Felt recoil from a shooting rest - question

Status
Not open for further replies.

gunsrfun1

Member
Joined
May 31, 2004
Messages
436
Just want to get some thoughts on the following:
I fired my .30-06 from my shooting rest last weekend, and it kicked like a mule. It's a "Shooters Ridge Steady Point Rifle Shooting Rest." (May want to look it up so you know what it looks like.) I even wore a Past recoil pad on my shoulder.
My question is: Am I amplifying the felt recoil by putting it into the shooting rest, because now the entire rest -- not just the gun -- is recoiling into my shoulder. So would I actually get less felt recoil by simply putting the front of the gun on a rest, but letting the buttstock rest directly into my shoulder (still with the Past recoil pad.) I do have a Pachmayr recoil pad installed on the stock.
I'm not a big guy, and I know the .30-06 is a stout round, but if I can lower the felt recoil a bit, it would be great.
Yes, I know that when I go hunting or whatever, I won't even think about it. But I need to get it set up first, and don't want to ruin my shoulder doing so.
And yes, I know they make "Managed Recoil" ammo in this caliber. Not interested, due to the price.
Thanks
 
If there's a gap between the stock and your shoulder, that's going to magnify felt recoil. That could be the case with the rest. The additional weight of the rest would do nothing other than dampen recoil.

Regardless, a bolt-action 30.06 is no joke. You might look into getting a compressible butt-pad for the rifle if it doesn't already come with one (which may or may not require cutting down the stock depending on your trigger reach now). But even that won't help much if you're not keeping the stock tight to your shoulder.
 
Most people at the bench have the rest too low. Because the rest is low, they are bent over leaning into the gun. If you raise the rest, so that you are sitting erect (vertical backbone), the recoil is reduced greatly.
 
^^^ True post, but here is why. If you are leaning into the rifle your upper body is rigid. If you're sitting straight up and relax your upper body will move back with recoil. Much more comfortable.
 
All good points, thanks. I have no extra weight on the rest. That thing was bouncing every time I fired. The point about my posture is a good one.
Quite honestly, I don't need a .30-06. I bought it on a whim as a "do all" rifle, but I use my .30-30 for hunting locally, and don't currently have any plans to do any long-range hunting. But the darn thing is a tackdriver, I have to say.
 
As I said in my original post, not going the Low Recoil route. Way too expensive. Plus if you look at the ballistics on these LR rounds, once they leave the gun, it's really no more potent than a .243. Which happens to be the caliber I am considering in place of this gun.
 
Shooters Ridge Steady Point Rifle Shooting Rest is what I am seeing. I guess I don't understand how you are getting the rifle in your shoulder with the pictured rest? The Shooters Ridge rest I am seeing fully support the rifle, what am I missing?

One of my 30-06 rifles is a 03A3 and when shooting it the 30-06 recoil is stout and it is not much fun shooting 30-06 in a T-Shirt. As mentioned, you want the rifle firmly in your shoulder but I still don't get the "rest" thing.

Ron
 
Sorry if I was not clear. Basically I come up to the rest so it is against my shoulder. So there is no gap between the rest and my shoulder. Is that not the way to use these?
 
If you are using the rest I linked to then you should not be placing the rear of the rest in your shoulder. I use a Caldwell Lead Sled Plus Recoil Reducing Shooting Rest which is similar. What you have is a 3 point self supporting rifle rest. The rest supports the forearm and buttstock of the rifle. You should be weighing down the rest using either bags or sand, bags of leadshot or just plain steel weights. Typically 50 pounds of weight is used for a caliber like the 30-06. The rear of the rest does not seat in your shoulder.

How much weight are you using?

The following are for a similar Lead Sled but you should have a similar setup. My guess is 50 pounds of weight should considerably reduce recoil. Again. the rest rear is not placed firmly in your shoulder as if shooting just off bags.

Usage Instructions:
1. Position the assembled Lead Sled Plus on your shooting bench with the rest in the direction of the target. (Can
be used with either a sitting or stand-up bench.) Make sure the surface is flat and free of debris.
2. Be sure that the Lead Sled Plus is equipped with an appropriate front bag for your firearm’s forend. Alternate
bags are available from Caldwell Shooting Supplies.
3. Place the unloaded rifle or shotgun to be fired onto the Lead Sled Plus, resting the forend on the front bag and the
butt in the specially designed rear rest. The toe of the stock may extend through the square hole in the rear rest.
4. Adjust or reposition the rest laterally to align the firearm’s sights with the target. Adjust the height of the front
rest until the correct elevation is achieved. Elevations adjustments are easily made with the Elevation Wheel, by
slightly loosening the j-hook and rotating the wheel to change the height of the front rest. Re-tighten the j-hook
when the correct elevation is attained (see Tips). The rear elevation Foot can also be employed to raise and
lower the rear of the Lead Sled Plus to give added elevation adjustment.
5. Remove the firearm in order to load weight into the Lead Sled Plus. This rest is specially designed to accommodate
many different types of weight. The most common types are 25lb bags of lead shot, 25lb steel barbell
weights, or the Caldwell Weight Bags, which can be filled with sand or other media.
a. Our testing has shown that lead shot provides the most recoil reduction per pound.
b. The rest is also designed to work with up to two 25lb Olympic standard barbell weights. There are many
different sizes and styles of weights available, and the rest will accommodate most common sizes. However,
some styles are much thicker than others and only one of these plates may fit between the frame rails.
c. To install the weight plates, first loosen the two T-knobs and slide the rear tray backwards. This will allow
enough room to slide the weights in from the side.
d. When the weight plates are installed, make sure they are against the front wall of the tray and slide the
rear tray so that the weights are captured between the two. Now hold the rear tray against the weights and
tighten the T-knobs very tightly. (With very heavy recoiling guns, make sure that the knobs are very tight and
check to see if the weights have moved after every couple shots. While the rest will still function if the
weights shift, it won’t be able to absorb as much recoil.)
e. For Lead Shot or Sand Bags, simply adjust the rear tray so that it will accommodate the bags you are using
and tighten the t-knobs.
6. Read the following information before using your Lead Sled Plus.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION!
- Always practice safe firearm handling.
- Do not transport the rest with weight installed. Doing so could cause the weight to fall out resulting
in damage to the rest or injury to the user.
- Always hold the forend of the firearm when shooting off of the Lead Sled Plus. If it is not held, the
captured recoil can cause the forend to jump out of the bag possibly causing damage to the firearm
or injuring the shooter.
TIPS:
- Position your firing shoulder solidly behind the rear rest and grasp the forend just as you would when using any
shooting rest. Pull the firearm rearward to make certain the butt is securely seated against the rear rest.
- While many different types of weight are acceptable, lead shot will provided the greatest recoil reduction per pound.
- The front bag on the Lead Sled Plus can slide slightly from side to side. This will give the shooter a small amount of
Windage adjustment, allowing them to make small sight adjustments without having to move the entire rest.
- The J-hook only needs to be tightened enough to keep the front support from moving. The Elevation Wheel will
keep the front support in place and only a small amount of tension is necessary to lock it into place. There is no
need to tighten the J-hook any further.

Ron
 
Last edited:
Man that all sound so complicated. True, but convoluted.

I think that you should just shoot like you would for hunting, off a simple rest for the front of the gun, like a rail/tire or possibly a sand bag, etc form a normal seated position.

Honestly, 30-06 should not be that bad. I always just sit normally as in hunting, and rest the barrel or hand guard/forearm/fore grip on a tire or rail and shoot. Recoil is a non-issue w/o any special pads or sand bags.

30-06 is a superb hunting round FAR superior to 30-30.
 
Thanks all. Here's a video from Caldwell on how to use the Lead Sled. You will see a picture of the guy with the back of the Sled pulled into his shoulder pocket. That is the same position I use with my Steady Rest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEnY8OFM9Uc
So I think my positioning and use of the Steady Rest are correct. However, a good point that has been made, and that I overlooked, is the recommendation to place some weight on my Steady Rest. I'm going to add some weight via either a bag of shot or a dumbbell (I think I can find a large enough one that will straddle my rest). I think that will help a lot, and I never really thought about it, because up to now, the calibers I have been shooting have been fairly tame.
Thanks again to all of you for your good input.
 
Most people at the bench have the rest too low. Because the rest is low, they are bent over leaning into the gun. If you raise the rest, so that you are sitting erect (vertical backbone), the recoil is reduced greatly.

Quite true.

shooter1niner said:
In my opinion instead of you "coming up to the stock" you need to be pulling the stock into "the pocket" of your shoulder

Also very true.

In the distant past, I thought the recoil of a 308 Winchester was pretty impressive. With practice, that has become pretty tame so you can become more recoil tolerant. If your 30/06 is too much for you in a standing position, i.e., not off the bench, and if you're not interested in learning to tolerate the recoil, you probably should divest yourself of the 30/06 and get the 243 Winchester you're considering.

A 460 Weatherby Magnum off the Bench
 
I haven't shot it offhand. I was sighting in so only shot off the bench. Honestly it wasn't the best day all-round. Not only did my shoulder get beat up a bit (which I think we now have resolved via the comments above), but I stupidly put some cheap rings on the gun. They didn't last long, let's leave it at that.
So I will be starting over with some better rings, weight on the gun rest, etc. Hopefully my next range session will be better.
 
How tall are you? If the LOP (length of pull) is too long there's less meat in your shoulder pocket, and it may be hard to keep the rifle in your pocket. I had a Ruger m77 in 7mm rem mag and it had about a 15"+ LOP, whereas I prefer a 12 3/4" LOP. It pained me to shoot that rifle, even though 7mm rem mag never bothered me before.

Stock design also matters. I love the Weatherby style stock because all that drop at the butt puts the pad right in my pocket. Some modern stocks (e.g. x-bolt) put the butt pad right on my collar bone, which is OK for 223 but not for 300 magnums. Try a few stock types to see what fits your body.
 
I haven't shot it offhand. I was sighting in so only shot off the bench. Honestly it wasn't the best day all-round. Not only did my shoulder get beat up a bit (which I think we now have resolved via the comments above), but I stupidly put some cheap rings on the gun. They didn't last long, let's leave it at that.
So I will be starting over with some better rings, weight on the gun rest, etc. Hopefully my next range session will be better.
There ya go.
I've been shooting a 30-06 for decades, as did my father before me. Between bench shooting and field shooting you will see 2 different animals. Guess which likes to bite?
 
Yup, either:
Shoot it free hand or seated of a simple rest/rail for the fore end
(unless u r planning to shoot this beyond 300 yards for deer there is NO reason to shoot from a complicated bench which is probably producing, and DEFINITELY INCREASING the recoil problem, plus causing you to carry around and waste time w/ stuff you don't need)

OR

Switch to 243, another GREAT deer round with ZERO recoil, my 10 yr. old 85 lb. daughter got a big doe last year and it dropped in its tracks.
 
Shoot more upright with a gun that fits you.
If it hasn't got a decent recoil pad, have one installed.
That kind of rig, off a bench..........should be comfy.

I fired a couple of boxes from my 760 (no pad)..........150gr factory.
Was no big deal.

Cuz had same rifle (same vintage too) and said it beat him up.
We're both 5' 10" and about 175#.

Back before I got old and wimpy, 40 rounds from my .300 winmag was no big deal. On the shoulder anyway. Blast did jack with my sinuses a bit.

7 mag way more comfy (160's max'd out).

But...........Remington factory dim stocks fit me very well.

I always stack up my bags, or use bipod front w bag at rear.........off the bench.

And magnums in the old days had decent pads.

That red pad Ruger put on the old M77 was a joke. Those guns always hit me harder.



Bench shooting is worthwhile. It offers support and lets one see how repeatable the gun is (and how repeatable they are).

If one sucks at shooting from the bench, they aint gonna become a sharpshooter by taking a knee, flopping on the belly or using a sapling for a rest.
 
Last edited:
Thought I would close out this post, since a lot of you were very helpful.
I ended up remounting the scope with some USA-made Weaver rings. I also bought a torque wrench and tightened the screws to the specs that Weaver provided.
Then I happened to remember that I have a small collection of dumbbells in my basement.
So I took two 10s and an 8-pounder, went back to the range, and just placed them on the center rail of the rest.
It worked fine. Yeah, I had to put them back on the rest after every shot, but I was able to get the gun zeroed, and my shoulder survived. I also took some shots offhand, and recoil was not actually that bad with a Past shoulder pad.
If I planned to shoot a lot of large caliber guns, I'd invest in a bag of shot. But at around $38 for a bag of 25 pounds, I went with the dumbbells for one-time use, and they did the trick.
Thanks again.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top