limb Saver pad, you should see improvement. The stock being the first and possibly the most important to consider first.

I know this dosen't answer your question directly, but I wanted to share with you what I had learned.

Good luck with your search for a more comfortable shooting rifle.

Cheers,

Sam

I have to agree with just about everything Big Sam said. I own and shoot several large caliber guns, up to and including .500 NE. My shooting buddies also hunt Africa and the shoot the big kickers regularly too.

To summarize and add a bit to what has been said: 1)a well fitting, well designed stock is paramount 2)a good recoil pad also important(KickEase, Decelerator, etc.)3)use a pad when at the range- I use a Pact Mag+ 4)porting- one of my buddies likes Mag-na- port(located 10mi. from here)they're not too loud, only reduces recoil about 15% but the recoil is directed straight back thereby reducing the perceived recoil. I USED TO use the the ANSWER break, cut recoil by more than half on the mid calibers(7mm-.338) and 25-30% on the big guns. Wasn't as loud as other breaks and you can unscrew it and put the little thread protector on when you go to hunt. Probably a decent compromise, but I found that the more I shot the big guns, the more recoil tolerant I became overall. Now, when I shoot my .338 it doesn't feel that much different than my 30-06. 5) Brings us to my final advice- SHOOT A LOT!

May be a little long winded, but I hope it helps.

Geronimo

I have used mercury in the following rifles:

458 win mag
458 lott
470 capstick
470 capstick (another one)
585 nyati

These rifles have from 1 to 3 mercury tubes in them.


I have also had the following rifles without mercury:

375 H&H
458 win mag
500 nitro express
600 nitro express

The rifles with mercury kick WAY LESS than the rifles without. Merucy both reduces recoil and spreads it out over time, taking the sharp bite out of it. The end result is a felt recoil that is a shove rather than a jab. The felt recoil of my 470 capstick WITHOUT A BRAKE but with mercury is a bit less than a .338 win mag. If there were not mercury tubes, shooting big bores would not be all that much fun for me because of the pain.

500grains-How many recoil reducers are in your Capstick?Can you hear the mercury sloshing back and forth?Would'nt be good for stalking if its noisy.

I have one in my Hannibal, I never even noticed it until someone posted they thought they were noisey. I have to actually listen hard and sharply move the rifle back and forth in order to hear it. Your breathing will be louder than any gurgle of Hg you may hear.

My .500 NE came from the factory with 2 mercury tubes in it. I sent it back after a couple months and asked that one of the tubes be removed because I just didn't like how it made the gun handle and it felt too heavy. The maker(Rigby) said I'm not going to like the recoil with just one tube. The fact is, I can't really tell the difference between 1 tube and 2 tubes. The perceived recoil is about the same. I can say, however that the gun is a lot sweeter handling now that it weighs 11 1/4 lbs. as opposed to 12 1/4 lbs. I wonder if the main benefit is due to the increased weight. As with anything, if it seems to help with recoil tolerance, by all means use it.

I have asingle 8oz in my .404 & despite what Ray A. thinks , I like the extra weight. I think the merc. shows a tiny bit more decrease in recoil vs. just adding the weight. It is probably more noticeable w/ the bigger rifles & multiple reducers (JM2cents).

I think enough of the recoil reducers where I'm going to put one in my Lott. I'm after comfortable shooting in field positions and don't feel it necessary to "earn it" with every shot. If you know you are going to get belted pretty good with each shot regardless of caliber, you'll develop a sub-concscious block to good shooting.

As has been said many times before, you won't feel any recoil when shooting at game. The only time you may anticipate the kick is when at the range. I forgot to mention don't shoot the big guns from a bench! They're much more "pleasant" to shoot from a standing rest. In fact Holland & Holland tests and regulates it's big doubles from a specially designed standing rest. Geoff Miller at Rigby does the same most of the time.

I've used up to three Mercury recoil reducers in the Buttstock and one in the forearm. As long as the gun balances over the action ring, no problems. I've found a considerable improvement with using Mercury over pure lead weights in my guns. It has also been observed by others. -Rob

I agree with '500grains' completely. I have C&H Research inserts in the following rifles;

.450 Rigby
.416 Rigby
.450 Marlin(Win. M70)
.378 Weatherby
.375 Weatherby
2 - .375 H&H(one belongs to the wife)
.340 Weatherby

All are scoped and there has never been a problem with the scopes from using the inserts. There is no noise from the mercury inserts in the stock and they work without adding to the muzzle blast. Cheaper too. Lawdog

MJ,



I have used the mercury reducers and they help. I like the Dead Mule reducers better--they seem to stop that last stomping bit of recoil at my shoulder, fwiw.



I had 2 mercury reducers in my 416 Rigby and they sloshed audibly when the stock was shaken but I had to really shake them to get the sound. No sound when carried for hunting. The Dead Mule is some kind of piston setup that fits in the same size hole the CH ones fit into. I've shot my 458 Lott with and without the Dead Mule and the recoil was a lott less with it!

Ok, sounds like they work, so which brand is preferred? Are there any differences in makes? Where did you buy yours? Any special installation considerations between makes?