Handi recoil and set-up

[olgrizz]

Here's my problem, I have been kind of out of the hunting game the last few years. killed a couple of elk with my black power gun, killed a whitetail last year with my sons prohunter, just haven't been doing that much hunting with my old 7mm mag. This year the kid and me were lucky enough to draw some great tags. Been out scouting a lot and now I have the fever again am thinking about buy a new gun for the hunts. Don't have a lot of money to spend, so have been reading about the handi. Here is the questions: can I get one of these set-up in three weeks, some seen to have problems. 2nd question, how is the recoil on something like a 30-06, my old shoulders don't like the hard recoil anymore. Need something heavy enough for elk. I am kind of in to shot placement so 06 should be heavy enough.  I know I should have started sooner, but was just thinking of using the old rifle, damn things weights a ton and kicks like a mule. Thanks for the help Grizz 

[LONGTOM]

Are the tags for elk?

If they are and it were me I would go with a 35 Whelen if you can find one.
If not then I would go with a big bore standard Handy in 45-70 with wood stocks.
It would have plenty of killing power with out all the recoil and seems to be the most accurate big bore out of the box with factory ammo.
I know the 06 is a fine cartridge but I never really needed that much cartridge for even the big whitetails so I don't have a lot of advice on it.
If you want the 06 then by all means go for it.

I too have shoulder problems so I have switched some of my big bore Handys over to SIMMS LIMBSAVER recoil pads, makes a BIG difference.
To me the Handy rifles just don't kick that much.
In fact, they kick less than the same caliber in one of my Encores.
Must be the way the stock is designed.
To me the only Handy that has a lot of recoil is my 450 marlin.

I am sure others will have some suggestions also.


LONGTOM

[jeepmann1948]

This reply may well invoke the rath of my fellow members, but I would recommend a 270 , 25-06, 280 cal. Any of them will do a great job on an elk(if you do your part ). I can relate to the shoulder problem and recoil issue.
Good luck and Happy Trails

[Manitobahunter]

  I would agree with jeepman on the 25-06.  You say you are into shot placement so use a 25-06 with a well built 120gr bullet like a partition and put it where it counts.  I gave some of these to a friend last week for a bear hunt and he drove one through both shoulders of a big bear.  The recoil is very mild with this round and should easy on your shoulder.

  Cliff

[wreckhog]

I just bought a .243 barrel. Asked about good loads and got quite the history. Including 2 elk! Never shot a .243 before, but it is supposed to compare to my 30-06 Ultra Comp in recoil.

[Doublebass73]

I'm like you, I HATE recoil because of a bad shoulder. I have fired my friends 30-06 Handi and it wasn't too bad. It was more than I personally like but it was tolerable. It was a respectable shooter right out of the box. I don't have a 30-30 but if you search through the posts here you'll see that the general consensus is that they are one of the most accurate Handi rifles right out of the box and a very safe bet. Same goes for the 45-70.