Rifles that kick like a mule, what you got and what's your work arounds

As I get older my 300 Wby gets harder to shoot until I got a PAST strap on.

I used to compete in BPCR competitions with an Uberti clone of an 1885 Winchester high wall in .45-70. I used 65 grains of blackpowder and a 515 grain cast bullet. For steel silhouette matches, you fired 40 rounds either standing or laying down.

I put on a rubber/gel Limbsaver pad to avoid discomfort. I already had bursitis in my right shoulder from an old Army injury, so shooting a match really didn't help it.



The .45-90 used for 1000 yard matches got the same treatment...

This helps extend range ge time

I've shot .375 H&H, .458 Win. Mag. 500 grain, etc. But the one that really beats me up is the little Remington 660 .350 Mag. carbine. And yes, I do have one of those PAST recoil shields

Every 300 magnum Ive owned/used under about 9lbs, 'specially Browning Abolts with the synthetic stock......Its not that they kick that badly, my .375 delivers significantly more energy, its that they usually kick REALLY sharply.
My solution to date as been to sell them, RIGHT after Ive installed a decent recoil pad. Im on that route again tho since ive agreed to buy another .300WM from a friend.

I have several Marlin and Winchester 30-30's including a 1958 model with a steel butt plate. The stock shape causes recoil to feel worse than it should, but I don't find any of them objectionable as they are.

Marlins 1895 in 45-70 was out of production for the better part of 100 years. When they re-introduced the gun in 1972 it had a curved butt plate similar to the one in this photo. Not steel, but hard plastic.



I bought the rifle used in 1976 and it came with some pretty hot 500 gr hand loads. I was young and dumb back then and I shot them. I kept that rifle for years and added a couple of others with the more modern stock. The newer versions were more reasonable, especially with milder factory loads, but I eventually concluded that the recoil was simply out of proportion to performance. My work around was to sell them all.

But that wasn't the worst recoil. That honor goes to a Remington 870 Supermag firing 3 1/2 turkey loads. Recoil exceeded 458 WM. Once again my work around was to sell the gun. I don't want a turkey bad enough to deal with 4X the recoil I'd get from 30-06.

Honorable mention was the 6 1/2 lb Colt Light Rifle in 300 WM. Recoil was sporty, but no where near the other 2. I've owned several 300 mags as well as 35 Whelen and I've shot 375 and 416 magnums. I can tolerate the recoil but I've come to the conclusion that I simply don't need any of those to do what I need to do. The hardest recoiling rifle firearm I currently own is a 7 1/2 lb, (including scope and mounts) 30-06. And I don't shoot it nearly as much as I do lighter recoiling rifles.

I agree with Loonwulf. My .300 Win Mag beat me up more than any other rifle I've owned. Don't still have it.

LoonWulf, My solution was the same. The .300 had a sharp recoil that I didn't enjoy. Sold it years ago, and replaced it with a 7MM Rem. Mag. In my dotage though, I have to admit that even my Marlin .44 Mag. carbine seems like a lot to me...

My TC Hawken with a curved metal butt plate is a killer with a 370 grain maxi ball over 100 grains of powder. I don't shoot a lot of those as a result. I have a slip on recoil pad, which helps. If I ever decide it is just too much, I have considered filling the butt stock with a bag of lead shot to add more weight and help tamp down recoil. I mostly shoot round ball with lower charges out of it, though.

I use slip on recoil pads and/or wearable recoil pads like the PAST for the really heavy stuff.

That said just shooting a lot will do a lot to help a shooter. Shooting more gives you two benefits. First the more you shoot, assuming your not actually injuring yourself, the more your body grows use to recoil and will grow to where it will tolerate more of it both in both magnitude and quantity. Second shooting more you (hopefully) learn to control the recoil better, how much to grip without over-griping, proper stance and position, proper fitting of the gun, etc.

My Marlin 45-70 Guide Gun was very abusive until I put a Limbsaver recoil pad on it.

I don't mind a hard kick, the quick sharp ones can be the worst tho. It can be a pain to shoot or hunt with a gun where if your not perfectly behind the gun you get scoped.

The only kicker I have now is my 45-70, it's just over 8 pounds, with normal loads a marlin kicks worse. But when loaded with class 4 loads it has a heavy recoil, the vast recoil to. Still compared to a 416 or bigger it's not much.

For the 45-70 I put on a limb saver but with the real not stuff the rubber deforms so much you can feel the hard plastic underneath. It's getting a new on some day. But just loading light is the easy way to manage recoil.

I really like using Trail Boss for when I'm trailing a wounded engine block into the tall grass of the garbage pit.

Mine was a .404 Jeffrey in a lightweight safari build.

My *work around* was to sell it.

"Mild recoil" my sweet patootie! Sure, if you're comparing it to a .416 or .500 Nitro.

Anymore, if it won't drop to a well sorted and well placed .30-06.... I'm not much interested.

Todd.

I have an old mosin. I don’t have a work around because when I use it it’s hunting season (winter) and I’m wearing lots of layers.

But I also learned to shoot on a 12ga shooting deer slugs. I’ve never shot a rifle more painful than 3’ 12ga slugs.

Also, I love that leather cheek piece. Where from did you buy that?

A buddy of mine had a Churchill bolt action in .30-06 that was made in Italy and imported by Kassnar. The gun was fairly light weight and yes, it did kick like that well known mule!

Paul R Zartman said:

Before or after the safari..."expert lead in to a awesome lie"...

Click to expand...

Oh hell, I got nothing cool for that.

I only shot it enough to *proof* the various safari sights and then sold it on to a Doctor moving to South Africa.

Todd.