Stop me if this is a repeat (most likely is and sorry if mundane). I have been looking at shooting of big bores and some of the advice given to novices. Such as 2400 fps & slower, but, my question is roll your shoulders in or straight? Back hunched forward or straight, etc?
A few of us up here are interested in big bores only there isn't much around. My 378 improved was the talk around the circles for a long time because it was the biggest. It's recoil was pretty darn sharp. No pushes just BLAM instant strong recoil! But as some of us enter our other childhoods, we are wanting bigger carts, are they needed, HECK NO. We have fun shooting and a big bore always gets shooters interested. ( machoism or someting else, don't know)
Thanks for your time and/or patience

My only "big bore" experience is with my 375 H&H and whenever I shoot it, standing, sitting or kneeling I always keep my back as straight as possible.

The difference in felt recoil is easily twice as much for me if I hunch over and lean into the buttstock.

I agree w/Fjold. I was taught that the gun should fit you, you should not wrangle yourself around to fit the gun. The only time I really feel recoil from the bigger guns is when they either don't fit properly or when I try to bend myself around them. JMO

Posted by retreever a few months ago;

"It is isometric exercises and it works..
My forend hand pushes the rifle into my shoulder...my pistol grip hand pushes it away from the shoulder...The rifle is against the shoulder just like a firm handshake...The hands are holding the rifle with a crushing handshake...Your arms are flexed and tensed, just like showing off your muscles...When fired your arms take the recoil like shockabsorbers...
This takes practice to perfect, but I can tell you from experience the rifle only goes up about 6 inches and is right back ready to fire is a sec...I fired 14 shots in an hour and no bruising or soreness face or shoulder...I did have a video clip of me firing three rapid fire shots at 25yds and they were all inside of a 6inch circle in 6 seconds...Wife shot it with camera...
I have a 990 decelerator pad and I use those hand wrist strengtheners to get grip strong.."

Hi .366torque,
I think the advice above covers for two types of shooting. One the single shot type, standing up straight and rolling with the recoil and checking out the shot. The second type is the shoot and follow up shots. To do this you must hold firmly pulling the rifle in into the shoulder as bulldog563 mentions. You should have a bit of body lean into the shot like a shot gunner but not exagerated. The key is the F990 pad for big bores generating 80 to 100 plus foot pounds of recoil. Here is a link of me shooting my 470 Mbogo that generates 90 foot pounds of recoil to show what I mean.
http://www.470mbogo.com/Videos/Aimedrapidfire.mpg
Take good care,
Dave

A properly fitting rifle is the most important factor as to how you feel the recoil.

Snug the gun into your shoulder and cheek and it wont hurt you.

470 mbogo,

Where can I get info on the F990 pad. I haven't heard of it before.

Gentlemen, I thank you all for your advice. I want a bigbore but don't want it to be an abusive relationship!

I am also interested in this F990 pad. I have started shooting a .458 Win mag and determined not to put a brake on it, but I would like a more forgiving pad. Anyone have any experience with the Limbsaver pad?

Hi Bulldog563,
I thoought you mentioned that you had a 990 on your rifle. Here is the link http://www.lymanproducts.com/pachmayr/fieldcat.htm#F990. You'll just have toscroll through it to find the 990.
Take care,
Dave

gotogirl3, I apologize for the "gentlemen" remark, as I was concentrating more on the answers than the names.

470 mbogo, mighty impressive bigbore shooting!

Jeffe can jump in here because I heard this first from him though many do it instinctively: pull into your shoulder with the left (forend)hand and pull down with the right on the pistol grip. This will flex the pectoral muscle and provide a firm pocket for the rifle butt. By not pulling down, you allow the rifle to recoil into a soft tissue and the hurt is increased.

A second thought about your question is to think about your posture when shooting. If you hunch around the rifle and lean forward like when shotgunning you are creating an arch which will resist movement and then the bones have to sustain the impact. Ouch.

This is a different issue than shotgunning where you would prefer to lean into the shot for fast recovery and a quick second shot. But in that venue, the second shot is mechanically easier than the cycling of the bolt and you have that amount of time anyway to get back to the sights. So they are not the same thing.

Rolling a little with heavy recoil is the easiest way to handle it. The question for each of us is the correct balance. Jeffe is an exception because his mass is great enough to change the formula but even he reaches a limit at some point close to the average guy.

Bend, grasshopper or you may break...



The recoil on true big bores is orders of magnitude greater but only you can determine whether recovery from the pain or physical recover form body mobvement is faster through trial annd error.

Hi Harry,
Please don't mistake my mention of a shotgunner as meaning over leaning into a shot. That's why I included the video so a visual of the shooting method could be seen. With a big bore I also tend to have a solid chest and upper body which also helps to keep the muzzle jump to a minimum. You can see in the video the lack of muzzle rise with a load that shooting a 500 grain bullet at 2500 fps.
Take good care,
Dave

Harry about nailed it...with iron sights... pull BACK with the left hand, DOWN with the right, slightly bunch your shoulder, LEAN (don't bend) slightly foreward, roll with the recoil and KEEP YOUR CHEEK WELDED TO THE STOCK...

on big boomers, the scope best be way off!!

jeffe

I think the key is not to the let the rifle defeat you mentally. That is to say, do not let the prospect of the what the recoil "might" be like, or fear of the recoil, have you psyched out before you ever shoulder the rifle much less pull the trigger. Truth is that anyone can learn to handle recoil for most the calibers that are discussed on this forum and I think at least half the game is to not let your mind get the better of you. Or perhaps my mind has simply been scrambled by too much shooting of big bore cartridges?

Lately I've been teaching a 110lb lady( Stanford full professor) to shoot elephant rifles. She and her husband just bought a big piece of Mozambique and need to learn how to shoot for self protection against Africa's DG. I have never told her that a .416 RIGBY KICKS! She doesn't know recoil is a problem for people. She can now shoot 3 inch groups at 50 yrds offhand literally on demand. Amazing performance, but then she listens to me and does exactly what I recomend. Her shooting form is to hold tight, good cheek weld and lean into it, then roll with the recoil. The results are amazing and I'm proud of her. Next week the .600Ok!-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
I think the key is not to the let the rifle defeat you mentally. That is to say, do not let the prospect of the what the recoil "might" be like, or fear of the recoil, have you psyched out before you ever shoulder the rifle much less pull the trigger. Truth is that anyone can learn to handle recoil for most the calibers that are discussed on this forum and I think at least half the game is to not let your mind get the better of you. Or perhaps my mind has simply been scrambled by too much shooting of big bore cartridges?

THAT is no BS! I had my wife @ the range, trying to get her to shoot my 7mm with a brake on it. She was scared, and I almost had her talked into it. The guy next to us had a brand new shiny 338 RUM, and was about to shoot it for the first time. So what does he do? he sits down and crosses his arms, supporting the butt against his shoulder with the left, and leans way into the rifle. Pulls the trigger, and whammo! blood all over the place from the top of his eye where the scope blasted him. My wife was watching the whole thing, as was I since the guy had asked a question or 2 before he sat down, and told us he had not shot the rifle ever.

She freaked the F@#$% out. This was 2 years ago, and I still cannot get her to sit down to her 243 that she got as a Xmas present.

Keep a firm grip, and keep that cheek on the stock solid! I have a scope on my 375 RUM, and every now and again, I get a light tap from the scope reminding me to pay more attention.

Had I known what I know now about shooting big guns, I wouldve stopped the guy, and changed events of the future. Who knows, I might have a range buddy now that cooks and cleans too! Oh well, we cant have our cake and eat it all the time, right?

I always keep a tube of super-glue with me at the range. Keeps the eyebrows in place just as well as stiches and they don't yell as much! Two minutes with Quick-Clot followed by the RLG super glue treatment and some creativity can result in only minimal permanent disfiguement!-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by 470 Mbogo:
Hi Harry,
Please don't mistake my mention of a shotgunner as meaning over leaning into a shot. That's why I included the video so a visual of the shooting method could be seen. With a big bore I also tend to have a solid chest and upper body which also helps to keep the muzzle jump to a minimum. You can see in the video the lack of muzzle rise with a load that shooting a 500 grain bullet at 2500 fps.
Take good care,
Dave

Sorry about the confusion Dave; I wasn't meaning to reference your post. I was refering to the exaggerated lean most shotgun instructors encourage relative to the fact that most peoples first experience with recoil is a shotgun.

RobGB,

Your report on the "little lady" and the 416 RIGBY is perfect! So much of our negativity is in our own HEADS!!!

Great advice in this thread. I will add the obvious point of 'keeping current' with the bigger guns. I just returned from a ground squirrel shoot in Oregon. I really like shooting these "meadow grizzlies" with higher powered rounds, including 375, 416 and 458 in addition to the usual varmint rounds.

I have been a bad boy and haven't had any range time after the big game season of 05. I even violated one of my rules when I didn't range check my rifles prior to the trip (I was too busy, yada yada...)

When the squirrel shooting started this week it was apparent that the rifles were still zeroed but I wasn't.

My 338 Lpua which I usually don't find objectionable caught my attention and my RSM 458 Lott (which I LOVE) was giving me a work out. I was "out of shape" shooting wise. I actually thought "man, these things ARE harsh."

By the second day my groove returned and I was again comfortable and scoring hits. And let me tell you I LOVE capping those little diggers with the Lott. I went through 70+ Lott rounds and really enjoyed the challenge and terminal result of each shot.

IMHO shooting the bigger rounds well does take a certain mental "toughness" that I like. BUT I need to keep current and shoot them often, just to keep me sharp and remind me of their personalities.

John

I'm about 110 pounds, so need to lean into the rifle a little or I will end up falling backward. I tend to put my right foot behind and set my lower body up to not move and let the recoil move my upper body at the waist. The trick of using arms as shock absorbers is also one that I use. Still, with 500-grain loads in a 458 Win the left foot still comes a couple inches off the ground.

Never try a sitting/kneeling position that leaves your butt unsupported. I did that exactly once and took a nice whack in the nose from the scope.

If worried too much about recoil, handload and load down to start, and work your loads up as you gain experience. I shoot a lot of very light loads with Red Dot when I just want to punch paper without getting punched myself.