Anyone else find they were more sensitive to recoil after losing weight?

[WVGunman]

Okay, over the last year or so I lost a LOT of weight, about 90 pounds. I went from a pretty beefy guy to downright lean (I look a lot more like my dad now.)
But now I'm finding some of my long guns actually kinda hurt to shoot. I never had this problem before, and I wonder if the "fat pad," for lack of a better word, really made that big of a difference. Anyone else experience anything lie this, or know someone who did? I'm just wondering if its my imagination or if I really need to invest in more recoil pads.

 

[Show Me]

Not your imagination. Awesome weight loss. Now your knees can relax and your a lighter backstop for rifle recoil. I didn't do it soon enough and my knees suffered bad. I wish I had your problem. There is so many options for your dilemma. New calibers, new rifles, shotgun vest, grind to fit, handloading. No hill for a high stepper. Main thing is good job.

 

[Ks5shooter]

The term "put your shoulder in it"doesn't mean just shoulder. You body weight has less to"put in it" so to speak.

 

[Blue Jays]

Much of it likely depends on starting weight and ending weight plus duration involved.
For example, a 400-lb shooter reducing himself to a 300-lb shooter will not notice much.
A 200-lb shooter dieting down to his or her 100-lb middle school bodyweight will notice.

 

[Bartojc]

Not your imagination. I lost ~ 40+ pounds which was about more than 20% of my body weight about 6 years ago and could tell the difference.

Congratulations on the weight loss.

-Jeff

 

[AJC1]

Better your arm hurt after a day of fun than your joints hurting all the time? Bigger guys seem less bothered by recoil, I hate it... best option is shooting offhand.....

 

[jar]

Nope, no change based on weight loss but yes when age is considered.

 

[mcb]

If the weight loss comes with better muscle tone and general fitness I have found that I am more recoil tolerant. The more I shoot the more recoil tolerant I get too independent of weight loss..

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Congratulations! I hope the loss was intentional and not related to illness.

I lost 160 lbs. (from 350 to 190) back in 2006-7, then about three years later started putting a lot of it back on again. This was me at the end of 2006, at age 46 and just over 200 lbs.



I got things going in the right direction again this year, dropping just over 30 lbs. in 2023. Unfortunately I've still another 60 to go.

I don't recall shooting anything hard-kicking from the shoulder during this all-too-brief thin period, but some extra sensitivity wouldn't surprise me. My arms and shoulders were much thinner after a 14 months of dieting and exercise -- it was obvious when comparing the fit of my old shirts.

One thing I do distinctly remember was my thin person breathing was much less labored. When I take videos these days, I can hear myself wheezing as I wrap myself around a gunstock, and I can't imagine that helps with accuracy.

 

[doubleh]

Since I have always been a bit on the slender side and have only had to lose about 15# I have never noticed a difference.. Age is a different matter. The older I get the more recoil hurts. Anything with more whop on the rear end than 22-250 has become a no-no for me.

 

[jmr40]

IMO age has more to do with it than weight. I'm 65 and can still tolerate recoil in the 30 ft lbs range well enough. But anymore something closer to 15 ft lbs is much more enjoyable. And I've discovered that at any range I'll be shooting at game my 308 with 15 ft lbs of recoil does exactly the same thing as the 300 WM with 30 ft lbs of recoil that I no longer own. I tend to think I've gotten wiser as I've aged.

I've read some pretty convincing arguments that smaller guys tolerate recoil better than big guys. The reason being that big guys absorb all of the recoil while smaller guys rock back under recoil. Their upper bodies may move several inches while the bigger guys remain stationary.

The recoil is exactly the same, but anytime you spread recoil out over more time it feels more comfortable. That is what a recoil pad does. Same with gas operated semi-autos.

 

[Hartkopf]

With pistol shooting, I've seen a noticeable difference after putting on arm and forearm muscle. Building a fence could help your shooting.

 

[Simple Shooter]

So, you’re saying I can be less recoil sensitive and shoot better by eating Twinkies? Where’s the downside?

 

[.38 Special]

I've fluctuated (repeatedly) between 170 and 230, at 6'1". With handguns, I haven't noticed any difference - though handgun recoil doesn't really bother me. I am quite sensitive to rifle recoil, and have actually found that increased body mass makes rifle recoil worse. My half-baked theory is that at lower weight, my upper body moves more easily in response to recoil, but with more body weight, I'm absorbing more energy rather than moving out of its way.

 

[Legionnaire]

I've only experienced a 20 pound reduction (and bounced 5) and don't recall noticing a difference in felt recoil. However, I do get cold more easily.

 

[High Plains]

A slip on recoil pad can make a huge difference in felt recoil. So can doing push-ups to strengthen the shoulders and chest. Some weight training (but not so much to causes tendinitis) can have a big payoff.

 

[marksman13]

I don’t plan on losing enough weight to find out!

 

[jmorris]

A large gut helps maintain CG, fat an muscle absorbs impact better than bone. Mass in general helps out in that whole “equal and opposite“ thing.

 

[BRatigan]

Congratulations on the weight loss. I would recommend a slip-on recoil pad that might fit the majority of your higher power firearms. I manufacture my own and as I have not lost weight, I have gained many years and hard kicking is not what I enjoy so recoil pads work wonders for me. My 45-70 with full house loads generates about 36-foot pounds of energy and that's more than I like.

 

[patmccoy]

As several have said, a recoil pad helps, but it is not just the padding. You may need the slight extra length of stock to fit your new body shape. Length of pull was one of the primary factors in getting fully adjustable target rifles to allow the shooter to perform their best. Once I made a turn and a half adjustment on the screw for buttplate length on an air rifle for my top shooter, and he went from scoring 97-98 to over 99 on the 33 foot target. Won the Junior Olympic Men's title that year.

 

[czhen]

Not really more sensitivity after losing weight but adding more years to my date of birth.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I have fluctuated between 195 and 240 for the last 2 decades. I'm somewhere in the middle now.
I haven't noticed much difference in felt recoil with weight.
I have noticed an increase in felt or perceived recoil with each passing year, regardless of my weight.
At 25 I could absorb anything and come back for more. Now I'm staring 44 in the eye and I find myself taking the .243 to the deer woods as often as the .30-06. With a muzzleloader, 70 grains of powder or so does the job just fine now without beating me to death.

 

[jmorris]

I think shooting more does more for recoil management than how much weight I am hauling around but I suppose the stuff I shoot a lot of is already fairly well managed.

 

[Old Dog]

What? It's possible to lose weight?

I guess I pretty much have no experience in that regard, I'm as heavy as I've ever been in my life. But I still find I am not really sensitive to recoil (unless I'm trying to show how manly I am shooting full-house .44 Mags or the .45-70 or 300 Win. Mag more than a few rounds). Frankly, my least favorite thing to do is shoot J-frames with .38 SPL +P or any .357 Magnum rounds...

 

[bearcreek]

Okay, over the last year or so I lost a LOT of weight, about 90 pounds. I went from a pretty beefy guy to downright lean (I look a lot more like my dad now.)
But now I'm finding some of my long guns actually kinda hurt to shoot. I never had this problem before, and I wonder if the "fat pad," for lack of a better word, really made that big of a difference. Anyone else experience anything lie this, or know someone who did? I'm just wondering if its my imagination or if I really need to invest in more recoil pads.

Congratulations! Losing weight and getting fit are things that most gun owners would do well to spend a lot more time and resources on. I can't speak to your question personally, as I've only varied by about 10 lbs over the last 20 years. It makes sense though. I'm curious about your muscle mass? Has that gone up along with the fat going down? Might be worth considering. "Strong people are harder to kill, and more useful in general" (Mark Rippetoe). "They're also more recoil resistant" (me ).