Hardest recoiling of the WWII bolt actions?

[jedi]

Which of the Bolt action WWI/WWII guns has the harshest recoil? Springfield .30-06? 8mm Mausers? Enfield .303, Mosin-Nagant 7.62X54R? What do you think? Getting an 1891/30 soon...some say it kicks like a mule..trying to figure out where it fits in.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

My vote would go to the .303 Enfield Jungle Carbine.

 

[jem375]

That's easy...... Mosin-Nagant .7.62x54R....my M44 really kicks..

 

[MiniZ]

I'm sure someone has some figures to make a response based on cold hard numbers(velocity, energy, etc..). Subjectively, in my limited experience it is a toss up between the 8MM Mauser and the 7.62X54 Mosin.

 

[Okiecruffler]

Too broad

Which Mosin, Which Enfield, etc. My 91/30's are pussycats compared to my K98, which is a pussy cat compared to my M44 (tho truthfully the M44 only saw limited action in WWII). My Ishy is real easy on the shoulder, but I've seen guys take a step back when shooting the jungle carbine.

 

[jedi]

re which mosin

I would be thinking of the 1891/30. For the most part I am thinking of the full size rifles. My impression from others is that the mosin carbines kick quite a bit more then the 91/30

 

[jedi]

lightest recoiling 7.62x54R round

So what would be the lightest recoiling 7.62x54R round? The lighter 147 type rounds or the heavier 200+ grain rounds. Or somewhere in between?

 

[BamBam-31]

My M39 and No. 4 Mk. I both kick moderately. Same with my Garand. If I don't use a sissy pad, I'll bruise slightly by the end of the day, but no biggie.

My Yugo M48 (before I...koff...koff...sporterized it ) would KICK MY BUTT!! That buttplate was made for crackin' skulls, boy. Mebbe it wuz the Turk ammo (which I hear is kinda hot). Dunno. I sure don't miss shooting it with the old stock, tho.

 

[Snowdog]

Funny, I never had a problem with the recoil of the 8mm M48. I fired 40 rounds of 196gr S&B and close to 100 rounds of FN WWII surplus a few weeks ago and never encounted any "pain" during the session. However, I also have a strangely high pain threshold.
My Enfield is also a downright pleasant shooter, though the water-damaged stock was replaced with a monte carlo sporter, so that may have affected the perceived recoil.

I can determine the severity of recoil, and I find the M44 with Wolf 200gr SP ammuntion packs a nasty thump. I think I'd develop an uncomfortably sore shoulder after a couple boxes of that.

The award to the most pleasant shooting WWI / WWII rifle (besides the M1 cabine) would be the M96 Swedish Mauser, IMO. That 6.5x55 is a close to a magic bullet as you can get.


Jedi, after a session with my M44, I noticed the 200gr(SP) kicked considerably more than the lighter fodder, including Czech silver tipped ammunition.
However, recoil perception is subjective, so a general consensus may never develop.

 

[Bainx]

I have the Mosin, Mauser and Enfield. I also have a Jap 7.7 that seems to recoil worse than all of them. I don't believe it is the power of the cartridge so much as the small butt of the rifle that gives the perception of harder recoil.

 

[Tamara]

M44's and Jungle Carbines will boot you pretty good.

 

[Okiecruffler]

That Turk ammo in a mauser does up it's authority a might.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

In my experience, it's the No.5 Mk.I Jungle Carbine. The idiot who designed the recoil-enhancer pad on the butt should be forced to fire 100 rounds through it while wearing only a shirt.

An M-1938 Mosin with heavy ball would be no fun.

I have not fired the Steyr Straight-Pull carbines in 8x56R, which are loaded with a 206 grain bullet. I hear those will knock you for a loop.

Old battle rifles that I find relatively pleasant to shoot are the M1 Garand, No.4 Lee-Enfield, m/39 Finn Mosin. The Mauser short rifles (e.g., 98k or VZ-24) aren't too bad with Type-S ball (154 grain), but Type-sS ball (196 grain) isn't much fun.

Recoil is very subjective so YMMV.

 

[C.R.Sam]

A lot of relativity involved.
Weight to energy.
Shape and dimensions of the butt.
Comb height.
Drop.
How well a particular gun fits a particular shooter.
etc etc.

Agree with Frodo....Jungle carbine seems to have a recoil enhancer at the back.

Sam

 

[MAKOwner]

My Jungle Carbine kicks like a friggin mule, I would imagine the little Mosin carbines are the same, I'm thinking toss-up between the two...

 

[Marko Kloos]

I have an Austrian straight-pull Steyr-Mannlicher in 8x56R Hungarian that will knock your fillings loose. It's a slim carbine that doesn't weigh much more than six pounds, and it fires an 8mm Mauser-class cartridge.

Technically, it's a WWI rifle, but it was issued to German and Austrian REMFs in WWII.

 

[Badger Arms]

Okay, the answer is: NONE... All of these guns were pussycats. The M44 barks worse than it bites. Put your shoulder behind my 350 Remington Magnum and feel the BURN. I frankly don't find any of the above mentioned guns uncomfortable.

 

[Gordon]

I'm with Marko, I think I've shot them all. Next would come M-44 with heavy ball, the SMLE MK

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Hey Badger, the question was which WWII bolt gun had the hardest recoil, not which one you couldn't handle.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

never fired the jungle carbine or the m44, but i find the M98s to be unpleasent, because their wide, flat buttplate only bears on the pocket of my shoulder in two places.


my enfield contacts the whole surface of the pocket because of its narrower, rounded buttplate.

 

[BigG]

Boys Antitank Rifle?

 

[Badger Arms]

Oh... well, I guess I dont' have an answer. They all seem about the same. I don't like the stock design of the 1903 and I think the contoured buttplate on the enfield leaves a little to be desired and I always get bruised. I find that I get fatigued quicker on the M44.

 

[telewinz]

Okiecruffler has it right

"That Turk ammo in a mauser does up it's authority a might."

IMHO It has the felt recoil of a stiff 45/70 handload, its not your everyday "plinking" ammo.

 

[MolonLabe416]

Subjective, of course, but I'd say the G33/40.

 

[Johnny Guest]

Agree - - -

I too believe it is almost entirely subjective - - Body build, height, arm length, shooting technique, etc.

So stipulated, I believe the "Recoil Pad" of the No. 5 Jungle Carbine was designed by a non-shooter - - When the foam rubber was new it may have done a decent job - - Who knows? But fifty years or so of "seasoning" and weathering, often with the carbine stored in a rack with weight resting on the pad, and the rubber is compressed an deteriorated into uselessness. The metal reinforcing around the outside now bangs the shooter's shoulder unmercifully - - far worse than if the arm had only a decently shaped, solid metal buttplate on the rear.

I haven't shot ALL the WW-II rifles, but of those I have, the No.5 may well be the worst.

Best,
Johnny