Big Bore Revolver Recoil Management Techniques

[Pat Riot]

I am 59 years old. My right wrist, especially the area where the thumb meets the wrist, has been damaged by years of abuse but the pain in the joint started from firing Thompson Center 30-30 handguns and pistol gripped shotguns.
I still shoot .356 magnums and .45 Colts but I will not shoot hotter handgun loads than those any longer.
One thing I have found when shooting hot .45 Colt loads in my original Ruger Vaquero that Altamont Slim Panel checkered grips make it much easier to control than the wider fatter grips. I still use that gun for Cowboy Action Shooting so rubber grips are out. I wear XXL gloves. I have big hands, but the slim grips really help me.
Try some narrower grips. Maybe that may help.
Unfortunately, the only way to find out what grips work best usually means having to buy them and try them.

 

[kell]

Technique number 1 -- load down. Load the .44 Mag to .44 Special levels, load the .45 Colt to around 1,000 fps of less.
Technique number 2 -- with single actions, let the gun roll in your hand.
Technique number 3 -- use properly-designed after market stocks or a Tyler T-grip.

Isn't 1000 fps kinda high for 45 colt?

 

[sparkyv]

For me, the Hogue rubber grips, my XL hands, beefy arms and stocky upper torso all help to mitigate recoil. It's as if my body was built to take it. I use a Weaver stance with slightly bent elbows, a moderately firm grip, but not white-knucle tight, and I don't ride the recoil. My 460V X-frame is pretty heavy which really helps mitigate recoil even with my spicy loads, but I blanked out the compensator. I've never shot a 500S&W, but I'm confident I can tolerate the recoil. Not sure I'd try to shoot a wood-gripped, short barrel 454 Casull!

 

[.308 Norma]

Get a good grip and let the gun do what it wants to do. Don't try to "manage" it. All you need do is to hang on and then reaquire the sight picture for the next shot.

(and that's from a shooter who shoots his .357 Magnum S&W 66 single-handed)

“Use a firm grip while keeping your arm relaxed. Maintain your sight picture as the hammer falls, and just let it buck!”

And “that’s” from a 5’2”, 120lb woman (my wife) who, back in the '80s literally fired tens of thousands of full-house 44 Magnum loads, one-handed, during IHMSA competitions and practice for. She used a 10.5” Ruger Super “Silhouette” (Super Blackhawk), and has a shelf lined with trophies in a spare bedroom downstairs.
Unfortunately, my wife, who is almost as old as I am (I’m 72 now), also has some pretty bad arthritis in her right thumb joint, along with the trophies, to remind her of her IHMSA days. She’d do it again though if she had the chance.
I myself shot a 14” Remington XP 7mm IHMSA (in a totally different IHMSA class) one-handed. It makes a lot more noise than a 10.5” 44 Magnum, but it doesn’t kick as hard. I'm not nearly as good as my wife is with a handgun either. But that's okay - most men aren't. Besides, I can outshoot my wife any day with a long gun, be it rifle or shotgun.
BTW, my wife wore a left-handed batters glove with the trigger finger cut out when she was shooting full-house 44 Mag loads. I don’t know much about baseball, but I know a left-handed batters glove is worn on the right hand, and it has a little cushioning in the palm. At first, my wife went through 3 or 4 gloves in a couple of months because the inside of the thumbs would wear out as the revolver rolled “up” in her hand during recoil. But she got to where she would wrap a piece of white bandage tape around the glove’s thumb to make it last a little longer.

 

[.308 Norma]

What's your opinion on "Ported barrels"?

My Taurus Tracker 41 Magnum has a "ported barrel" of sorts - actually the barrel itself has a shroud around it, and the ports are in the shroud. The barrel itself actually ends before the end of the shroud.
Whatever. I think the ports have the same effect - they help keep the gun from kicking "up" so hard. And I've "heard" (pun intended) the ports make the gun louder to the shooter and anyone nearby. However, I can't tell - I wear good ear protection, and never shoot around a bunch of other people anyway. So in essence, I like the "ports" in my Taurus Tracker 41 Magnum.

 

[MaxP]

Isn't 1000 fps kinda high for 45 colt?

Not the modern iteration.

 

[carsten1911]

I apologize in andvance for being "sort of" off topic with my rant, but seeing those "HAHA, she smashed her forehead"-videos just gets to me.

This is what I have to say:
1. They are not funny
2. They make the guys (I am ready to bett a LARGE sum that the morons who initiate and film those desasters are guys....or sort of "guys") who helped hurt and scare the girls look like ...well...morons.
3. They give a VERY negative impression to the non-firearms-enthusiasts about what we are: Immature, irresponsible, dumb-six macho gun-master-baiters.
4. They HURT people
5. They severely hurt our cause
6. IF I EVER CATCH A PERSON AT THE RANGE WHERE I ACT AS RO DOING SUCH AN EARLY PUBERTAL CULMINATION OF IRRESPONSIBLE STUPIDITY I WILL BAN THEM FOR LIFETIME FROM EVER ENTERING THAT RANGE AGAIN. LIFETIME. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
7. GROW UP!
8. Use your brain!!!

Needed to let some steam out the valve.

Greetings Carsten

 

[375supermag]

Hi...
I have shot a lot of big bore handguns over the last five decades...I am only a week or so away from my 66th birthday.
I have no problems with recoil whatsoever.
I used those spring tension hand exercisers for about twenty years to build up hand strength and usually wear an Uncle Mike's shooting glove when shooting full power loads in my magnum handguns.

I did have a stress fracture in my right wrist caused by a hand held bore honing tool used at work about 20 years ago when I worked for a printing press manufacturer.
Couldn't shoot right handed for an entire shooting season but once it healed I have never had any issues dealing with recoil from magnum handguns.

I think the use of those spring tension hand exercisers and weight lifting really helped me deal with recoil effects on my hands, wrists and forearm/elbow areas.

 

[reddog81]

Grips that fit your hand help a lot. Too big or too small will cause problems.
I let my arms recoil with the shot to some extent - i.e. no locked out elbows. My grip for shooting light target revolver loads is completely different from my grip with big bores, which is completely different from how I shoot semi-autos.
Hand strength, forearm strength and shoulder strength all play a part on well you can manage the recoil.
Getting out and practicing makes a huge difference. The learning curve is fairly steep. After a couple of range sessions you'll start to see noticeable improvements and start to figure out what works for you and what doesn't.

 

[stanley_white]

On the same topic-ish...

For you, regarding single action revolvers, at what caliber and velocity combination do you prefer something other than the traditional plow handle?

-Stan

 

[MaxP]

On the same topic-ish...

For you, regarding single action revolvers, at what caliber and velocity combination do you prefer something other than the traditional plow handle?

-Stan

If there’s any meaningful recoil, I don’t want a plow handle at all, but that’s just me. I approach this from the standpoint of reacquiring your sights quickly, so I don’t want the revolver to be pointing skyward with each stroke of the trigger.

 

[Drail]

Lean into it. If your upper body mass is in front of your hips the gun will not move you as much. It may still bruise you but it won't move you back. Realize you cannot stop recoil - only learn to ride it out. The more you fight it the more it hurts.