Just thought I'd share my observations after shooting my first rifle larger than a 300WM. I purchased a slightly used 416 RM Mod 70 that had already been accurized. The rifle arrived yesterday and came with 80 rounds so I couldn't resist heading to the range this morning. I did decide to take a thin PAST pad with me since the rifle has the factory recoil pad on it. I also decided to assume that the previous owner had the scope zeroed as the bench isn't where I wanted to start. Pie plate, 50 yards, off hand. I shot some with the pad and some without and the recoil isn't bad at all. In fact, I had an absolute blast. Kept all 6 I fired in a four inch circle. I really wanted to fire more but figured it wasn't too smart the first day. I pretty much followed the advice I had read off here and turned my chest more to the target, pulled the rifle in tight and held it firmly.

One thing I can confirm that others had noted; after those 6 I shot my customary 12 rounds of 300 WM off the sticks at 200 yards and didn't even feel the recoil.

My old 870 that had the cheap plastic stock would rock your world with 3" turkey loads. This rifle is a real pleasure.

I'm going to upgrade the recoil pad and have some more fun before buffalo hunting next year.

I haven't put a scale on the trigger yet but it is absolutely heavier than my other rifles. Smooth but not the 2 1/2 to 3 lbs I prefer. I thought it might have been set around 4 lbs for safety reasons. Should I leave it alone?

Regards,

Don

Congratulations on the new rifle.

I would use a trigger scale to check the trigger pull; 4lbs. I where i like it to be on any rifle over .375.

George

Now you've found out what is generally known by many who shoot large calibers...recoil has a very large subjective component...in other words there is just a WHOLE lot of BS out there when it comes to which large caliber does what.

Much of it is "MACHO" factor...you know..."Hey guys...I shot a sumpn-sumpn and it kicked the **** outa me"...letting everyone know just how "bad" I am.

You have to "do it"...then decide if you're still standing or you need to step down to a smaller caliber the next time.

The 416 Rem is a very good caliber for just about anything you care to poke...with the right bullet...and you now have the basis for a "switch barrel" if you happen to want to go up to a larger caliber...nothing more than a quick and relatively cheap barrel swap to a 45 or 50 cal...or larger.

Enjoy it.

Luck

congradulations. The 416 caliber is a great caliber. I think most people in relatively good shape can handle the recoil if they are just shown the best way to do it.

That's one thing I love about big bores too is that suddenly all your other guns can relaxingly be popped off like a 22 after that.

Shoot it off the bench and -- the headache starts at round # 17. You started out right.

I put two seats atop the bench at our gun club and the sandbags atop that. PAST pad and a "sticks" stance, double ear protection, etc. and it's all good. (I'm 6'3", but you can work it out.)

Most folks IMO go about learning how to handle recoil backwards by shooting reduced loads, how could that possible work, if it could then we would all shoot a 30-06 to learn to shoot a 470..

Your doing it right, form a mindset that recoil never killed anyone, and its mostly a mental exercise..After shooting a 500 Jefferys the .416 feels like a pussycat, and as you say your 300 is a cake walk now, THAT IS HOW IT REALLY WORKS..

I can shoot a .416, 404, or even a 458 Win 50 or more times without any effect, but I cannot make that step up to a .458 Lott or the big 50s..I can shoot and hunt with any of them because I have been shooting big bores all life, but my true tolerance level is the 40 calibers, so that is what I shoot.

Just being able to steal your nerves to shoot a big bore is only half the fight, when you can totally ignore the recoil without thought, that is the caliber you should be hunting with be it a 9.3x62 or a 505 Gibbs..I know a lot of folks who will declare they can shoot a 505 Gibbs with ease, but in 90% of those cases they cannot, and they are not being honest with themselves..Other brave and hearty souls get by just fine, but nobody shoots the really big bores with a thought to recoil, at least nobody I know..

I don't shoot the 458 Lott and up anymore, and I have never seen the need to do so. I like the 458 Lott, but I would load it down to 2050 to 2150 FPS if I had it, and that's good enough for anything I have seen lieing around in the African bush.

Good luck, you have an excellent caliber and your going about things in the right way it seems to me.

^^^ wisdom.

Ray has said a mouthfull. Lots of wisdom there. I like the part about velocity too. That is an ideal velocity. I load my 450 Dakota to 2250fps with a 450gr North Fork and it is easy to shoot. It'll roll you but it doesn't hurt at that velocity. The Lott is a different matter. I'm like Ray about it and load it down too. I've switched to the Dakota for any DG uses.

I couldn't agree with Ray more... on anything!

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. Duc:
Ray has said a mouthfull. Lots of wisdom there. I like the part about velocity too. That is an ideal velocity. I load my 450 Dakota to 2250fps with a 450gr North Fork and it is easy to shoot. It'll roll you but it doesn't hurt at that velocity. The Lott is a different matter. I'm like Ray about it and load it down too. I've switched to the Dakota for any DG uses.

I had a .450 Dakota (Biebs owns it now) and used 450gr TSXs at 2,500 fps and it was a pussycat but it weighed 11.5 lbs. I have a .470NE VC double and a CZ Lott and they are both also pussycats. My buddy had a Win M70 Super Express that had been converted from .458 Win Mag to .458 Lott and it was the most brutal thing I have ever shot, hard rubber red factory recoil pad and a small footprint on the shoulder, unlike the CZ which weighs about the same and has a beefier stock. Stock design and weight have a lot to do with felt recoil. The design of the CZ stock seems to handle recoil very well.

I agree that a person's recoil tolerance is subjective. It is also perishable. For instance, I can pretty much take my 416 Rigby out and shoot it well any ole day. But my 500 NE is a different story.

When I take the Double across the pond, I usually start working up to it about 3 months prior to the trip. I'll take it to the range just about every weekend during this work up period. First time out, I'll shoot 6 to 8 rounds and it takes a very conscious effort to shoot it well. By the time I'm ready for the trip, I'm shooting maybe a box of 20 each outing and not noticing the recoil. A short time after the trip however and I notice that I've lost my tolerance to the recoil level again. But like I stated earlier, I can shoot the 416 well without the recoil workups.