In another discussion, jeffeosso said: "put a weighting or merc tube in the buttstock, and go shoot." in regards to controlling recoil in a Ruger #1 Lott.

What does the list think about mercury recoil reducing tubes?

If you're concerned about the mercury, you can use the 'Dead Mule' recoil reducers. They are mechanical, containing a spring piston.

George

I've used them in shotguns and rifles, with mixed results. I put one in a Beretta Silver Hawk sxs shotgun, but found it changed the balance enough to affect handling, so out it came. I put one in my Searcy 470, and consider it a plus. HS Precision puts them in as standard in their PH magnum calibers, and in my 375 RUM it creates no issues.
They aren't miracles. They are not as effective as muzzle brakes, but also don't hammer those around you. They seem to sort of slow down the punch, making it a bit less sharp.

I used one in my Ruger No. 1 45-70, which I tried to make a 458 by loading hot. It helped with the recoil but shifted the balance point making it butt heavy. Finally came to my senses and removed it and loaded back to reasonable levels.
IMO they work.

Eterry

I am in agreement with both Marty and Eterry. Balance of the firearm is a major point with me so taking that into account guides my decision. I'm nuetral-negative on mercury tubes.

Hi Folks

I've had a mercury recoil damper in my 458 Lott. She shoots fantastically well even off the bench without loads of padding. There is also a Decelarator pad fitted. Since the rifle was custom made the gunsmith corrected the balance when fitting the damper.
Perfect.

Mark

The CZ Slicker put 2 in My 450 Rigby..The Balance of the Rifle is all one could ask for.. IMO.. When I get the Brass I'll find out the rest of the story..
AK

I have two in my .416, balance didn´t change but I haven´t really found them to be that effective either.

I had one put in my 470 Merkel....I think they work....but it still kicks.

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer

I really like them. To improove balance, I insist on installing a short, fat one in the buttstock and a longer, thinner one in the forend.

I've used mercury tubes in the stocks of my trap and skeet guns for over 20 years. I also had them ported. I also added lead in the forarm to restore the balance. I think they work great! Especially on days where I shoot several hundred 12 ga shells, and for reducing the muzzle jump for the second shot in doubles.

I just installed a mechanical reducer in the stock of my .375 RUM yesterday. With over 100 hours of shaping, checkering and finishing that stock, I was very careful drilling a 15/16" hole 6" into the stock. I'll take it out to the range Wednesday and see if I can notice a difference.

In installed one in a 470 Merkel also, they do help. I installed it myself in the existing stock bolt hole with dowell before and after.

I like them. I have one in My Ruger RSM 458 Lott, It does help with recoil. I think the recoil remains the same but it gets spread out over a longer period of time, makes it a push instead of a sharp jab.

In my RSM it moved the balance a little further aft and I feel the gun balances better that way. At least for me

i think the merc tubes do a better job in reducing felt recoil than weight alone. I've tried lead and merc... merc is much better...

they DO change balance, but so would 12oz of lead

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:


What does the list think about mercury recoil reducing tubes?

They work, and they work better than merely adding the same amount of weight. The reason is that the mercury's movement is delayed until recoil actually moves the gun a bit, then the end of the mercury tube slams into the stationary recoil, decreasing both velocity of the rifle's recoil, and decreasing its acceleration. The net result for me is that a mercury tube seems to take the hard "bite" out of recoil.

quote:

Originally posted by Eterry:
I used one in my Ruger No. 1 45-70, which I tried to make a 458 by loading hot. It helped with the recoil but shifted the balance point making it butt heavy. Finally came to my senses and removed it and loaded back to reasonable levels.
IMO they work.

Eterry

-- Big sissy.

fwiw,
I put a Breako Standard in the Butt Stock and a thin Breako in the Forend of a Weatherby Vanguard in .300 Weatherby recently. Rifle was factory ported and fitted with a Limbsaver Pad. Test fired before hand and the rifle did not recoil very much at all(Felt less than most .30-06's) Though it did blow the gasket off the snail.

After installation the recoil was lessened a bit, however, it was mild to begin with... Have a feeling the customer was intimidated by the cartridge and hold little hope the mercury reducers will solve the problem. Would like to try it on something in the .416 Remington Class or above...

Regards, Matt Garrett
Colorado School of Trades

quote:

Originally posted by Matt in Virginia:
Though it did blow the gasket off the snail.

Okay - paint me totally ignorant here. I thought I knew what gaskets and snails were, but never really associated the two. What the heck does this mean?

A week ago, I posted that I had just installed a Mechanical (Beretta) Recoil Reducer in the stock of my .375 RUM, and that I was going to try it on Wednesday. Well, Wednesday afternoon was a Blizzard (imagine that in January in Montana!). My drive from town to home utilizes about 4 miles of I-90. Windchill factor substantially below zero, I-90 was a sheet of ice, several cars off the road and through the fence, State Patrol had a section of westbound I-90 closed because of an accident involving a semi. Anyway, I wimped-out and didn't do my usual Wednesday night shooting.

Last night the weather was a little better so I braved another snowstorm at home and went to a breezy, single digit cold, but dry gun club. Two shots with my .375 RUM. One standing, leaning against a post and one off the bench. Neither shot felt any worse than a .30-06 hunting load or a 3" 12 ga load. I was very pleasantly suprised.

My rifle and load are: Rem 700 Stainless, 26" Stainless factory barrel with a KDF muzzle brake, Limbsaver reciol pad, 15/16" dia Beretta mechanical recoil reducer in a Richards Microfit Imperial Laminate stock that is pillar and glass bedded with a full floating barrel, and a 2-7x Leupold scope. Fully loaded with leather sling it weighs just under 10 lbs. My load is the Barnes 300 gr TSX in front of 97.3 grains of H4831sc and a CCI 250 primer which gives me (from Barnes load tables, I haven't cronographed it yet) 2825+ fps and 5300+ ft-lbs at the muzzle. 3 shot groups are less than 2" at 200 yds.

Without the Brake, its LOUD and hurts to shoot. With the Brake its LOUD and is OK to shoot. With the Brake and the Mechanical Reducer its LOUD and is comfortable to shoot.

HEY GI

share with us what you did when you installed the dowels in with the mercury recoil tube.

how did you secure them, esp the rearmost one ?

thanks, tomo577

I've got one in my Ruger # 1 in .416 Rigby and love it