Lighter Recoil...

[salmonchaser]

When I joined this forum in 2013, with the exception of a tool, a lightly dressed Ar-15; light and reflex sight only, and a .22-250, my light rifle was a 30/06 and my heavy was a .577 Nitro Express. Throw a 300; 8mm Remington; 338, 375 HH inbetween. A D1 wrestling career, 20 years as a DT instructor have left my shoulders a mess. The 577 is gone, no longer have an elephant hunt on the horizon the 8mm became a 338 Jarrett with break and the obvious gap from .22 to .308 has been filled. The .257 and 275 rigby have seen most of the field work in the last two years, the 300 H&H went moose hunting. Still not convinced to go lighter than the 06 for elk, Scotty knows the ground I hunt and if they don’t drop right there your day can get real tough with just a short run. I always try to break both shoulders.
Yes I have come to appreciate the light kickers as well. Rather than rounding out my Ruger @1 collection with a 416 Rigby and 450/400 I’m going to rebarrel the 257 with a faster twist, go AI on the chamber and gain a little utility.

 

[Vince]

I’ve thinned out my herd.

My three gun battery, not including the AR’s and lever gun, is 6.5 Creedmoor for varmint up to deer, .338 Win Mag for deer up to brown bear, and .375 Ruger for everything up to and including cape buffalo.

For North America, lower 48, my one and done is the .338WM. For the last frontier and Africa it’s the .375 Ruger. For shooting off the bench it’s the 6.5 Creedmoor.

Was talking with a friend that likes to use Barnes bullets and just lost a deer using a 7-08. He’s putting them behind the shoulder. I told him if he was going to put the bullet behind the shoulder he should be using a ballistic tip. Personally I’d rather lose a little meat and break them down by taking out the shoulder if shooting a mono metal bullet.

I love the Creedmoor and the lighter recoil makes training more fun but when it comes time to hunt I tend to reach for bigger than average. Most of my hunting experience comes from my poaching days which the statute of limitations has long since expired on and I no longer do. Let’s just say Claude Dallas had nothing on me as a poacher.

Vince

 

[PJGunner]

I’ve thinned out my herd.

My three gun battery, not including the AR’s and lever gun, is 6.5 Creedmoor for varmint up to deer, .338 Win Mag for deer up to brown bear, and .375 Ruger for everything up to and including cape buffalo.

For North America, lower 48, my one and done is the .338WM. For the last frontier and Africa it’s the .375 Ruger. For shooting off the bench it’s the 6.5 Creedmoor.

Was talking with a friend that likes to use Barnes bullets and just lost a deer using a 7-08. He’s putting them behind the shoulder. I told him if he was going to put the bullet behind the shoulder he should be using a ballistic tip. Personally I’d rather lose a little meat and break them down by taking out the shoulder if shooting a mono metal bullet.

I love the Creedmoor and the lighter recoil makes training more fun but when it comes time to hunt I tend to reach for bigger than average. Most of my hunting experience comes from my poaching days which the statute of limitations has long since expired on and I no longer do. Let’s just say Claude Dallas had nothing on me as a poacher.

Vince

Did you know Claude? I met him and we talked a few times when I lived in Winnemucca. I gathered he was a fairly big fan of the .243. Kind of a strange dude.

As I grow older I've com to the conclusion that the hard kicking rifles have to stay at home keeping each other company. I worry these days more about the possibility of a detached retina that maybe hurting my shoulder or breaking my collar bone shooting the ,416 or similar toys.
I was doing some work with the 7x57 until a car wreck put a stop to me being able to do any shooting. After some study I decided that in a modern action rifle one could just use 7-08 data and work up. I have a load with the 150 gr. Nosler Partition that snaps at the heels of the .280 Rem. and no problems with pressure, accuracy or brass life. I had planned to do the same running the 160 gr. Speer Hot Core but never did due to the accident. I think that 150 gr. load would work just fine on elk if I get close enough. I'm thinking the 160 gr. would work ever better.

IIRC, Jack O'Connor and his wife used rifles chambered to the 7x57 on an African hunt. Bullet used was either the Speer or Nosler 160 gr. and they took all manner of plains game with the cartridge. People say it was the Nosler but Jack was a good friend of VernonSpeer so I've often wondered which one he really used.
Even the wimpy factory level ammo is good to at least 250 yards IF the factories load it to advertised speed. I say "IF" because I once load a deer shot with a factory 175 gr. load Several years later I had access to a chronograph and the best that ammo did was a bit over 2200 FPS. Advertised speed was 2440 FPS IIRC and still is today. I also sectioned a bullet and the jacket was im my opinion too thick for the velocity of that load. The only problem at the time was there was only two boxes of that 175 gr. ammo in town and my reloading dies for the cartridge arrived too close to opening day to get a load worked up.
Paul B.

 

[Ridge_Runner]

I'm down to the 6.5 Grendel, in a very light rifle, light recoil is a blessing

 

[1100 Remington Man]

I think the next time I go hunting the 6mm Rem. Is coming out of the safe regardless of what I go hunting for.
I guess I have no problem shooting my .264 Win Mag or 300 H&H Mag but I started with the 6mm REM and I enjoy it.
Yes it is very light recoiling rifle.

 

[Bruce Mc]

I'm done shooting rifles with recoil like 270 win and 7mm Rem Mag from bench except a few rounds to check zero. The last few loads I worked up for my 270 and 7 mag I used a lead sled. The old shoulder just can't take the repeated recoil. I still have an Elk on my hit list so I've got to keep them ready to go.

 

[Cneelk]

I shoot the big magnums just make sure the rocks in my head stay loose and not settle. , someday it will be back to the 22-250 more but not today. The 28 nosler found its way home with me .

 

[diverdown]

I definitely have to agree with the lighter recoiling rifles. I used to love shooting my .338 Ultramag off the bench (with a Past recoil cushion) but now after six shots I get a headache. Thank god it doesn't move POI from year to year. My Remington 700 Titanium in 7-08 gets the most use as the recoil is very light. Even went to a 20 bore for duck hunting. The 3 1/2 inch (whew) and the 3 inch 12's are too much. The 20 loads are perfect.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Well, interesting onions given and all valid for sure. The largest bore caliber I have or have owned is the 35 Whelen. Have owned a 300Win Mag and 7mmRM. Along with the Whelen I have couple of 6.5x55s, 270Win, 7mm08, 308Win, 30-06, 35Rem and a 223. I've noticed if I layoff shooting a bigger bore for awhile, it takes some getting used to them again. More flyers than usual I do like putting bigger holes in deer just in case I need to trail one up makes for better blood trail. If it's .264 or bigger up to the Whelen I'm still pulling the trigger for deer hunting. Just me.
Dan.

 

[Vince]

Did you know Claude? I met him and we talked a few times when I lived in Winnemucca. I gathered he was a fairly big fan of the .243. Kind of a strange dude.

As I grow older I've com to the conclusion that the hard kicking rifles have to stay at home keeping each other company. I worry these days more about the possibility of a detached retina that maybe hurting my shoulder or breaking my collar bone shooting the ,416 or similar toys.
I was doing some work with the 7x57 until a car wreck put a stop to me being able to do any shooting. After some study I decided that in a modern action rifle one could just use 7-08 data and work up. I have a load with the 150 gr. Nosler Partition that snaps at the heels of the .280 Rem. and no problems with pressure, accuracy or brass life. I had planned to do the same running the 160 gr. Speer Hot Core but never did due to the accident. I think that 150 gr. load would work just fine on elk if I get close enough. I'm thinking the 160 gr. would work ever better.

IIRC, Jack O'Connor and his wife used rifles chambered to the 7x57 on an African hunt. Bullet used was either the Speer or Nosler 160 gr. and they took all manner of plains game with the cartridge. People say it was the Nosler but Jack was a good friend of VernonSpeer so I've often wondered which one he really used.
Even the wimpy factory level ammo is good to at least 250 yards IF the factories load it to advertised speed. I say "IF" because I once load a deer shot with a factory 175 gr. load Several years later I had access to a chronograph and the best that ammo did was a bit over 2200 FPS. Advertised speed was 2440 FPS IIRC and still is today. I also sectioned a bullet and the jacket was im my opinion too thick for the velocity of that load. The only problem at the time was there was only two boxes of that 175 gr. ammo in town and my reloading dies for the cartridge arrived too close to opening day to get a load worked up.
Paul B.

I didn’t know Claude but I was a buckaroo about the time he escaped from the Idaho Men’s Resort and Spa. I was working up there and to a man we would have all helped him if he needed it.

I grew up killing game animals to eat season be damned. I think I was twenty five when I got my first legal tag.

Vince

 

[FNWhelen]

At age 12 my father got me a model 600 350 mag. With full house 250 grain loads that thing would kick the snot out of you. I developed a flinch that took years to over come. So now with new or young shooters I make sure to have them shoot something that does not bother them at all. I have some boomers in both rifle and hand gun and enjoy shooting them some but I do not encourage new folks to shoot them.

 

[cloverleaf]

I started out looking for a 25-06, the 250Savage just found me sooner. (see my recent post about the 250.) Say what you will, there's a long list of people who think the 25-06 shoot well above its weight for all the reasons noted. Less recoil may be one of them. CL

 

[Darkhorse]

When I got my 300wm w/BOSS most other shooters hated it. Said it was tacky. But nowadays rifles have all kinds of stuff hanging off the barrels and some of them look very tacky indeed. I for one appreciate my BOSS every time I shoot my 300wm. I can handle the recoil but because of the BOSS I don't have to.

 

[PJGunner]

When I got my 300wm w/BOSS most other shooters hated it. Said it was tacky. But nowadays rifles have all kinds of stuff hanging off the barrels and some of them look very tacky indeed. I for one appreciate my BOSS every time I shoot my 300wm. I can handle the recoil but because of the BOSS I don't have to.

There was an outfit call QUE that sold a unit that was a clone of the BOSS. A friend had one on a Ruger $1 .300 Win. mag and it reduced recoil and inproved accuracy as well. I decided to get on for one of my .300 Mags but was informed the company was no longer in business. I strongly believe Winchester and Browning went well out of their way to shut QUE down.
Paul B.

 

[RL338]

I’m a believer in No Replacement For Displacement. What I like is squeezing the trigger and no need to worry about blood trails for tracking.

 

[Blkram]

While I handle recoil fairly well (up to a point with some of the big bores! My friend's 510 Wells just plain hurts!), and I own some heavier recoiling rifles (9.3x62, 376 Steyr, and 416 Taylor for 30-46 ft.lbs of recoil energy), and a few magnums (270 WSM, 7MM STW, and 300 WSM for 23-33 ft.lbs of recoil energy) and the PRCs (6.5 and 7MM just waiting to be shipped once the postal strike is over), I do prefer shooting the smaller calibers/cartridges from the bench for regular practice.
The 204 Ruger, 250 Savage, 6.5 CM/6.5x55, 270 Win, 7mm-08, 280 Rem, 338 Federal, 338-06, 358 Win and 375 Win (up to 26 ft.lbs of recoil energy) are just plain fun to shoot, with the lighter recoiling one being even more pleasant to shoot more!
And the more practice I get each year, the better I shoot the larger ones with more recoil...but there is still no better practice for them, than actually shooting them. Although they do not get the same number of rounds through them each year!

I would still like to replace the 257 Roberts with a LH rifle with a 24" barrel...
And a LH Rem 700 in 25-06 has always been on the list to match up with my 280 Rem and 338-06...for a great 3 rifle battery for all of NA big game that I regularly hunt.

 

[FNWhelen]

I recently started using H4895 to build reduced recoil loads and it has worked very well. And don't you know it now I can not find more of the powder.

 

[TexasLife]

I recently started using H4895 to build reduced recoil loads and it has worked very well. And don't you know it now I can not find more of the powder.

thought i had 2 or 3 # of it, but not according to my files. thought i had that and the imr version and imr 4895 (still have this 1), but haven't obtained the h version yet.