Gentlemen;

I am in the process of buying a Sako Finnbear .375 H&H with a Harrison synthetic stock. The current owner reckons he replaced the original Walnut stock due to the fact that Sako is reknowned for inadequate weight on their big-bore stocks, which obviously has a negative effect on recoil

Question: Is it not a given that a synthetic stock is generally lighter than a wooden variant and that this should result in even more recoil? He also mentioned that the stock has aluminum pillaring and the barrel is fully bedded. Will this have an effect on the recoil?

I know that this forum is more inclined to the .585 NYATI's and the like, but your comments will be appreciated.

Karoo,

I am not familiar with Harrison stocks (are they a locally-made product?).
I have a Sako Finnbear .375H&H (with which I took my first safari in your country in 1991).
Recoil is not excessive except when shooting from a bench; you'll never notice it while hunting.

George

Karoo,

Definitely not a given. Even in the life of a certain model the stock proportions/designs change.

My Sako L691 .375 H&H was way too light(8 1/2 lbs incl. scope). Also the Sako recoil pad was pretty hard. I switched to a HS precision drop in stock & the weight all up increased 1/2 lbs. Now HS stocks are not light anyway but it was beneficial for recoil reduction & the recoil pad had much more give & was thicker.

Although in the field the wooden stock was always acceptable from a recoil point of view. On the bench that is another matter.

Karoo,does the stock fit you nicely ?? this can also help to reduce recoil, maybe you could add 1 or 2 mercury recoil reducers in the butt to add weight and possibly slow recoil ??.

Gents;

Thanx for the comments. The stock seems to fit nicely, but due to the fact that we have to wait up to 8 weeks for licenses here in South Africa, I have not been able to fire the rifle.

The current owner is a BIG individual and obviously offers a tad more resistance that my 80kg frame. He reckons recoil is mild Will see how it goes on on the bench and then decide if an extra-thick recoil pad is essential to remain the master of this toy!

Karoo,

while sighting in using a standing bench can also help with the harder kicking rifles, and does not really adversly affect "hunting accuracy"