BerettaNut92
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How is .30-06 recoil from a 7.3 lb rifle compared to say, a 12ga Benelli?
.30-06 Recoil From 7.3 lb Rifle?
- Thread starter BerettaNut92
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cratz2
Member
Well, it depends on the bullet weight and what sort of stuff you're shooting in the shotgun. All else being equal, you'll find that 150 Gr bullets at 2900 fps are in a different recoil class than 220 Gr bullets at 2600 fps and these are both factory loads.
My easy advice is always to go out and get a box (if you're asking about recoil, a single box of 5 will probably do
) of Remington Sluggers that are spec'ed at 1875 fps. Recoil from these are on the order of about that of a 375 H&H Magnum and the recoil of your 30-06 will be substantially less. If you can find a 1 Oz slug/shot at about 1,300 fps, that will be about the same as your 30-06.
As most say on threads like this one, recoil is very subjective. I can manage just fine with a few shots from a 30-06, enough to get it sighted in and I don't really like recoil much. I think anything heavier is getting into the heavy category. A 300 Win Mag in a 7lb package is too much for me to put 10 rounds through.
My easy advice is always to go out and get a box (if you're asking about recoil, a single box of 5 will probably do
) of Remington Sluggers that are spec'ed at 1875 fps. Recoil from these are on the order of about that of a 375 H&H Magnum and the recoil of your 30-06 will be substantially less. If you can find a 1 Oz slug/shot at about 1,300 fps, that will be about the same as your 30-06.As most say on threads like this one, recoil is very subjective. I can manage just fine with a few shots from a 30-06, enough to get it sighted in and I don't really like recoil much. I think anything heavier is getting into the heavy category. A 300 Win Mag in a 7lb package is too much for me to put 10 rounds through.
Sleeping Dog
Member
If the 7.3 lb 30-06 rifle is a bolt-action, the recoil will be pretty strong. My Springfield 03-A3 is not much heavier than that.
I don't know what a benelli feels like. My Mossberg slide-action shotgun kicks less than a 30-06 when I'm shooting shot. When I shoot "Remington Sluggers" then the Mossberg kicks WAY more than a 30-06.
Shooting position matters, too. Benchrest shooting has the worst "felt" recoil, followed by prone. Sitting and standing positions make the recoil easier.
Regards.
I don't know what a benelli feels like. My Mossberg slide-action shotgun kicks less than a 30-06 when I'm shooting shot. When I shoot "Remington Sluggers" then the Mossberg kicks WAY more than a 30-06.
Shooting position matters, too. Benchrest shooting has the worst "felt" recoil, followed by prone. Sitting and standing positions make the recoil easier.
Regards.
Dave P
Member
I hear recoil is manageable with a carbon-fiber recoil pad!
Aside from shooting the two side by side, a good place to start is Chuck Hawks' recoil tables. It shows comparisons involving different weights of guns and different cartridges/shells.
The rifle table is at:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm
The shotgun table is at:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/shotgun_recoil_table.htm
However, if you are comparing a gas operated shotgun to a bolt action, you are comparing apples to oranges in terms of energy actually delivered to the shoulder, and the tables don't account for that.
The rifle table is at:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm
The shotgun table is at:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/shotgun_recoil_table.htm
However, if you are comparing a gas operated shotgun to a bolt action, you are comparing apples to oranges in terms of energy actually delivered to the shoulder, and the tables don't account for that.
BerettaNut92
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What do all those numbers mean??
The rifle is gas-operated, an HK SLB2000 semi-auto.
Is the .30-06 significantly more than a .308?
The rifle is gas-operated, an HK SLB2000 semi-auto.
Is the .30-06 significantly more than a .308?
Sleeping Dog
Member
For "normal" bullets (150-180gr), there's not much difference in recoil between .308 and .30-06. And since the gun is gas-operated, the recoil is reduced.
Regards.
Regards.
nextjoe
Member
Skunk,
Punching the numbers for the old 180@2700 load into a recoil calculator gave me 24 ft-lbs at 14 fps.
The real determinant, at least in my experience, is how well the stock fits you and how good the recoil pad is. You have to shoot the gun to find out
My .416 Rigby, in absolute, unequivocal terms, kicks much harder than the Blaser .300 Win Mag I shot a while back. You can run the numbers all day long and they'll always say the Rigby has about twice the recoil....
... BUT, subjectively, the Rigby was MUCH more pleasant to shoot, due to good stock design and a 1" Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad. It was a big, heavy shove instead of a quick, sharp, unpleasant jab.
The gun's only half of the equation. The shooter, and the interface between the shooter and the gun, are the other half (or other two halves?
)
In any case, it probably won't kill you. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
Best,
Joe
Punching the numbers for the old 180@2700 load into a recoil calculator gave me 24 ft-lbs at 14 fps.
The real determinant, at least in my experience, is how well the stock fits you and how good the recoil pad is. You have to shoot the gun to find out
My .416 Rigby, in absolute, unequivocal terms, kicks much harder than the Blaser .300 Win Mag I shot a while back. You can run the numbers all day long and they'll always say the Rigby has about twice the recoil....
... BUT, subjectively, the Rigby was MUCH more pleasant to shoot, due to good stock design and a 1" Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad. It was a big, heavy shove instead of a quick, sharp, unpleasant jab.
The gun's only half of the equation. The shooter, and the interface between the shooter and the gun, are the other half (or other two halves?
)In any case, it probably won't kill you.
I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Best,
Joe
ShaiVong
Member
How much meat you have on your shoulder makes a big difference too.
I just fired my buddies .308 for the first time, a 700 VS. It was lighter than his 270, but it seemed to kick less too me. I fired 10 rounds from it, and didnt think it was bad at all. Could have (theoretically) done it all day. My buddy is skinny as a bean pole, and after the first shot he leaned back and yelped, rubbing his shoulder. (It was only the second time i've fired a rifle more powerfull than a 30-30, and hes been shooting all his life).
I suggest you start doing pushups every day, 2 sets. Do them with your elbows bent at 90 degrees, and your forearms perpendicular(sp) to the ground, that way you build shoulder muscle rather than arm.
The next day I had a slight yellow bruse on my shoulder, but no soreness.
I just fired my buddies .308 for the first time, a 700 VS. It was lighter than his 270, but it seemed to kick less too me. I fired 10 rounds from it, and didnt think it was bad at all. Could have (theoretically) done it all day. My buddy is skinny as a bean pole, and after the first shot he leaned back and yelped, rubbing his shoulder. (It was only the second time i've fired a rifle more powerfull than a 30-30, and hes been shooting all his life).
I suggest you start doing pushups every day, 2 sets. Do them with your elbows bent at 90 degrees, and your forearms perpendicular(sp) to the ground, that way you build shoulder muscle rather than arm.
The next day I had a slight yellow bruse on my shoulder, but no soreness.
nemesis
Member
That is not necessarily true. The Tactical Loads, completely coated with non-glare black moly, are lightly loaded for tactical operations but the Strategic Loads (rumored to be depleted uranium) should only be used when the arming codes are released by the President or after discussion at the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.
Nudge, nudge....just joshing, Skunky.
I agree with NextJoe, you can calculate the recoil all day but what really matters is the felt recoil.
Your ability to tolerate the recoil in any given rifle will be to the extent the stock fits you. Stocks are all generic today- one size fits all- please the masses- average average average.
Do you think those skinny Englishmen and Indians hunting elephant with a 4 bore around the turn of the century had fossilized lignum vitae shoulders? I think they had rifles fitted to them by the best English riflemakers in the business...
I'm dying to have a stock fitted to me properly. I'm talking drop, pitch, cast off/on, 'real' length of pull- the whole nine yards...
Your ability to tolerate the recoil in any given rifle will be to the extent the stock fits you. Stocks are all generic today- one size fits all- please the masses- average average average.
Do you think those skinny Englishmen and Indians hunting elephant with a 4 bore around the turn of the century had fossilized lignum vitae shoulders? I think they had rifles fitted to them by the best English riflemakers in the business...
I'm dying to have a stock fitted to me properly. I'm talking drop, pitch, cast off/on, 'real' length of pull- the whole nine yards...
well, I hope it's not too bad...I bought a 6.25 pound .308 over the weekend. And that's a bolt action, not some recoil absorbing semi
In any case, I doubt it will be any worse than my .300 mag, which weighs 9 pounds, or my .375, which weighs a little less
I bought sone Hornady light magnum (bolt action only) loads for it, which supposedly drive 150's at 3000 fps. We'll see what the chrono says.
In any case, I doubt it will be any worse than my .300 mag, which weighs 9 pounds, or my .375, which weighs a little less
I bought sone Hornady light magnum (bolt action only) loads for it, which supposedly drive 150's at 3000 fps. We'll see what the chrono says.
If we're talking pumps and bolts, I think the kick from a .30-06 is noticeably sharper, and therefore worse, than the kick from even a 10-gauge. Though, in fairness, the 10-gauges I shoot are a few pounds heavier.
Now that I think about it, though, the hardest-kicking gun I ever shot was a buddy's small, poorly designed, off-brand 16-gauge. We were using it for "liquor store robbery defense" drills in the woods (I don't know, it was 25 years ago, and it seemed to make sense at the time), and I shot one off the hip. Ended up with a three-week bruise the size of a basketball. Sorry for digressing.
Now that I think about it, though, the hardest-kicking gun I ever shot was a buddy's small, poorly designed, off-brand 16-gauge. We were using it for "liquor store robbery defense" drills in the woods (I don't know, it was 25 years ago, and it seemed to make sense at the time), and I shot one off the hip. Ended up with a three-week bruise the size of a basketball. Sorry for digressing.
Zorro
Member
You CAN learn to deal with recoil and even love it!
You have to practice and work up to it in small increments.
Then again if you are just hunting the woods with your .30-06 you can download the 150 grain slug to 2400-2500 FPS and have perfectly useful deer load.
You have to practice and work up to it in small increments.
Then again if you are just hunting the woods with your .30-06 you can download the 150 grain slug to 2400-2500 FPS and have perfectly useful deer load.
Brad Johnson
Member
I have a Win 70 Featherweight chambered in .30-06. With a Leupold compact scope the whole rig tips the scales at about 7.5 lbs. Shooting 180gr factory loads gives felt recoil that is approximately the same as my brother's Rem 700 ADL in 300 Win mag (appx 9 lbs with his monster Leupold Vari-X III scope) with the same weight bullet.
While a properly fitted gun is definitely a wonderful thing, recoil control is more mindset than physics. Good shooting technique is essential, and there is no substitute for practice.
Brad
While a properly fitted gun is definitely a wonderful thing, recoil control is more mindset than physics. Good shooting technique is essential, and there is no substitute for practice.
Brad
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