First range trip with the K31.

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GigaBuist

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OK, so I got my Hornady soft point ammo in 7.5Swiss in the mail the other day and took the K31 out to the range for the first time today.

Setup sandbags, load one round, set a sand back on top of the action and make a rough aim down range and low. Pulled trigger and yep, it went boom. Inspected the bag for any burn marks from gasses seeping out of the action and it was OK. Expended round looked fine too. No bulging, no odd marks at all.

Repeat again with no sandbag on top and face away from the action -- no problems. Not that I expected any.

Ok, four aimed shots at a target 25 yards away. Elevation is right on, every round is touching another one in a verticle line and they're all about 1" left of the bulls. MIght be the gun, might be me.

Ran a target out to 100 yards and finished off the box of 20 rounds. All the shots are about 4" left this time on average but they're pretty scattered. It's me, not the gun. Think it's time for new glasses if you ask me.

One thing I was NOT expecting was the kick. Maybe I'm a recoil wuss but I could swear it was beating me up worse than my Mosin Nagant M44. It was actually knocking the wind out of me and it hurt like heck by the time I got done with that box of 20.

I'm starting to think I have a problem with properly shouldering rifles or something. I keeping seeing on here that I should have the stock bedded down more toward my pectoral muscle than on the far end of my shoulder (makes sense) but that's not working. When I lower my head to get a cheek weld the rifle just comes up and back into a position putting it right smack dab on the muscle wrapping around my shoulder. Maybe it's just the K31's stock that doesn't fit me well and causes this. I never really notice that "whump" feeling so much with my other rifles but they're mostly intermediate cartridges.

With the K31 being so long and heavy I figured it'd be rather docile on me. Then again, maybe shooting 20 rounds of hunting grade rifle ammo and not feeling any discomfort in the shoulder region isn't a reasonable goal for a 140 pound guy.

The action on this thing is slick as snot though! Perhaps if I wasn't in a state of :what: after every shot for a few seconds I'd actually be able to rattle 'em off pretty quick. Even without strippers the gun feels like it loads itself. Drop 'em down the action and they just magically fall right into place ready for you to tap them home in the magazine.
 
I have about 50 rounds through my K31 with my own reloads (found it cheaper to just load my own...100 pieces of brass for $28 and $19 Lee dies is all it took...the 7.5 Swiss uses 308 bullets and seems to like powders I already had on hand, IMR 3031 and 4046)

Mine shot point of aim at 100 yards and grouped at an honest 2-1/2". I found the recoil quite mild...certainly less than the 308...that makes sense since it is 308 powered rounds in a bigger case.
 
No personall knowledge here, but I heard at the range today that the official Swiss load for the 7.5 is quite stout - around that of the .30-06. I don't know what the load you're shooting is, but maybe that's what you're seeing.

Jaywalker
 
I know what you mean about the recoil. My first time out, I only had on a t-shirt and it was knocking the holy crappola out of me. I couldn't even finish off my box of 20.:)
 
I'm a big fan of the K31, but the length of pull of the stock is too short (which increases felt recoil, at least in part because it makes it very difficult to mount the rifle correctly). A good slip-on recoil pad helps the length, and absorbs some of the recoil. The 7.5 Swiss is not a namby-pamby round by any means, but with proper stock fit it's not too bad. Besides, you'll probably be the only person in any crowd with a straight-pull bolt action rifle, and that's worth something!
 
I've noticed the same thing with the recoil. As with most any rifle I've shouldered (note: I'm not a magnum shooter :D), it's perfectly managable offhand, when you can rock back with the recoil. From the bench, though, it has done a -damn- fine job of tenderizing my shoulder. Like Jspy, I wore a t-shirt my first time out with it, and after 60 or so rounds, I had a pretty nice bruise to show off. :D I don't think I've ever shot 'em side by side, but it did seem to be at least as stout as my Mosins. Now I remember to take a slip-on recoil pad with me if I plan to shoot it from the bench... it makes it sufficiently comfortable that even my first-time-out-shooting friend didn't mind it. :)
 
I do not know about anyone else but the felt recoil from my k31 is less than my m48 8mm. With surplus ammo it seemed more accurrate as well.

Overall I like the k31 more than any other of my bolt action rifles, at least till I get a gibbs in 45-70.;)
 
You feel more recoil shooting from the bench then any other positions.

Me, I HATE shooting from the bench. If I need a stable and precise position to sight in or check accuracy or whatever, I'll drop on my belly, tighten the shooting sling up and shoot from prone.
 
That is a good point. The shooting range I go to (outdoor - Caledonia Sportman's Club) has redone their shooting line over the past two months entirely. This time they actually had permanent stools in place so I plopped my behind down on one of them. Previously I had always been standing behind the bench. I'll have to try that next time out.

Just got 240 rounds of 7.5Swiss "match grade" surplus in from AIM today. :D

Funky looking round to me. Not sure of it's zinc plated lead or what. Wax-like sealant around the bullet and case too.
 
"I'm starting to think I have a problem with properly shouldering rifles or something. "

This sounds like the case.
I am not trying to be cute, or macho or elitest. But, IMO 90% of the constant complaints about recoil are due to poor technique. This is why some people arn't bothered by recoil and other people are. This is why some people discuss shotgun recoil endlessly while at the same time there are young teenagers going out and shooting several hundred rounds of shotgun shells in a trap shoot. And do it every weekend. Finding the "pocket" on your shoulder is simple. Place your hand on your chest. Then "chicken wing" you other arm up and down. You will feel the pocket form when your arm is raised.
One of the reasons that people feel more recoil when shooting from a bench is because they arn't using good equipment. Instead of sandbags and a front pedestal, they roll up a jacket or something under the front end, then hunch way over and cock their neck to see through the sights.

Really, there is no reason why any grown man should be noticing the recoil from a rifle the size of a 7.5 Swiss, 8mm Mauser, .30-06, 7.62x54R................ unless they are shooting a whole lot of them or they are using incorrect technique. Work with it a little bit and I am sure you enjoyment will be increased.
 
Save your shoulder, there is no purple heart medal for the biggest purple bruise, and it affects your accuracy when you develop a flinch.

Buy a PAST recoil sheild for $20 from midway, wear it and your problem will be solved. You will be a happy shooter.
;)
 
Second that! Recoil shields forever! Lots of manufacturers are making them now, and some are as cheap as $10.

Jaywalker
 
Most of felt recoil (from the bench) is technique. I am as guilty of it as others :( .

A sweet-shooting, mild-mannered rifle can turn into a monster if improper technique is used. (Like my FR8 mauser. One day, little gals are shooting it, no problem. Next week, different range, I squeal like a stuck pig due to recoil.)

Most seats used when shooting from the bench are too high for me and the bench too low (call me Longback). I end up scrunched over, bending my back forwards & down. BAD.

Here are some non-expert tips that MIGHT help:
1. Use good and enough sand bags. Front & back if necessary; front only if you desire to effect elevation changes with your balled-up fist under the tip of the rifle butt. Keep your mits off the forearm f the weapon.
2. When you are seated, you want to be able to move toward the rifle butt or bring the butt toward you without bending over to get a sight picture. Sit up straight, in other words, to do your shooting. Bending over directs the recoil in a somewhat downward direction into your shoulder. Ouch.

If you really want to feel the recoil, sit at a low picnic table with little elevation between bench & table-top.

If you are a long-limbed type, a slip-on recoil pad could help the stock fit better. If the stock fit is OK, the PAST recoil shield is the better aid in recoil-management.

***********

A serious bench-rest shooter could probably give better pointers.
 
I have spent the majority of my shooting "career" as a handgunner. I always have owned rifles, and shot them occasionally, but never got real serious about them until the last few years. And, I learned a number of lessons the hard way.
About four years ago, I bought a K31. Of course I wanted to zero it and off I went to the gun club I belong to which has good concrete benchrests and measured distances. I didn't have the right equipment for shooting from a bench, so like a lot of people, I wadded up a coat or a blanket to rest the front end of the rifle on. The rifle was way to low, and I hunched over the stock to see the sights. The first shot had the butt of the rifle resting on solid bone. And it hurt. Now let's be honest: it wasn't any kind of great trauma. It was unplesant and I wouldn't do it intentionally, but it wasn't all that bad. But, I realized I wasn't doing the right thing so I piled more stuff under the front end and fired shot #2. This time a small piece of skin got pinched between the rifle stock and the bench. It hurt more than the first shot and left a blood blister on my chest. At this point I put the rifle away. The important thing to keep in mind here is that it wasn't the rifle's fault. It wasn't the ferocious recoil, it wasn't the stock, it wasn't the metal buttplate: it was poor technique partially caused by poor equipment.
At some point along the way, someone taught me how to correctly mount a rifle or shotgun: in the pocket. Since then, recoil has become a non-issue for me in all but extreme examples. That is not to say that if you go out and shoot 300 rounds from you 7.5, it won't start to cause you some discomfort, and it is not to say that if you shoot a .416 Remington a few times it isn't going to be uncomfortable. But using correct technique 100 rounds of 7.5 Swiss isn't going to be something you notice.
Within the last six months I took two defensive shotgun classes. One class was four days and the other was five days. I would guess that between the two classes I fired around 1500 shotgun shells. Among those were several hundred slugs, and I was using full power 1 oz slugs. At no time during either class did I become uncomfortable from recoil. And at no time did I get a bruise on my shoulder. Is this because I am a tough guy ? No, it is because I was using correct technique. Before any shooting was done in either class, the instructors taught us how to properly mount the gun. They made a fairly big issue out of the fact that a shotgun has significant recoil and you need to make sure you are using correct technique before each shot. They even went so far as to say that if you don't have the gun mounted correctly, don't take the shot. Even if the drill is timed and speed is important: don't take the shot unless you have the gun mounted correctly. The course is long and you don't want to injure yourself and suffer through the rest of the class (that you paid a lot of money to attend).
It has been said that recoil is subjective. I agree, but probably not for the same reasons as most people. In the United States, recoil seems to be an obsession. When I was a young kid I remember knowing about recoil or "kick" as we called it. Before I ever fired a gun, I heard all about recoil and how a shotgun might knock me down. As kids we talked about recoil a lot. When someone mentioned firing a gun, the first thing we asked was about the "kick". In other words, before most people ever fire their first shot, they are already expecting a very unplesant and painful experience. But let's be honest. The average rifle recoil is nothing more than a mild shove against your shoulder. It isn't painful. Kids who think nothing of playing football, or getting in a fist fight, or taking a spill on their bicycle are afraid of getting shoved in the shoulder. What about handgun recoil ? Your arms are elevated upward a few inches to a foot. No pain, just some quick movement.
A couple years ago, I went deer hunting with a buddy of mine who decided to bring his wife. So, I agreed to take my girlfriend. We got together a few times prior to the trip to lay out maps and discuss where we were going to hunt, plan scouting trips, plan what equipment we were going to take etc. ALL the women talked about was how bad these rifles kick. They talked about it endlessly. Now both these woman had delivered babies which I understand is very painful. One of them was an insulin dependant diabetic who jabbed a sharp needle into her body a couple times a day. Yet, being shoved in the shoulder once or twice was all they could think about.
I have a good friend who occasionally shoots. His wife wanted to buy a defensive handgun and learn how to shoot. At every opportunity, Joe talks about recoil. Obviously, his wife is now obsessed with recoil. If I let her shoot one of my guns, the first thing she asks is about the recoil. I advised him to buy her a shotgun. I even took a shotgun out for them to try. I had her fire her 9mm on paper, then I fired a load of 00 buck on the same silhouette so she could see what a shotgun did. I then asked Joe if he wanted to try it. He took the gun and explained to his wife that since the 00 buck recoiled so bad, he wasn't going to hold the stock to his shoulder. Poor girl doesn't have a chance. And their six year old son is already well versed in how horrible recoil is, and as far as I know, he has never fired a gun in his life. He will probably never be able to really enjoy shooting because he is brain washed to think of it as an unplesant experience.
I find this all to be a real shame.
Long story even longer: you can buy a recoil device, or you can learn good technique.
 
Ohhhh....

So I shouldn't have adjusted the seat at the bench up so high that I was sprawled forward on the dang thing at probably a 45 degree angle.

Yeah, I think that'd explain it right there!

Next time, lower seat. Got it.
 
Jfruser is right. The human shoulder absorbs recoil much better when the shoulder is upright, movin crossways to the spine.

When you are hunched over, as is often the case at the range, the recoil moves your shoulder parallel to the spine. MUCH more painful.
 
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