I got a new scope on my 45-70 with a tad more eye relief so I figured I could shoot it from the bench while holding it loosely.

Wrong.

It turns out .1" more eye relief doesn't mean you can free recoil hot 45-70 loads.

Congrats and welcome to The Club

Yep, free recoil on bigger rifles equals scope cut and/or bad accuracy. I once shot my RSM Rigby free recoil PRONE at a mulie. This was a major brain fart on my part! I didn't get cut due to my rifle/scope set up but the shot went big time high.

I was reminded that one must shoot a high recoiling rifle the same every time (DUH!)...firm hold with both hands with the same technique every time. Any change of your technique will be multiplied with the harder recoiling rounds IMO.

I love my Lott and Rigby but I know that I have to shoot them differently than my other rifles. My buds just don't want to mess with bigger rifles and thats okay. I like the challenge of shooting bigger stuff well.

John

If it becomes a habit,you'll need to buy a helmet.

Time to look into the xs rail mount and a scout scope! The closest I came to scoping myself was shooting my wife's 338 Win, she has plenty of room with her short length of pull, with my ape arms, I feel the scope cover brush my forehead.


John

How about a picture

It's nothing ugly, didn't break skin. I just felt like shootaway.

quote:

Originally posted by Tyler Kemp:
It's nothing ugly, didn't break skin. I just felt like shootaway.

Better check the throat in your rifle just in case....

John

I've done it twice w/ my 404j, both times off sticks. I tend to crawl the rifle when shooting off sticks.

I like to wear big shooting glasses. They give protection for anything that gets in the eyes plus, they provide a little extra protection if the scope comes back too far.

LOL. I guess I'm the latest member. I wished I could say it was from firing a canon but it was just a 300 short mag.
Was dall hunting and took a really steep uphill shot (mulitiple times) and the second shot left me with a nice half moon.
Glad chicks dig scars! LOL
And for the record, it was my first (and hopefully last) time.

If you havn't already seen these have a look at my 404 setup at this link. My slight build back in my younger years saw the 404 recoil affect quite dramatically on me hence when i scoped the Mauser I went for the scout position. No problems off the bench with full power loads.

http://s606.photobucket.com/albums/tt146/Lindsayb_01/

How do you guys do this? I have been shooting big bores for over 25 years and never once have had it happen. I have had guys shoot 500 A2, who have never shot anything bigger than a 30-30 without any issue. I have had scopes hit the bill of my baseball cap a few times, but then again that was a 308 IIRC.

quote:

Originally posted by ScottS:
How do you guys do this? I have been shooting big bores for over 25 years and never once have had it happen. I have had guys shoot 500 A2, who have never shot anything bigger than a 30-30 without any issue. I have had scopes hit the bill of my baseball cap a few times, but then again that was a 308 IIRC.

ScottS, I guess I need to come and take "shooting lessons" from you

I crawl the stock too, been hit by a lightweight 30-378, and my ultralight 416 taylor. In both cases the blood did flow, and in both cases other people own the rifles too.

505ED,

No reason to get nasty. It would seem the issue is "crawling" up the stock. Could also a too short of a LOP be a significant contributor?
Could also using scopes with very low eye relief (say 3.5" or less) also be a contributor?

I am confident that were you shooting one of my rifles, and doing exactly as I told you, you would not need to worry about scope bite.

The other thing that I don't get is the forearm sling stud cutting up the shooters off hand? Never been a problem for me. I have had several kids shoot a 458Win mag with a forearm mounted sling stud and they had not issue. They were video taped and in the tape you can see that their hands never even moved on the stock ie they did not lose their grip.

I guess I am lucky, I have never been scoped, and I shoot a few big bores from time to time for almost 30 years. Good grip and good stance should eliminate that nasty boo boo.

It was a combination of short eye relief, short LOP on the gun, shooting off bags and not holding the gun, along being totally too relaxed. I was not holding the gun tightly at all, it was totally my fault.

That's why I wear a ballcap when shooting, it makes a perfect spacer.

Tyler,

Great to learn the lesson without breaking skin!

Still ... is one you'll remember. And remember that virtually EVERYONE does it sooner or later

Tyler,

Thanks for the explanation, it clears up many of my questions. As Mike said, live and learn.

When I read the posts here a couple of days ago I thought to myself "I've never scoped myself. You gotta be stupid or careless to do that to yourself".

Well, this afternoon I was shooting a pussy .416 Taylor and guess what?


Yup, I done dood it to myself. I didn't break skin though. I just gave me tap at eyebrow level and a bump that disappeared after about a half an hour. Do I get to join the club now?

I'm trying to figure out how to post the video. Give me a couple of minutes here.
- Nope, I can't figure it out. You all just have to take my word for it. It was hilarious.

Namibiahunter

I have never drawn blood but I have learned that I am a stock crawler. Every once in awhile I might let my guard down and get a slight tap on my shooting glasses. My brother inlaw now that's a different story. He was shooting my 300winmag and cut himself not once but twice. He took four stitches

Being a stock crawler wouldn't be so bad if you have a long enough stock and a long enough eye relief on the scope. Being a man with ape arms myself, the LOP can be an issue with stock rifles.

John

Well, I have to make shooting a Remington 700 in caliber 338 Winchester Magnum with a viewer Bushnell 3200, and I'm getting scared with the issue of distance from eye to eye. The worst is that I wear glasses and if I suffered a blow with the visor, the consequences will not be very pleasant.

Greetings,

Oscar.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Bore Boar Hunter:

quote:

Originally posted by Tyler Kemp:
It's nothing ugly, didn't break skin. I just felt like shootaway.

Better check the throat in your rifle just in case....

John

clean it with valve compound and a cordless drill... weld down the sights (can you imagine how bugger up his screws must look...and why he has a phobia about loose screws?) super glue the scrwes, take off one scope ring, and yeah...helmet!


now, back to tyler .. if it didnt break the skin it does not count

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:

now, back to tyler .. if it didnt break the skin it does not count

So should he go back and do it again?

i would.. but i aint too bright.. i broke skin twice in a week!

No pain-No Gain!-Rob