do .308 and .30-06 kick too much for you?

do .308 and .30-06 kick too much for your liking?

  • Yes

    Votes: 21 5.8%
  • No

    Votes: 311 86.6%
  • .460 Weatherby, please!

    Votes: 27 7.5%

  • Total voters
    359
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I shot about 20 clips through a couple garands (including a tanker with no wood handguards) the other day, prone... by the end I was anticipating the pain and cringing. shoulder is pretty bruised. I'm sure I wasn't using proper technique.

Standing up or sitting I don't have a problem... I like the wallop the garand gives you. Feels like a man's rifle. :D
 
How heavy would a rifle have to be to take keep 30-06 very manageable, 10 lbs or so?
 
About 10 gazillion GI's were trained to shoot 9 - 10 pound Enfields, Springfields, and Garands very well.

At least well enough to win two world wars and several smaller ones.

IMO: .30 cal class rifles really start to hurt when you get below 7 pounds all-up weight, including scope, ammo, & sling.

rcmodel
 
My heavy-barrel MRC 1999 weighs around 13 lbs w/ scope and it is almost pleasant to shoot. I'm aware this is far too heavy to carry for still hunting, but it's great for a fixed position.

Lighter ones aren't quite as comfortable, as noted.
 
I think size CAN matter, but it doesn't always. I started shooting my ole single shot 12ga with punkin balls, when I was 8 and learned to roll with the recoil. Killed my first deer with pa's 1903 at 12 (weighed a whoppin 120lbs). Never saw it as to much. In my early 20's (weighed 175lbs) I shot a ton of 30-06 and .270 and even after trading for a lil .243 I just never saw a problem with the 30-06. It is just comfortable to shoot. (Most I ever shot was about 150 rounds in a day). I was a bit sore but nothing bad.

Few years back got my first .308 and it is great. Both my boys started out with the .243 long before they hit 10. My oldest killed his 1st deer with a remmy 7400 30-06 at 11 and youngest used the same at 9 for his. Both have 30-06 as their primary rifle now 12/15 youngest is 5'8" 115lbs and oldest is 5'7" and 125 lbs. Both love their 06's. Both have shot my and their uncles .308, his 7mm mag, my nephews Nagant, and a variety of other rifles. They don't seem to have any trouble hittin what they aim at, and usually my wallet runs dry before they are ready to quit shooting.
 
About 10 gazillion GI's were trained to shoot 9 - 10 pound Enfields, Springfields, and Garands very well.

At least well enough to win two world wars and several smaller ones.

yeah, but those guys walked uphill in the snow barefoot
 
In an average hunting rifle?

.30-06 - Yes

.308 - No.

I have shot bigger calibers than that, but .308 is my comfort threshold. :)
 
I've only shot .30 -06 and that only in a re-chambered Argentine Mauser and M1 Garand.

The total number of rounds I've put through the Mauser is equal to what I shoot in one sitting with the M1, but that gave me a life long flinch (along with shooting 25 12 GA rifled slugs at a time from the bench). I can shoot up to about 80 rounds in a sitting with the Garand while wearing only a T-shirt without undue discomfort.
 
I didn't read all the posts in this thread, chances are someone may have already made this comment. It's interesting that you chose these two calibers for comparison. This is right where I draw the line for fun recreational shooting with the exception of the .50 BMG which feels about the same with respect to recoil. I like shooting the .308 for extended periods of time. I don't like the 30-.06 for more than 10-20 rounds. It seems like it's just enough more to make it less fun to me.
 
Yep . . . I target shoot with a .308. Ain't happening with the '06. Plus, my Belgian Browning with a sporter barrel 30-06 . . . my dad refuses to shoot it and he shoots a 300 win mag.

Are they too much in terms of recoil . . . hehe . . . bang, bang, bang . . . bring on the big boys.
 
I fired a 30-06 twice in a row, and it wasn't half bad. I was surprised of the .375 H&H that I fired. I'd expect more kick. Never fired the .308 before, though.
 
yeah, but those guys walked uphill in the snow barefoot

most WWII soldiers were shorter and lighter (no kidding!) than your average american today. meaning it would have hurt them more than us to shoot the .30-06 due to their lower mass. but shooting is all about preferances. for instance, im the type of person who doesnt enjoy shooting rilfes under .30 caliber (with .22's and pistol caliber carbines being the only exceptions). i just like the solid "thump" that .30 cal or larger delivers. my 11 year old niece, on the other hand, wont even shoot with me when i bring out the "big guns". it's all about preferance.
 
Don't pick your weapon based on the recoil. If you require a high powered but lightweight weapon, get used to the kick. Shoot enough ammunition through your weapon so you are comfortable with it. If you can't take the recoil, get a low powered weapon or get a different hobby.
 
My shoulder hurts worse after shooting my Ruger No. 1 in .30-06 than after shooting my Ruger No. 1 in .375 H&H. The recoil is very sharp and stabbing. In an M1 garand, on the other hand, it's no big deal. I had a CZ 550 in .308 that didn't feel like much at all. It all depends on the rifle.
 
When I had my 760 remington 308 and I would want a butt pad on it if I shot it regularly. It's a fairly light gun and kick was substantial, but not terrible. Before I sold my 1903 springfield 30-06 with steel butt pad, I had no problems with the recoil, it was the weight that got to you if you carried it a day in the field.

All that to say, weight and type of rifle make a difference in felt recoil in either caliber.
 
About 10 gazillion GI's were trained to shoot 9 - 10 pound Enfields, Springfields, and Garands very well.

At least well enough to win two world wars and several smaller ones.

Exactly! And the M1 Garand weighs 9.6lb then slowly and painfully gains weight as you carry it on long "walks". During high humidity the weight seems to triple every 10 miles. Now if you're being chased or shot at while running the opposite direction the weight doesn't matter that much. At least that's what a little bird told me once. :D
 
When I got to shooting the .30-06 I finally got something that begins to let me know there is something there. It's not overpowering to shoot though. I think I could shoot it for a hundred rounds or so with no problem. And that is with no padding nor a recoil pad, just a standard stock with a steel buttplate.
 
I have steel plates my .308 Win- and 9,3x57 Mauser rifles. Remington 700 .30-06 it is plastic.
There is no problems for me, because am only 70 years.
 
The recoil pad makes a big difference. A year or two ago I shot a Remington 700 that had their fancy new technology recoil pad. The gun was in .30-06 and weighed under 7lbs, but felt recoil was like a .223 (AR-15, in particular). That gun I could have shot 100 rds without feeling it.

I would not want to shoot a 7lb .30-06 with a wood stock and steel buttplate all that often, of course.

My .308 PTR-91 has no such fancy devices but technique of holding makes a big difference. I more commonly find bad form in holding hitting me in the face than hurting my shoulder all that much. Both are bad.
 
I have never shot a .308 but I spent the morning shooting a 30-06 today. I was using my M1 and my friends bolt action Remmington, both 30-06. I could shoot the M1 all day but the bolt action wasn't all that fun after a couple dozen rounds.
 
I chose not to vote, having never fired either, and not quite sure how you mean this.
However, I have fired loads that are supposedly within 2 or 4 foot-pounds of the 30-06's recoil, and those give me a flinch,(and I had a rather generous recoil pad on my gun) thus I do not intend to get a 30-06 anytime soon, except perhaps a garand.
 
Not at all.

My only centerfire rifle is a bolt action 30-06. And its recoil is noticable, but not excessive.
 
I can and do shoot full power bolt actions accurately, but I will readily admit that I am recoil averse, and prefer shooting a round that is not beating me up. In addition, I have a torn retina (and a gaping blind spot) in the peripheral vision of my dominate eye. Stout recoil makes my blind spot "flash" and it is aggravating.

The whole large caliber (or full auto) macho factor does nothing for me. I've shot all sorts of stuff in the Army, and never felt like it was a big deal. I enjoy an afternoon of plinking with an air rifle as much as I enjoy shooting with a center fire rifle. If anything, the reduced range of the air rifle allows me to plink safely at a variety of targets I would never engage with a rifle, for fear of endangering bystanders.

Edit - I should add I took "too much recoil" to mean unenjoyable, not unmanageable.
 
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