Question about military surplus rifles and recoil

I heard the M95 carbine in 8x56r has a good kick. I own two have not a chance to shoot it. I have shoot an yugo m70, m48, and a M1 Garand and they were not even close to a slug from Mossburg 500.

Brion

New England Firearms(NEF) single shot firing 3" magnum 12guage slugs. Yes, I have done this. Once....:banghead:

flyboy is right, an old steyr m95, that is super short carbine, firing an 8x56 round, is ultra stout. Proly the next best thing would be a mosin m38 , firing 205 grainers, no recoil pad. Ouch!

You should try 3 1/2 inch 10 gauge magnum slugs, fired from a trusty double barreled.

If held correctly, most military surplus rifles are easy on the shoulder. I can shoot a 91/30 all day long. The only really painful ones I've shot were the M-95 Austro-Hungarian straight pull with stout WWII era 8x56 loads and an Iranian Mauser Carbine.

Mosin's recoil is mild at best. I can ususally shoot about 60 rounds through it before my arm starts to get sore, and I get tired of messing with it. That, and it gets very hot , so I put it down to cool for the remaining hours I'm on the range.

My Spanish Mauser (rebarelled for .308) kicks like a mule, regardless. Seems that the shorter the barrel, the harder it'll kick (hmmm, I wonder why that is? ).

I've heard that some of the hardest kickers are the M38 or M44 Mosins with some "full house" loads, no buttpad. Steel plate=no comfort on the shoulder, trust me.

However, if you're shooting prone, many milsurps will become painful, due to the difference in the displacement of recoil. For me, it puts my Mauser or Mosin closer to my collarbone than my muscle, and gets painful quickly. Comes in handy for those 500 yard iron-sighted shots (I was 10 inches off at 500....how are you supposed to adjust for that?)

Long and short of it---the most recoil will depend on your position and the power of the load. If you really want an ass-kicker, buy a .375H&H, shorten the barrel, and put on a steel buttplate.

Or shoot a 3.5" Magnum Slug through a Benelli Nova with no pad and no recoil-reducer. Heheheh.....lightweight gun+PSYCHO RECOIL=pain.

Here, try shooting one of these. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lzri8dn7p0

the czech mauser i had had 8mm type 1 ea. really did a number on me. if i held it just right it was fine but if i wasn't doing it right it can bite you and that is the truth. i did shoot 90rds in one range session though. it hurt here and there but no bruise and no pain. the rds that packed the most punch were the turkish rds i think they were, they were way worse than the yugo.

I am not recoil shy and none of the surplus rifles I have shot would I call unpleasant as far as recoil unless you intend to shoot a couple hundred rounds off the bench rest.
Muzzle blast is another thing and the shorter the barrel the more unpleasant the sound of the report.
I was shooting a Chinese Type 53 Mosin Nagent copy carbine in a gully on my property and my neighbor came over to check because he though I was firing dynamite.
Now that is what I call muzzle blast!

I have a chopped (16.25" bbl) M91/30.... BOY is that loud! The recoil isn't too bad, but my ears hurt with plugs and muffs. Ouch.

My Mosin M38 kicks like a mule. I added a Pachmeyer slip on recoil pad from Wally World, and all is well. The 91/30 doesn't need a recopil pad, at all. The easiest recoiling one I own, (other than the Yugo SKS, a pussycat), is the Enfield No4 MK1*. I could shoot that all day long without discomfort!

Like Eightball sez, the Spanish Mauser kicks! I have a FR8 (.308). It's got a short barrel, and the birdcage thing at the muzzle is a flash spreader, definitely not a brake.

The short Mosins kick too. The M44 may be even more fun than the FR8, just because of the huge fireball, a big bonus. Shooting it when the clouds are dark is great.

Regards.

I think I've got about all of the ones mentioned and I was aprenhensive when my Styer 95 arrived. I had heard all the stories about them being unshootable. With good ear protection, I have found mine a hoot to shoot... offhand. It's not great for long strings off the bench....Essex

I'd say the best "bang" and bruised shoulder for your buck is one of the Ruskie M44 carbines. Lot's of kick with heavy ball and you can get them for around $70(Interordnance has them for $64 right now). I also have a one of the Steyr M95's, it does kick a little more than the M44 but runs $40-50 more and the ammo can get hard to find. You can also get one of those long Turkish Mauser's for around $60 and shoot the hot Turk ammo through it. But the M44 is short enough to be actually usefull. In fact it makes a great hog gun with the cheap Wolf 203gr Sp's.

I disagree with all the M44 high recoil people. It doesnt recoil any worse than any 30'06 I have fire. Best recoil bet would be a 12 guage with 3"-3 1/2" slugs, the heavier the better. Go single shot since the guns are so light.

have you ever shot 12 gauge 3 1/2 00 out of a rusty 5 pound single barrel shotgun from the 1950s thats built to take 2 3/4 i think its way to rusty to tell. its been through a ship reck thes same one my arr-7 went threw. o it also has a broken plastic recoil pad trust me you can feel this thing i need to get a picture the front grip is duct taped on i love it kinda

So far, the most uncomfortable Mil-Surp I've fired is a Lee Enfield Jungle Carbine.
The stock design seemed to concentrate the normally mild recoil of the .303 round into a very small area.

Nothing else has come close to that, even M44s firing heavy ball.

Any Mauser would be pretty good, but IMO I believe that if you shoulder the rifle properly, there would be little or no pain. So, honestly, I don't feel much pain on any of the milsurps I fire anymore.

However, I will say this, the Yugo M48 Mauser lead to a lot of discomfort because of bad shouldering techinque. To me, it hurt worse than any shotgun I've fired, magnum or not, slug or not. The metal buttstock didn't help.

Mosins will do a number too.

So far, the most uncomfortable Mil-Surp I've fired is a Lee Enfield Jungle Carbine.

Click to expand...

2nd that. I have no desire to shoot one again.

Steyr M95 straight pull bolt probably has as much recoil as you'll find. 8X56R. The thing is a light weight rifle and guaranteed to put a blue marking on your shoulder and makes a big fireball when it goes off.

So far, the most uncomfortable Mil-Surp I've fired is a Lee Enfield Jungle Carbine.
The stock design seemed to concentrate the normally mild recoil of the .303 round into a very small area.

Click to expand...

I have one of the Ishapore 7.62x51 (sometimes known as .308) rifles that was converted into the Jungle Carbine configuration.

I shot it a couple of times without my Limbsaver recoil pad on it.

"Ouch!"

I don't make that mistake anymore.

The 2 I've had that beat me up the worst are/were a Polish M-44 (since sold) and and Enfield #1 MkIII* (for sale!). I'm a bit sensitive to recoil since dislocating my shoulder a coupla years ago, but have no trouble shooting my Mausers or my buddies Garand.
But the M-44 and Enfield are just a LITTLE too much for me to shoot comfortablly for more than a few rounds. I'm sure a recoil pad (either on my shoulder or the gun) would make a big difference, though.

recoil

i injured my right shoulder, so a lot of guns hurt me now.

so for the benefit of the poster i shot left handed for a bit.

well cosmoline was right, the 91/30 doesn't really hurt.

but the m38 still hurts a bit.

strangely, though -

the K31 swiss is a VERY soft shooter and although i fired about 80 rounds through it yesterday I don't feel a thing! it's not as if the round is much smaller than a x45r or x57, so...

i guess the design of the gun does make a big difference