A little help with the 06

[123lukie]

My friend got a 30-06 for christmas the only problem is that he is a hundred pounds and about 5 foot 2. Now this guys a tropper i think he could cope with it but I want to help him out. Poor guy has never shot a 30-06 and his parents dont know anything about guns so they got him this beast of a gun ( a great gun mind you). So im thinking of getting him a muzzle break but i cant find any! the gun is a Savage 110 in 30-06. if any knows of where i could get one that would be great.

Luke

P.S. I dont want to get him a recoil pad because the gun would be to big and im afraid it will be to large for him to handle.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Easy. Take it to a smith, have a BIG recoil pad installed that DOESN'T change the length of the stock... this WILL require him to cut the stock.

Problem solved.

 

[CZguy]

I have a Pachmayer Decelerator, that has helped with recoil very much.

http://www.wholesalehunter.com/product/pachmayr/pachdes/PachmayrDeceleratorRecoilPads.htm

 

[crucible]

I've got the same rifle; if his is the synthetic stock, definitely, most definitely don't let him lie prone and take a shot-he won't want another (I'm 6', 230 and a prone shot is damned painful, and several virtually bring a tear of pain or two-no kidding). Before the recoil pad that was.

Some kind of recoil pad is a must for that (lightweight, no recoil absorbing stock at all in stock form) beast.

Other than that, he'll probably be happy with it: it's a fine handling, easy-to-carry, accurate rifle at an inexpensive price. And in an excellent caliber.

Cruc

 

[Swamprabbit]

Maybe another alternative is to get him into reloading and tone down the loads a bit from factory. You can go all the way down to 110 grain bullets (or even cast bullets for that matter) and really tame the '06. Muzzle breaks work on recoil but you pay the price in "blast".

 

[ACP230]

There's some reduced recoil factory ammo available too.
I think Remington makes it. It has a lighter than normal bullet, but is supposed to still be OK for hunting.

 

[sundog]

Hodgdon youth loads with 4895 is a very good way to accomodate the problem. See their website. Some of our adult competitors use these loads for the military bolt matches because the are very accurate and won't beat you up. Highly recommended! sundog

 

[Coltdriver]

It would be worthwhile to do as suggested above and shorten the stock and put a good recoil pad on it.

I got a real nice Model 70 in 30 06 a while back and was about to get rid of it because the recoil was so damm uncomfortable. It only had a steel plate on the end of the stock.

I mounted a good recoil pad and can now shoot it as much as I want.

 

[Fumbler]

When he gets it fitted with a recoil pad make sure the length of pull is set at a good length for him. Being only 5-2 the factory length of pull may already be too long.

 

[HankB]

A .30/06 is not a beast of a gun - during WWI and WWII the USA trained MILLIONS of GIs to shoot the .30/06, usually with rifles having metal buttplates. I'll wager more than a few of these guys were no bigger than your friend.

And slighter-statured Filipinos used them as well.

I recommend you shorten the stock a little and add a thick recoil pad - as has already been said, see to it that the final result fits your buddy.

Reduced loads are available from Remington, or you can practice with G.I. ball ammo, which is loaded a little lighter than most commercial hunting ammo.

Handloads are also an option.

A screw-on muzzle brake will reduce recoil substantially, but at the expense of greatly increased muzzle blast. Various places sell them, but you have to have the barrel threaded. An alternative is having the rifle Mag-Na-Ported, which will reduce free recoil maybe 20%, cut muzzle jump 50%, and only increase muzzle blast slightly.

Also there are various padded "shooting shirts" and "shooting jackets" available. Browning makes a classy looking shirt with an internal pocket that takes one (or even two) of their special recoil-absorbing pads.

 

[one-shot-one]

try it first

let him try it before altering it.
know two women that hunt togather (female mut & jeff)
ones 5'-3" 125lbs. shoots an m70 30-06.
other 6'-0" 175lbs shoot a m700 .223.
it is all about fit.

 

[123lukie]

Haha, No offense to HankB but my grampa wrote a book on WII when he was there. He was a small guy too Im not that tall either (us small guys got to stick together!) Anyways I remember when He talked about the 30-06. even he said it had a kick to it and also If I remember him corectly "It beat the Hell out of my shoulder" Now there are alot of people who shoot big guns and are small but really from what ive been hearing and reading I find that in the long run this can greatly damage your body. I think Ill do what eveyone is saying and I think Ill cut the stock down to size for the little guy. I mean just for his health poor kid has been hospitalized 20 somthing times for his asthma. hes only 15 buy the way, I think He got one heck of a Christmas present. this is his first Big game rifle and I think its an excellent choice. I just hope that he has fun shooting it and not a burden to sight in his rife. Thanks for all the Help.
Luke

P.S. By the way in My Gramps book He talks about having a M1 carbine in 30. made in to a pistol. He hacked off the stock and shortend the barrel and supposidly had it made Into Auto instead of Semi. Its supposed to be in his house Some where I have been trying to find it despratly. Any Ideas on where I should look. By the way he dosent own any other guns.

 

[HankB]

123lukie . . . if the kid is only 15, don't be TOO quick to cut the rifle TOO short . . . he may still have some growing to do. Think hard about a shooting vest/shirt/coat with padded shoulder.

And as for the cut down carbine . . . if it's got less than a 16" barrel and is less than 26" in overall length, it will be considered a short-barreled rifle, subject to Federal restrictions. If if was converted to full auto, it's a machine gun, subject to more Federal restrictions.

You do NOT want to be caught in possession of an unregistered machine gun or SBR.

 

[foghornl]

The Pachmyer or other high-quality recoil pad is a great idea, along with some of the 'Reduced Recoil' ammo.

I have seen the Remington 125-Grain lower recoil stuff on the shelf, but haven't tried any yet.

I recently bought a Mossberg ATR-100 Bolt-Action in .30-06, and with the 180-Gr and up bullet weights, it becomes a pretty serious 'Thumper' on both ends...

After firing a couple of the 220-Gr Remingtons in this rifle, I put a bunch of them in the big cavity of the stock. Gives me a bit of "Emergency Ammo", and soaks up some recoil, too.

 

[Lonestar.45]

The Remington lower recoil ammo would help, as would a cut down stock with a good recoil pad installed.

That said, honestly, if he is just going to use it hunting and not sitting at the range shooting 50 rds at a target, he will be okay as is probably. I thought my .270 kicked when I first got it at the tender age of 17, but you never feel it when you're in a hunting situation. The only problem is developing a flinch or bad habits because of the recoil at the range. That's when a good recoil pad will help.