What's the most recoil you can handle?

[Zachary]

When I was younger, my father started me off with shooting a .30-06.  I think I was about 16 years old at the time.  It was a Remington BDL that was apparently customized because the action was smoother than any Tikka I own. :grin:   The only bad thing about the gun is that it had no recoil pad and either a very hard plastic or black steel but plate.  (I still have this gun, but at the moment I just don't remember).

The reason I say this is because this gun delivered a huge whallop when fired.  Heck, even my dad, who was 5'10" and 185 pounds, would really feel it.

So I developed bad flinching - really bad.  I mean that at the pull of the trigger, I would just close my eyes and move my head! :eek:   Yea, that bad!

Over the years, I have somewhat controlled my flinching.  Don't get me wrong, I STILL FLINCH, just not as bad.  I later bought a .270 and even then I put a muzzle brake on it.  Why? Well when you combine flinching with buck fever - you can't hit the side of a barn at 50 feet!

I later learned to control my buck fever and flinching even more.  I now have about 20 or so bolt-action rifles in about 15 or so calibers.  Believe it or not, I have a .375H&H and I can shoot groups less than 1/4" at 100 Yards!!! :eek:   Yup, you read right!

Does that mean that I can handle the recoil up to a .375H&H?  Well, kinda.  I must also say that, when I'm at the range shooting the .375, it literally pushes me back about 6 to 8 inches - or at least that's what it seems like.  I anticipate the recoil and it comes!  People say that with a .375 it's more of "push" than a kick.  Yea?  Well, let me tell you, it's BOTH!  

The thing that I want to say is that, when hunting, I really don't feel the recoil.  I shot 2 hogs with the gun this year and I honestly don't remember the recoil.  I think that I was sooo focused on the hog through the cross-hairs, that I don't remember the recoil.

So, should my question be modified as to how much recoil we can take at the range, and how much in the field? :grin:   Heck, I don't know.  Nor do I think that the question should be posed so narrowly.

Just tell me in any way you want, how much recoil can you handle?

Zachary

[jhm]

Zach:  Years ago I fired a 460 weatherby a few times and that was a trip (all backwards) since then I have owned and shot everything from the 300 win/wea mag down to the 17 rem. and have found a real fondness for the lesser kicking rifles my favorite is the 7-08 even though I still have most of the others my most used caliber is the 223 I just use it alot here on the place.    JIM

[Coyote Hunter]

My first centerfire, over 20 years ago, was a Ruger 7mm Rem Mag.  It had a hard rubber buttplate and after my first trip to the range I had a gunsmith install a "real" recoil pad.  It hasn't bothered me much since.

When I picked up a Marlin 1895 in .45-70 a coupl eyears ago I found out what "recoil" really means.  This rifle also had a hard rubber pad for a buttplate.  I worked up some loads that pushed a 460g hardcast to 1812fps and generated 48 foot-pounds recoil.  For obvious reasons I call these my "Rhino Blaster" loads.  Shooting 20 or so was a real challenge.  Then I put a "Kick Killer" sllip-on recoil pad, which softened the blow considerably.  The rifle now mounts a scope, which reduces recoil to around 43 foot-pounds. MUCH BETTER!  Still, shooting over 20 rounds requires some determination.

7mm Rem Mag recoil?  WHAT recoil?!

[mcrae555]

I am a fairly big guy(6'2" and 220) and I don't handle recoil well!  If I spend anytime at the range with the large calibers I seem to get really nasty headaches.  I can shoot them and they are impressive but I have quit using any of them.  I had a 300WSM, 338 Win Mag, and a 375/338 and I have sold them all because I can't enjoy shooting them so I wasn't practicing with them.  I also learned to shoot with a 30/06 but I was a rather big kid so I didn't get knocked around as bad but I can vouch for the kick of the 30/06!  My dad has one of the older models of Tikkas that he bought in the early 70's and it was the gun I learned with.  There is something about that caliber it just seems to belt you!  I can understand why some guys want the the big boomers they have awsome power but I just don't handle the recoil well!  I have a buddy that swears by the big guns.  He will not use anything under .30 cal and considers a 300WSM a good deer round.  He hunts pretty much everything with a 358WSM and swears by the extra horsepower.  The recoil doesn't seem to faze him and he is a pretty small guy.  I guess its like most things everybody has there own comfort level.  My big gun is a 7mm Remington Magnum in a Tikka Whitetail Hunter and it feels like shooting a 243!  I also have a 7mm-08 and a new Tikka T3 in 6.5x55 on the way.  I hunt mostly black bear, whitetail deer, mule deer, elk, and every couple years moose and goats so I have all my needs covered with rifles in the lower end of the recoil spectrum.    

McRae

[Mauser]

When I was in my late teens and early 20s I thought it was fun to shoot big rifles.  I shot 458s and 375 H&Hs, to name a few, trying to prove myself.  Now 20 years later, the 30/06 is about my threshold (in a 8-9 lb rifle).  I've become a fan of the 308 which throws a good sized bullet without too much recoil.

Unfortunately I'm a lefty so its difficult to find short action bolt rifles.

[Dragon31]

I think that most of you hit on the important points.  That being that it is the gun as much as the caliber.  I have an 1886 Winchester in 45-70.  It has a brass butt plate and it really beat the #**l out of you at the range.  I have a custom .338 mag that's down right pleasant to shoot in comparison.

[Thomas Krupinski]

My take is that it's not the cartridge so much as how you shoot it.  It you fight the recoil, like when shooting from a bench, you take the force with you being the backstop.  When you go with the recoil, like shooting offhand and just hold on and let it flow, you don't feel it as much.

[mountainview]

I have to agree with just all of the above. One other thing that I have noticed that affects my recoil tolerance is the trigger pull. If the trigger pulls smooth and is set at a reasonable 2-4 lbs (e.g. my favorites are Accutrigger or Remington), I am so focused on the target that I don't even realize that gun has discharged until well after the shot is made. Before I had a trigger job done on my 700 ADL, trigger pull was heavy, accuracy was well let's not talk about that, and I dreaded taking a shot because I knew what was coming. After the trigger job, I had a whole new rifle that I can shoot accurately. Don't know how to explain it except that perhaps there is a bit of a mental game involved.

[jvs]

Over the years I learned to control my flinching by realizing that most of it was due to trigger weight.  For me, I knew the rifle would kick but my problem was heavy triggers and learning to squeeze the trigger.   It was when I got into the science of shooting that things really settled down for me.  Also, luckily for me I started hunting as a youth with a 30-30.


That being said, I have a 14" Thompson Contender in .35 Rem which is an absolute terror to shoot.  I haven't had it out of the cabinet for years.  I now realize that a handgun in high power calibers isn't such a good idea for me.  It certainly isn't a hunting piece, not with requiring earplugs and a shooting glove.   What I should do is get the Carbine Kit Thompson puts out.   Anticipation of the muzzle blast and recoil makes me flinch, no if's, ands or buts about it.

I know an old guy who built .50 single shot rifles for competition.  You've seen .50 Machine Gun Bullets.  Until he retired he was the best gunsmith in my area.  He told me one day about what he had to go through at the range to sight one of those babies in.  As a former Gunny Sgt., even he complained about muzzle blast, recoil and flinching.  He limited himself to not more than 3 shots a day out of one of those.   It's all he could take.

[stork]

I really don't know how much recoil I can handle because the hardest kicking rifles I have shot are my 30-06 savage and my cousin's 264 win mag which were about even in recoil.  I can shoot both comfortbly all day.

I'm 15 and I knida like recoil.  I like to be reminded of the amount of power I have control over.  I'm 5-10 and 125 pounds, so I am tall and skinny.

I learned to shoot with bb guns and 22's.  A couple of years ago I got a mauser in .308 that weighed a ton, so I learned good shooting habits with guns with little or no kick.  I think everybody should learn how to shoot lightkicking rifles before they ever shoot anything that kicks at all.

[wareagleguy]

Well, all this talking about the 30/06 brings me back to my old rem 700 in 30/06.  It was a real shooter and had plenty of recoil to boot.  I could only shoot it a few times at the range but lucky that old gun never needed much (if any) adjustments over the years.

Here is the downside to this gun...recoil.
I'm willing to beat that not one person has had the experience with recoil that I had. :shock:

On one early morning I had a nice little buck approach to my right (I'm right handed) and I made a quick turn and fire.  When I did I lost all feeling! :eek:   I also for just a second or two lost control of my muscles and dropped the gun.  I was in a tree stand and didn't fall but I would have if not for my safety rope.  Later I had to stay in bed a day because I had the worse score neck I ever had.  

After two days of the pain I went to my doctor.  He x-rayed my neck and told me the good news.  I had broken MY NECK!!!  I had a small hire fracture and a torn disk which would require surgery.

At first I didn't do the surgery but the pain never went away so after about a year of pain I went through the surgery.

[Lawdog]

Zachary,

I started out at the age of 12 with a 7.65mm Belgium Argentine Mauser that my father gave me for a birthday present(wanted a M94 .30-30 like all my friends seemed to have so I was a bit disappointed ).  Like most kids I yearned for something bigger.  Moved up to a Win. Pre-64 M70 .30-06 and it’s metal butt plate.  This would get your attention at the bench until I discovered a strange thing called recoil pads.  My next rifle was a Weatherby Mark V Deluxe in .300 Weatherby Magnum that I won in a big buck derby at the age of 16.  I didn’t even shoot it for almost a month, just sat in my bedroom at home and admired it.  I remember running cleaning patches thru the bore everyday to keep the dust out of it.  When I went out to the local shooting stop there was a guy I knew out there shooting and he told me to “roll with the recoil”(go with the flow) when I shot it.  I learned he was right.

Now I have rifles in the big bore range which I really like to shoot.  Sure they move to the rear smartly but not so bad as to make me want to stop.  Some like to say little guys handle recoil better than us large guys(I’m 6’7”, 273 lbs.) but I believe that all it takes is learning the right method of shooting and anyone can handle recoil.  I like to shoot my 10 lb. 11 oz.(that includes the mercury recoil insert) Ruger M77 .450 Rigby.  I can do 20 rounds from the bench(I cheat, I use a sissy pad  :wink:  when shooting the “big boys" from the bench) before the recoil tells me to grab another rifle.  I will say this that the recoil from my new .378 Weatherby is a lot more unpleasant than any of the other rifles I own.  Use a good brand name recoil pad(Pachmyar Decelerator, Kick-Eez, etc.), a mercury recoil reducer and learn to “roll with the recoil” will help handle heavy recoiling rifles.  This way you don't need a muzzle brake.  Lawdog
 

[Thomas Krupinski]

Lawdog,

I think us little ones (5'8"/155 lbs.) tend to offer less resistance to the recoil to start off than you larger boys.

[Gregory]

I'm 15
I learned to shoot with bb guns and 22's.  A couple of years ago I got a mauser in .308 that weighed a ton, so I learned good shooting habits with guns with little or no kick.  I think everybody should learn how to shoot lightkicking rifles before they ever shoot anything that kicks at all.

Well said, very wise words for one so young.

[Dave in WV]

I'd say the most recoil I've handled was my 870 12ga with 3" turkey loads shot from a sitting position. I don't believe I could handle much more.

[BruceP]

I'm not sure what the most recoil I can handle is. The biggest rifle cartridge I have shot is a 300 win. mag. I could shoot about 10 rounds with it but somewhere around there I would really have to concentrate to not jerk the trigger. I would like to try something larger though. While It seems that somewhere around the 300 mag. might be my limit I can also say that of the rifles I have shot in 25-06,  270 Win, 7-08, 308 Win, 30-06, and 7 Rem mag. I cant tell a lot of difference in a normal range session of maybe 20 rounds or so. One of the hardest kicking guns I have fired is my cousins Mossberg 3" mag auto that weighs almost nothing (I forget the model) When patterning that one we would take turns firing 3 shots each until we finished.  :eek:
BruceP

[High Brass]

I've shot a 7MM RUM and a  two 300 Win Mags, they kicked pretty hard.  I have two rifles in 30-06 and one of them gives me a good jolt.  I dare say that the most punishing gun that I've shot off the bench is my Rem. M870 with a 20" slug barrel.  I shot 33 rounds through it one day and couldn't use my right arm for two days later.  My shoulder felt like someone took a ball bat to it.

[leverfan]

The biggest gun I've shot was a Wild West Copilot in 50 Alaskan.  With the recoil pad and muzzle brake, it really wasn't too punishing off the bench, unless you forgot your earplugs.  I did leave them out, once, and only once, an oversight I will never make again.

To me, there are elements more important than caliber.  Recoil velocity is a big factor, as is muzzle pressure/blast.  Stock design and recoil pad design make a big difference, too.  A Marlin 444SS with 270 grain bullets, 22" barrel, no scope, and a solid, firm rubber recoil pad puts out about the same ft. lbs. of recoil energy as a T/C Encore in 300 Winchester mag with 180 grain bullets and a scope.  I can shoot the 444 all day, but the 300 is a real chore to shoot.  I prefer a gun that's fun to shoot, and with a factory recoil pad, the Encore stops being fun after you pass the 30-06 level of recoil, at least for me.

I started with a 308 Winchester Model 88, with a hard plastic butt plate.  It's fun to shoot, and it was fun to shoot back when I was 12, even though my dad believes firmly in heavy for caliber bullets.  180 grains was the lightest bullet that gun ever saw, but the caliber and stock design worked well for me.  My kids started with BB guns, then 22 lr, on to 223 Remington, and someday 260 Remington when they're old enough to hunt.  When they get big enough for a bigger gun than the 260, they'll be old enough to go buy their own rifles.

[Flashole]

A few years back a buddy calls and says he has one more doe left on his lease to go.   This was not that big of a deal for me but when he said the invite was for my son he just about jumped out of his shoes.  This was very late in the year and the only gun ready to go was my 300 win mag with a heavy hand load 200 nosler I use on elk.  Anyhow my 12 year old said he was up for task.  One trip to the range about 6 or 7 shots at about 4 inches ( gun will do 1 moa or better ) and we were on our way that night.  My son's first deer was just a doe but the way he handled that gun made me pretty proud.  Now he is 16 and shoots a 454 puma for fun and is asking for a 300 wheatherby vangaurd for that sits on the Wall Mart rack.
He likes my 8 Mag and 444 but says he wants something a little different.

=FLASH=

[Zachary]

I wonder...what percentage of our self-imposed limit to handle recoil is mental?

Zachary

[Yukon Jack]

I'm a medium build person, about 5'10" 160 lbs, in decent shape.  I have learned that shooting heavy recoiling guns takes four things:
1. The rifle should fit you.
2. Proper technique.
3. Mental attitude.
4. Practice, practice, practice.

I shoot 338's as a matter of course.  I've done that for the last 20 years or so.  Even when I was down to about 120 lbs.  I've never been scope cut, never been bruised (by a rifle), and consider myself a fair shot.  I also shoot a 411 Hawk that produces about 47 ft lbs of free recoil.  A rifle I'm currently working with is a 10 1/2 lb 500 Jeffery that produces about 96 ft-lbs of recoil.  My 500 Linebaugh produces as much recoil from a handgun as the 411 Hawk does in rifle form.

There is nothing macho about it.  If you have a rifle that fits you with the correct stock design, length of pull, and the sights line up for you properly, you'll get a good start.

You have to use proper technique.  Put your body in the wrong position to absorb the recoil and it will be painful.

You have to accept the fact that you are going to get hit.  Don't be scared of it, it doesn't hurt that bad.

You have to practice proper techniques for bringing the gun to arms, sighting, body position, muzzle control, and trigger squeeze.

There's no difference in people that can handle hard recoiling guns and people that can't, it is just a combination of those 4 factors listed above.  It's work, you do have to work at it, but nothing macho or magic.

[tominboise]

I've shot a lot, and own a lot of rifles.  WIthout a doubt, my two hardest kickers are a Win Model 94 in 45 Colt, with heavy 300 gr loads, and my Win 1886 45-70, with heavy loads.  A dozen rounds and I'm ready to hang them up.  They both have decelerators on them, too....Up until a couple of years ago, I shot a lot of trap.  One thing about shooting trap a lot, with a heavy shotgun, is that your muscles get built up to better handle the recoil thump.  Too, your upper body builds strength which helps all of your rifle shooting.  I would highly recommend shooting some trap on a regular basis, if possible, to build upper body strength.....The most important factors in recoil are gun weight and stock fit....

Tom

[Donaldo]

I can distinctly remember two rifles that really gave me a whipping.  Both were years ago when I was a young buck.  One was a hm14 in 308, with the straight steel butt plate.  In prone position it darn near broke my collar bone.  I was in the army reserves and we had to go qualify at the local army base range.  I was 6-3 and about 165 lbs at the time.  Before the session was over I was just pointing the thing downrange, closing my eyes and pulling the trigger.  Never saw a rifle I hated more.  My whole shoulder was black and blue for a week or more.  The other one was my Rem 1100 shooting slugs.  The first time I shot it I was squatting down.  It put me on my butt about 3 feet backwards.  At that time we had to use shotguns with slugs to hunt deer.  I built a peep site for that gun and actually spent a day at the range sighting it in.  Was not a pleasant day.  I have no large calibre rifles, in fact I am having my '06 converted to 22-250 at this time.  It is true that stock design and whether or not you are shooting at game or paper is a big factor.  I have never noticed recoil during hunting or firing at a game animal.  Only at the range, which is about the only type of shooting I do anymore.  For me my 243 is all the recoil I want.  I want to enjoy the shooting, not go home feeling like I have been in a fight.  I am too old to fight any more.

[Rustbucket]

Do you mean benching.  Try shooting from a higher bench position and follow Lawdogs other tips too.  I found that low bench positions are more painful, and if the caliber is too "stiff", it is possible to have a detached retinae too from the recoil.  

[Rmouleart]

I remember a H&R 10 gauge with a hard recoil pad, man that was a wakeup call shooting that beast for the first time, something you don't want to shoot all the time;) using 3inch mags, take a good stance. Also my Ruger 338win mag all weather when it had its skeleton stock, that stock was murder, you got all the recoil;)due to the stock had no weight to it. Replaced it with a hogue over molded full bedded stock, allot better now. Aim small hit small. RAMbo.

[Lawdog]

Rmouleart,

That H&R 10 ga. reminds me of my grandfathers “Long Tom” 12 ga. single shot(I still have it by the way).  It has a 3 inch chamber and weights 5 lbs. 7 oz., hard rubber butt plate and the pull is factory set at 12 inches.  It has a 36 inch barrel choked to Extra Full(you can not get a worn dime down the barrel) this shotgun got the attention of many of my friends when I was a kid.  More than one ended up on his butt rubbing a sore shoulder.  Most refused to shoot it more than one time.  Thanks for bringing back the memories.  Lawdog
   

[Zachary]

On page 127 of the June/July issue of Outdoor Life Magazine, there is a picture of a little girl named Carson Branton of Starkville, Miss. holding her rifle and a buck.  

The caption under the picture reads: "The four-point buck was taken on the opening day of Mississippi's youth deer season with her mom's .270 Browning A-Bolt."

HELLLLOOOOO! :eek:   A little 6 year old girl shooting a .270?  Wow! :eek:   If you look at the picture, you'll see that the rifle is almost as tall as she is!

I guess this little girl, pound for pound, can handle more recoil than me (and probably most of us!)

Zachary

[smoky]

I'm a fairly good sized fella and while I can handle recoil well, I still try to remove as much felt recoil as possible.  I believe that only helps one's shooting ability.

Case in point.  My main rifle is a Rem 700 in 7mm Rem Mag.  But it wears a synthetic stock, which I know for certain has reduced felt recoil in this gun in comparison to the wood stock it wore at purchase.  Likewise, at this very moment, that stock is at Bell and Carlson getting a replacement recoil pad, the new one being a decellerator.

The only gun I ever got rid of because of recoil was a 12 ga Rem 870 SPS-T Turkey gun with a 20" barrel.  This is the only gun that I ever really noticed the recoil on when I shot at game.  Those turkey loads were absolutely brutal.  And when it put me in the bottom of a duck blind on an overhead shot with 2 3/4 inch shells, it was time for it to go!

Finally, I think recoil and its effect on shooters is to a degree mental.  Persons with a higher tolerence for pain will likely shoot a hard kicker better because high recoil is not "scary" to them.  I have a good friend that is very recoil shy and would not even attempt my 7 mag because his perception of it is high recoil, even though I have shot his guns and the recoil is very similar.

Smoky

[Gregory]

Back when I was 18 or 19 I was out rabbit hunting with my old double barreled 12 ga Ithaca Lever.  I shoot left handed and the gun had double triggers, as a rabbit broke cover, I swung from right to left and was trying to shoot the right barrel first and fired both barrels at once.....and missed the rabbit!  That was some recoil!  But no real harm done.

[huntsman]

The most recoil I can handle is the least amount needed for the job. I can get knocked around by a cannon and not be bothered much by it, but I haven't yet gone chasing after any kind of brute that required such a caliber. It's just so much more of a thrill to shoot something with a minimal/modest caliber and get a spectacular/clean kill than to disembowel it with a cannon shot when it's not necessary.