Now all you tough guys take note!

I never said I couldn't shoot a 460 Wby or a 600 N.E., all I said was it kicked the s--t out of me...With lot of big bores I have to concentrate on not flinching and I can do that, but I don't like to do that. I can shoot a 416, 404,and 450-3.25 as easy as I can shoot a 222, the concentration starts with the 458 Lott and up..I just don't like the beating and I have no masochistic tendencys what so ever..

quote:

Originally posted by Robgunbuilder:
I can teach anyone to shoot a .460WBY or any other big bore well in one or two sessions. -Rob

Rob,

Do you mean pull the rifle hard into the shoulder with the right hand (if right-handed) and pull the forend down with the left with the cheek welded to the stock? I would be interested in any tips that you have regarding technique for making the big bores more manageable.

Cheers,
Andy

Adrook- Well thats part of it. Stance, foot placement,shooting off of trees or other natural rests. How to hold your head and neck muscles. etc. How to aim for fast shooting at close range and the use of Rob's blend of Quick Clot and super-glue if things go wrong!-Rob

When shooting hard kickers, I was taught to spread my feet a little more and then square my shoulders to the target and pay attention center the stock on the fleshiest part of the shoulder. I get it as close as comfortable to my pec muscle and try squeeze my shoulder tight to the pec. When the stock gets off center (up an down) or too close to the bicep it really hurts. By keeping the stock tight and "locked in" you gain much more control of it. By placing the butt of the stock closer to the center of the body you get a lot more weight directly in front of the recoil force and this helps to prevent that head snapping, car wreck feeling usually associated with recoil.

Get your scope as low as possible and get a scope with a good, long eye relief. I also tuck my chin down down as much as possible, keeping my cheek pressed firmly to the stock. I think one reason Ruger No.1's hurt as much as they do is they require high mounts for quick reloading and you have to keep your head up a bit, giving the recoil a running start into your face (plus their factory pad is a friggin' brick!). While I believe in keeping the rifle locked down tight, it is a bad idea to try to prevent the rifle from moving you. Just like a boxer rolls with a punch, you need to roll with the recoil. When shooting big bores off the bench I always use my PAST Recoil Shield! They really help when sighting in your rifle. I used to just tough it out until I tried one and when I did use it, my groups shrunk dramatically. It was crazy! Some of my less accurate .458 Lott loads amazingly became some of my best! Go figure! I was developing a slight flinch towards the end of my shooting sessions and didn't even realize it.

Some may disagree with my shooting methods but they truly work for me. Most people here at AR already know how to shoot a big bore and I'm sure plenty of these folks shoot better than me but if anyone reading this finds this advice helpful then I'm proud to have contributed. Proper shooting techniques help the shooter enjoy his rifle and even more importantly, it is conducive to clean, humane kills in the field.


PRACTICE, PRACTICE, AND PRACTICE SOME MORE!

quote:

Originally posted by Robgunbuilder:
Adrook- Well thats part of it. Stance, foot placement,shooting off of trees or other natural rests. How to hold your head and neck muscles. etc. How to aim for fast shooting at close range and the use of Rob's blend of Quick Clot and super-glue if things go wrong!-Rob

I forgot about the Quick Clot & Super Glue!

When a person starts shooting the class of cartridges that Rob does, like the .600 OK and 12 Gauge From Hell, extreme measures must be taken! Rob, you forgot to mention the stand-by paramedics!

srshooter, all excellent advice.

Do get rather square to the target, get a good hard cheek weld, make sure you are holding and gripping the stock deep in the palms and with all of the fingers of both hands and keep the buttstock firmly pulled in and locked in the pocket. Then squeeze off and roll with it.

If you are really good, you can cycle the bolt and be ready to do it again when the sights come back on target.

One of the dumbest things I ever saw was a paper target shooter on the range advising a guy with him as to how to shoot a Marlin M1895 loaded up with those God-awful Barrett ".45-70 Magnum" loads.

He had him stand in the classic target shooter's stance, facing ninety degrees away from the target, with the buttstock practically on the right bicep, with the left, support hand splayed out propping up the fore end with rolled fingers and extended thumb, and with the left, support arm bent at the elbow and resting against the body and left hip.

The guy nearly cried after the first shot.

quote:

Originally posted by Walter Prociuk:
I will not hunt with a braked rifle or with someone with a braked rifle. If you have to brake it to shoot it, buy a smaller round.

Ding!! Ding!! Ding!! We have a winner!!!!!!!!
Braked rifles SUCK, if you're unfortunate
enough to be next to the sumbich shooting it!!!

"One of the dumbest things I ever saw was a paper target shooter on the range advising a guy with him as to how to shoot a Marlin M1895 loaded up with those God-awful Barrett ".45-70 Magnum" loads.

He had him stand in the classic target shooter's stance, facing ninety degrees away from the target, with the buttstock practically on the right bicep, with the left, support hand splayed out propping up the fore end with rolled fingers and extended thumb, and with the left, support arm bent at the elbow and resting against the body and left hip."

I can shoot factory level loads with a target style offhand position, but thats about it!

I agree with Ray and the others. Having shot one. The 460 wby kicks like a SOB. But with the right tech. it can be done with out injury. The key I have found is pull those bigbores in real tight before you ever touch that trigger. You really don't want those basturds coming looking for you'r cheek touch them off!!
MM

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
srshooter, all excellent advice.

Do get rather square to the target, get a good hard cheek weld, make sure you are holding and gripping the stock deep in the palms and with all of the fingers of both hands and keep the buttstock firmly pulled in and locked in the pocket. Then squeeze off and roll with it.

If you are really good, you can cycle the bolt and be ready to do it again when the sights come back on target.

One of the dumbest things I ever saw was a paper target shooter on the range advising a guy with him as to how to shoot a Marlin M1895 loaded up with those God-awful Barrett ".45-70 Magnum" loads.

He had him stand in the classic target shooter's stance, facing ninety degrees away from the target, with the buttstock practically on the right bicep, with the left, support hand splayed out propping up the fore end with rolled fingers and extended thumb, and with the left, support arm bent at the elbow and resting against the body and left hip.

The guy nearly cried after the first shot.

Do you have time to to think and do all those things when the wounded buff comes out of the grass 6 feet to your right in a full charge?

465H&H

quote:

Do you have time to to think and do all those things when the wounded buff comes out of the grass 6 feet to your right in a full charge?

465H&H

Only 2 endings to that story, and with either one I'd think the recoil wouldn't be remembered.

The .460 Weatherby is easily the most powerful round I've ever fired. Pulled the trigger 3 times on that gun.

God, I love Weatherbys.

That being said, the stock on the custom Mark V Safari I fired really helped to mitigate some of the recoil. It had the mercury reducer and thick, soft recoil pad but no brake. It seemed to come down and away from my face in recoiling as opposed to straight back into me, making the tremendous kick more tolerable.

I think I would not flinch in shooting one regularly simply because it handles recoil so well - not once have I ever been worried about a nasty scope encounter with a Weatherby and a properly fitted long relief scope. Even my .300 WinMag Vanguard has the same behavior - it's very manageable and controllable even though you can tell full well how hard it's kicking.

I've fired a .470NE double, a .458 Lott, and a .416 RemMag that have all had less kick in terms or pounds of free recoil energy, but "different" in that they were straight back, scope-in-the-forehead type recoil, and I can say I didn't like shooting any of them. I'd take the Mark V any day, it just fits right, and I'm not even a very big guy.

Still, it'll rattle you something fierce if you're not ready for it!

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
srshooter, all excellent advice.

Do get rather square to the target, get a good hard cheek weld, make sure you are holding and gripping the stock deep in the palms and with all of the fingers of both hands and keep the buttstock firmly pulled in and locked in the pocket. Then squeeze off and roll with it.

If you are really good, you can cycle the bolt and be ready to do it again when the sights come back on target.

One of the dumbest things I ever saw was a paper target shooter on the range advising a guy with him as to how to shoot a Marlin M1895 loaded up with those God-awful Barrett ".45-70 Magnum" loads.

He had him stand in the classic target shooter's stance, facing ninety degrees away from the target, with the buttstock practically on the right bicep, with the left, support hand splayed out propping up the fore end with rolled fingers and extended thumb, and with the left, support arm bent at the elbow and resting against the body and left hip.

The guy nearly cried after the first shot.

Do you have time to to think and do all those things when the wounded buff comes out of the grass 6 feet to your right in a full charge?

465H&H

If you have to think to do these things you need more practice. These basics - getting a firm grip, solid stance, a good cheek weld and locking your rifle in the shoulder crease - have to be burned into your muscles and nerves. With a well-fitting rifle they become second nature.

Still, in an emergency, all bets are off and you need to get the shot off however you can. Most shooters don't feel any recoil when shooting at game in the field anyway.

+1 mrlexma!

To me shooting bigger bores well has been a continuing education and experience. Although one could with proper instruction (see RGBs post) get into the bigger rifles well I worked my way up until my 458 Lott is my preferred squirrel rifle You must develope the basics of a good FIRM hold, stock weld and of course with a rifle set up with proper scope eye relief or open sights. For me getting scoped was a big deal, and once I sorted this out through proper scope mounting, LOP and shooting technique it became a non issue.

When one is used to shooting their rifles alot one gets used to its "needs." I don't shoot my .17HMR Cooper LVT the same as my RSM Lott, although I share ground squirrel duties between the two. The Cooper I shoot almost free recoil, as I can and it shoots best this way. The Lott will eat me if I shoot free recoil! Do I think about the differences of the rifles as I go from one to the other? I guess I am so used to shooting these rifles that I switch from small bore no recoil into big bore mode (hard hold, etc) with really no (or little) thought. I guess my subconcious is aware that I screwed up a shot on a mule buck by a free recoiling prone shot from my RSM Rigby years ago

Many of my friends recoil literally from shooting my bigger rifles. IMO you need to WANT to shoot the bigger stuff well and work toward it. It ain't rocket science but is is proper technique and practice.

John

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
srshooter, all excellent advice.

Do get rather square to the target, get a good hard cheek weld, make sure you are holding and gripping the stock deep in the palms and with all of the fingers of both hands and keep the buttstock firmly pulled in and locked in the pocket. Then squeeze off and roll with it.

If you are really good, you can cycle the bolt and be ready to do it again when the sights come back on target.

One of the dumbest things I ever saw was a paper target shooter on the range advising a guy with him as to how to shoot a Marlin M1895 loaded up with those God-awful Barrett ".45-70 Magnum" loads.

He had him stand in the classic target shooter's stance, facing ninety degrees away from the target, with the buttstock practically on the right bicep, with the left, support hand splayed out propping up the fore end with rolled fingers and extended thumb, and with the left, support arm bent at the elbow and resting against the body and left hip.

The guy nearly cried after the first shot.

Do you have time to to think and do all those things when the wounded buff comes out of the grass 6 feet to your right in a full charge?

465H&H

With enough practice, hopefully, it'll come naturally in time.

The shooting techniques mrlexma and I was describing, in my opinion, helps a beginner learn to cope with big bore recoil so he can practice with his rifle more. Good shooting habits and lots of practice help to keep the hunter from wounding the buff in the first place. If he does charge from 6 feet, I doubt you'd feel the recoil anyway....too much adrenalin pumping to notice.

Hi all,
Just my 2 cents, I haven't shot the 460 but I do shoot the 378 and really enjoy it. It does kick like a mule if you aren't prepared. Remembering recoil when hunting I don't know to many hunters that do. I used the brake last fall and I will not hunt with it again, the recoil wasn't the issue it was the ringing in my ears wow . I will use the brake for benchwork but never again for hunting. I have to agree with Robgunbuilder about technique, anyone can shoot a big bore if taught right, but face it some people just don't want to shoot them. My brother's friend is 6'5" and 250 pounds of muscle and years of hunting and he dislikes the recoil of his 300 RUM. I believe everyone handles recoil differently, maybe it has something to do with body shape or maybe just the attitude between the ears. Either way I can't believe I waited so long to shoot and own a big bore. I know it isn't as big as most of the guns on here but it has big bore attitude and I like it.