35 Whelen
Member
The causes and amount of felt recoil can vary greatly as there are many, many determining factors. The first and most obvious is cartridge and load. The heavier the bullet, the more the recoil. The rifles stock design can greatly add to or take from percieved recoil. Buttstocks with lots of drop greatly raise the amount of recoil perceived where a relatively straight stock can reduce it. My Dad has a CZ 9.3x62mm that when fired with 286 gr. bullets at close to 2400 fps beats the soup out of me. Ditto for a little Husqvarna 30-06. Conversely, my custom 358 Norma Mag firing 225 gr. TSX's at 3000 fps or 250 gr. Noslers at 2800 is n big deal. The difference? The CZ and Husky, are both European rifles designed to be fired with open sights so it has alot of drop in the buttstock. The 358 is an American designed rifle with a relatively straight stock.I have a brand new Ruger American 30-06. I shot it for the first time today, and after 6 rounds I couldn't go on. I am 6'1" 210lb. I am holding the rifle firm against my shoulder, and it felt like my old 300 win mag. Is this a manufacturer issue or maybe I need to go down to .243 or even .308. I don't want to have a gun that just sits because it isn't fun to shoot. Can someone maybe give a breakdown on the recoil by caliber? It may also be entirely my technique. I'm just very disappointed that I feel like I just shot a couple of boxes of 12ga 00 buck.
Jeff
If you have a scope with a gigantic objective lens (over 40mm) then the scope likely had to be mounted using tall rings so the objective lens would clear the barrel. Mounting a scope as such raises it higher off the receiver which means the shooter typically rests his jaw on the stock instead of his cheek. Shooting this way hurts as it's very difficult to get a nice, firm cheek weld. If this is the case, get a smaller scope. (Don't tell anyone this little secret, but 99% of the big game hunting in this country could be accomplished with a 3-9x40mm scope, and realistically, a 2-7x32mm.) Shhh......
Recoil tolerance is something that can be acquired as I've seen it many, many times, most notably in myself. If you handload, begin by loading lighter loads and increase them slowly and incrementally as your tolerance increases. If not, shoot the reduced loads offered by Federal and Remington until you are comfortable shooting the rifle.
Personally I'd steer way clear of devices like Lead Sleds and the strap-on shoulder protectors unless you can figure out a way to use them in the field. Using these devices just delays the inevitable.
35W