After a long hiatus from almost all shooting I drug out my Colt Light Rifle in 300 Win Mag that I thought was a pussycat. That was back when I was shooting several stopping calibers up to 550 Magnum somewhat regularly.

Boy, what a shocker! I almost cried like a baby! Just goes to show that recoil is perceived by the brain as much as felt by the body. I guess I'll have to re-calibrate my perceptions with a few dozen 505 Gibbs and a six pack of 550s.

Back on the bicycle, Harry. PAST pad and double protecting the ears helps me not to flinch so bad.

One day I was at a shooting range with a Marlin 1895 with a straight stock and a plastic buttplate. I was firing 350gr .45-70 handloads. A fellow next to me had a bolt rifle in .458 Win Mag. We agreed to try each others rifles. I fired the .458 and remarked that it was a nice rifle and had a lot less recoil than I expected. He fired the Marlin and started swearing and swinging his arms around. He couldn't believe how much MORE it recoiled than his .458 magnum.

its a training thing, i think, Harry --- gets me too, when i am out of practice

I was suggesting it might have something to do with it being a "Colt Light Rifle in 300 Win Mag". Those only weigh about 5-1/2 pounds.

Yup. It's a training thing. Got to get back into fighting shape before you can roll with the punches!

quote:

Originally posted by Grenadier:
I was suggesting it might have something to do with it being a "Colt Light Rifle in 300 Win Mag". Those only weigh about 5-1/2 pounds.

I put Mel Forbe's stock on mine with the newer Leupold light weight 3x9 (11 oz without rings). I bet it weighs in at or under 6lb loaded. But the stock fits so well that when I'm in good condition it's very tolerable to shoot.

Just an observation, but one that many folks have made on here before there always seems to be a lot of difference in felt recoil when shooting from a bench at paper and in the field shooting at hair.

quote:

Originally posted by Grenadier:
One day I was at a shooting range with a Marlin 1895 with a straight stock and a plastic buttplate. I was firing 350gr .45-70 handloads. A fellow next to me had a bolt rifle in .458 Win Mag. We agreed to try each others rifles. I fired the .458 and remarked that it was a nice rifle and had a lot less recoil than I expected. He fired the Marlin and started swearing and swinging his arms around. He couldn't believe how much MORE it recoiled than his .458 magnum.

Was he tall? Lever guns tend to abuse me more than bolt guns, especially 45-70 vs some of the big guns. 375H&H, I can shoot boxes of it. 416 Rem, I can comfortably squeeze 10 shots or more. 45-70, loaded warm, maybe 10 and I'm done.

Muzzle energy, muzzle velocity , muzzle rise ,stock fit, recoil pad , experience , load velocity, bullet weight and a few other things all add to the fun you can have !

Those Marlin 45-70s with a steel or plastic butt plate can bite!

what to do with a big gun

make it weight a lot ---10-11- 12- lbs

big thick recoil pad

load down the powder- load down the bullet

2,200 fps and a 450 grain bullet in the old 458 win mag will kill--- much better --than a 2,350 fps 500 grain load

if the latter makes you flinch and so miss, where the prior is shootable and -s0- you develop trust in it and confidence with it

hold gun firm, hard back, tight grip,elbow up

[if the trigger guard is slapping your finger you are not using enough grip]

shoot on hind legs or off the sticks

ear plugs glasses help

shoot 6 - 10 only per session

remember a baseball group is good enough to kill anything and everything, we are not trying to shoot bug hole groups here

Perception is much of recoil. The super light rifles are so abrupt that your mind probably thinks it's in the middle of an explosion, and yet it's over in an instant,'stopped just as quickly and no limbs went flying off. All the alarm bells were wrong, and the recoil didn't amount to much. I've got a bunch of Kimbers that have the quick recoil impulse. It's like getting hit by a 100 mph potato chip.

The recoil of 300 Win Mag has a bad reputation but hits so hard to be a problem ?, I do not think that something as unpleasant as the great big game cartridges .

Ovny.

The tighter I hold my .460 Weatherby against my shoulder the less recoil I feel, but then I can't aim it as precisely. If I cradle it gently I can line the sights up, but then I pay a price.

Big surprise here, right?

The velocity of the recoil has a lot to do with it in my opinion, setting aside stock fit, which is critical.

Assume you have a .416 like mine which is a bit heavy for caliber, but fits me like a glove. The recoil is slow, a shove. It won't bruise me even if I shoot a couple of boxes of 400 grain bullets off the bench. And frankly, that's not unpleasant at all.

Compare that to my featherweight Kimber .300WM that doesn't even have a metal floorplate to save weight. It's not uncomfortable to shoot, but if shoot two boxes of 180 grain bullets off the bench, I'll be purple in the morning.

Much less recoil with the .300. Velocity of the recoil, not mere foot pounds, is what makes the difference.

quote:

Originally posted by Joe from So. Cal.:
The tighter I hold my .460 Weatherby against my shoulder the less recoil I feel, but then I can't aim it as precisely. If I cradle it gently I can line the sights up, but then I pay a price.

Big surprise here, right?

No surpise there, agree completely. Offhand I shoot my 500 Jeffery (which is a lot less recoil than your 460 Weatherby) much like I shoot my 270 which I've had for 40 years, which is light and firm no death grip. Off the bench I hold it tighter, but try not shoot from the bench much at all. If I have to do load development I use a (horrors) lead sled.

After shooting my 470 a few times, my 416s, 375, 300, 7mm shoot so "softly". All perception of how "hard" something kicks is how "hard" have you been kicked.

Absolutly, you must keep in practice shooting big bores, lay off six months to a year and your work is cut out for you to get comfortable with the big bore recoil again. I notice the older I get the harder it is to ignore that recoil, and get back to shooting them again.

I'm glad to hear that 'six month' comment.

Every year I go 6-10 months without shooting. Typically I pick up a few bruises or a little tenderness after the first day of shooting. I'm still shy of 70 years so I haven't notice increased sensitivity to recoil YET.

Probably shooting a bunch of 500 Nyati loads and gripping the forearm more strongly than I used to do with 338s and 416s has helped reduce perceived recoil.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Absolutly, you must keep in practice shooting big bores, lay off six months to a year and your work is cut out for you to get comfortable with the big bore recoil again. I notice the older I get the harder it is to ignore that recoil, and get back to shooting them again.

I agree completely. I haven't shot anything worse than 308 un-suppressed for a few years; mostly a nine pound 300 Weatherby with a suppressor, various 6.5s and several AR15 type rifles.

Prior to that I own and shot in no particular order 375 & 400 H&H, 376 Steyr, 416 Rem, 458 AccRel, 458 Lott, 500 AccRel and finally 550 Magnum which I confess, I never got used to. But then it only weighs 11 pounds loaded and is way too short on the length of pull.

That said, all of that high-energy practice made the little Colt Light Rifle feel like a pussy cat.

Folks,

I could not agree more about being in practice for recoil. I recently started shooting my 20" barrel 458 WM again after a long as in years hiatus. it kicked me like a mule.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
Just an observation, but one that many folks have made on here before there always seems to be a lot of difference in felt recoil when shooting from a bench at paper and in the field shooting at hair.

Yep endure the pain of the sight in, don't get too carried away with load development and shoot a bunch of rocks etc off sticks/trees/hunting positions in preparation for the real deal. Don't be afraid to shoot lighter bullets out of big calibres either

The 416 Rem mag is about the top of my recoil in.a rifle that I.can shoot 100 rounds in a day and not flinch ! I tried a friend's 470 capstick with 600 ,grain bullets at 2400 fps never again hurt too much .I shot my 416 that same day and his 405 win they were easy to shoot .I use past pads and double ones on my 416 because I have a torn rotator cuff in my right shoulder don't want to mess it up worse !

Fix a one-size-fits-all factory rifle:




Eases the WALLOP and fixes the LOP, from 13.5" to 14.5".

THE FEW THE PROUD THE 395 FAMILY

I will add that a light weight 300 can kick pretty damn hard as some have a very snappy recoil, while some big bores have a lot of push, and some have a multitude of both..Yep its perceived for all of us..When I get kicky after a long spell of laziness, I grab the biggest gun I have at the time shoot if at the bench and off hand, then go to the gun I was shooting that bothered me, by then Ive numbed my sinses and Im good with the lighter rifle., May not work for everyone, don't know.

quote:

Eases the WALLOP and fixes the LOP, from 13.5" to 14.5".

I've asked you before Ron, but where did you get that leather sleeve from? That would really help on my lighter weight, large caliber Sakos. Thanks in advance.

Lil'Bro'Dart:

That is a Pachmayr leather slip-on that has velcro fastening on the right side of it.
I scalloped the left side of it with some leather shears so it would clear the cheek piece.
Then I dyed it a darker brown color with leather dye from Hobby Lobby.

Size MEDIUM Pachmayr is a great fit for the B&C Kevlar/Aramid stock for the CZ 550 Magnum.



https://www.amazon.com/leather...pad%2Cp_4%3APachmayr

I make good use of the leatherworking skills I learned while I was in prison.
Did I ever show you the deluxe heavy-duty leather prescription pad cover I made for myself?
Of course you might consider a skin-marking pen and a scalpel to do the same,
what with your medical training and all.

Rip
.

When I go to the range I'll usually take 5 or 6 rifles of cartridges from 243 to 458 with several stops between. I haven't figured out which is best: shoot the big ones first and get it overwith, then have each succeeding step a reduction, or to start light and work up to the heavies. Both methods seem to have their pain.

I haven't fired a shot in two years. It's the longest hiatus I have had since I started shooting as a kid. Didn't plan it this way, but now, with two moves and a divorce coming in the next couple of months, the first thing I am going to do when I get resettled in New Mexico is head for the rifle range. I have a nice .40 Roy Stroh flintlock to shoot, a nice .25-35 Tomcat Marlin to shoot, a .577 Snider to shoot and I will also have a new Tom Jackson-built .400 Whelen on a Springfield action to shoot. I'll probably start with cast with the Whelen and work up to full-patch stuff.
In my experience, the .300 and .338 Magnum-class rifles have a more obnoxious recoil impulse than the .375 to .458 class. And yes, a 7 1/2 pound Marlin in .45-70 with a 400-grain slug doing better than 1900 gets a fella's attention, too.
Worst beating I have ever taken? Patterning 3 1/2-inch turkey loads in an H&R single shot, even with lead in the forend. Just brutal.

Have a leather pad with #9 shot sewn into ribs that I put on my shoulder while at the bench.

Remarkable difference.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
In my experience, the .300 and .338 Magnum-class rifles have a more obnoxious recoil impulse than the .375 to .458 class. And

My .338 edge without the brake and heavy stock only weighed 10 or so lbs. Honestly, it was a pussycat next to my 7.5lb 450 NE shooting 550's. I really miss those 720gr cast Ranger Rick-those were fun to shoot.

Perceived or real, its all the same, end of story, causes flinching, headaches, crossed eyes, nasty shorts, a shortage of Testosterone except in those who profess less than the truth and who knows what else..

Well my solution to shooting my 500 Jeffery is to wuss out on the range, then hunt with it just like I do my 270. I have two mercury recoil reducers in it, a Pachmayer Decelerator Pad, a Limbsaver slip on pad, and a PAST Pad sewn into my shooting vest. When I hunt the last two stay home. Seems to work for me, I still enjoy shooting it.

I feel like my whitworth .375 kicks worse that my light for caliber ruger #1 .450/400.

Proper mental preparation is important.

First, remember that the rifle is not going to hurt you.

Two, plan to ride it like a bucking bronco.

Three, forget light-rifle benchrest technique and hold on to the forearm strongly enough to ride with the recoil. The extra weight of the forearm hand counts in recoil reduction.

Fourth, if there is a scope, edge your head backwards and upright until the sight picture is as far as away as can be and still usable. Keep the head stiff enough to retreat with recoil. Never let it flop forward.

fifth, be thankful for the opportunity to be practicing for a hunt.

If one shoots Saeed rifle every day for a week, then a 577 feels like a BB gun and your an official big bore shooter..

Same applies when I shoot a Lott or 470 for a week or so, then the 40 calibers feel like a 243, its a mind game..A steady diet of shooting your 40 caliber at this point like 4 or 5 shots a week will keep you tuned..But shoot a 270 for a month or two and leaving your big bore at home is suicide, you have to start all over..

In my case, if I don't shoot the LOtt or 470 for a year, and that's pretty common unfortunately the largest caliber I will be comfortable with will be a 9.3x62 or a .375 both of which Ive always been comfortable with regardless..In which case Id leave the 470 at home and just take the .375, and Id get by just fine with it..

Like I said, its a mental game, I know of no one who died from a recoiling rifle, within reason I better add...

Elmer said, "I am immune to any and all recoil". Also, "I like my rifles to kill on both ends" .
You are comparing apples to oranges; recoil is not recoil. Just using the recoil energy generated means nothing; recoil velocity means at least as much, if not more. I once built two 338 RUMs a few summers ago. I am pretty sure that my shoulder was dislocated from testing; so I put brakes on them. The recoil was savage and fast, unlike most bigger bores, which I am very used to, which have relatively slow recoil, even with the same or more recoil energy.

quote:

Originally posted by BNagel:
Back on the bicycle, Harry. PAST pad and double protecting the ears helps me not to flinch so bad.

I cannot speak nothing but good things about the PAST for taming recoil. It's a simple, cheap and effetive way to deal with it. Highly reccomended.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Elmer said, "I am immune to any and all recoil". Also, "I like my rifles to kill on both ends" .
You are comparing apples to oranges; recoil is not recoil. Just using the recoil energy generated means nothing; recoil velocity means at least as much, if not more. I once built two 338 RUMs a few summers ago. I am pretty sure that my shoulder was dislocated from testing; so I put brakes on them. The recoil was savage and fast, unlike most bigger bores, which I am very used to, which have relatively slow recoil, even with the same or more recoil energy.

DPCD, I would have to agree with you, both my 338 Edge and 375 Weatherby have very fast recoil, the muzzle flip alone is quite brutal. Both rifles are in excess of 10 lbs.
My 505 Gibbs on the other hand is just brutal, it weighs only 9 lbs and the recoil is fast and hard. In fact, I had several people shoot it and they all said the recoil was nasty. My 500NE is a pussycat in comparison, it weighs over 12 lbs.

Cheers.